EP adopts the Renew Europe Group’s call for the right to a safe and healthy environment to be introduced in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
Author: Lucian Goleanu
Date:
In a report led by the Renew Europe MEP Soraya Rodriguez, the European Parliament pushes for the global recognition of the right to safe, clean, healthy environment to increase the strength of environmental law.
The approved report deals with the effects of climate change on human rights and the role of environmental defenders on this matter, where Renew Europe calls on the EU to integrate a human rights perspective on the external dimension of the European Green Deal and to fight impunity for the perpetrators of environmental crimes.
Access to justice must be improved and the EU must play an ambitious leadership role in climate negotiations at international level, putting the inclusion of human rights principles at the heart of international climate change policymaking in order to avoid irreversible damage to current and future human development and generations.
Renew Europe MEP, Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Ciudadanos, Spain), EP rapporteur on this matter, says climate change and increased global warming is a tangible reality that is having a tremendous impact on the full enjoyment of human rights of present and future generations:
“Today, we take a step forward in the EU's recognition of the inextricable link between human rights and environmental degradation. It is our duty towards future generations. That is why we demand the recognition of the right to a healthy environment at the international level and, in coherence, we call for its inclusion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Additionally, we call for a strengthening of legal frameworks on climate justice, both at the EU and international level. But when it comes to protecting human rights, we cannot forget those who protect them. Environmental defenders put their lives at risk worldwide in defence of the rights of all. Today, we demand a robust protection mechanism for them, as well as further access to justice and effective remedies and redress.”
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