Changing Climate, Changing Rights: How the UnitedStates Can Learn from the Emergence of the Right to a Healthy Environment in Colombia and India

The right to a healthy environment embodies the idea that environmental protection and the enjoyment of human rights are connected. As this concept has developed, authorities around the world have described the contours of this right in various ways. The right to a healthy environment generally includes a safe climate, clean air, healthy ecosystems, biodiversity, access to safe water, healthy and sustainable food, non-toxic environments, access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice. Thus, the right to a healthy environment is unique because it provides individuals with a more complete set of protections against environmental harms compared to other human rights.