Right against climate change a distinct fundamental and human right, SC judgment
www.thehindu.com
Supreme Court recognizes fundamental right against climate change, linking it to Articles 21 and 14, emphasizing solar power transition in India.

The Supreme Court of India, in a case concerning the protection of the Great Indian Bustard, ruled that the right against climate change is a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are rights guaranteed by the constitution (such as the rights to equality and personal freedom) or ‘interpreted’ as such by the Supreme Court (so far, only the right to privacy). They apply to all Indian residents, rather than only citizens, and cannot be removed except by constitutional amendment. The court also set up an expert panel to monitor the protection of the bird, and urged governments to speed up expansion of solar power.

    • mlg@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      3 months ago

      I was gonna make a joke about Lahore because it definitely made #1 before but I guess they’ve been beat

      • ScaraTera@lemmy.world
        5·
        3 months ago

        Not to deny bad air quality, but half the cities listed here are the satellite cities or suburbs of New Delhi.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
        31·
        3 months ago

        And here I thought it was spelled “LA Whore”!

        (I actually didn’t, but I couldn’t NOT do the dad joke!)

    • emergencyfood@sh.itjust.worksOP
      171·
      3 months ago

      I’m guessing the SC being in Delhi (which has infamously bad air) might have helped focus minds. But climate change is a different environmental problem from particulate pollution, or bustard habitat destruction.

  • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
    25·
    3 months ago

    I was wondering if this fundamental right can be used to sue corrupt industrialist, with the intent to not just deface them, but also force them to pay for the environmental damage as well as volunteer to community service. This could be a really good protection for the vulnerable people living in ecologically sensitive areas.

    • emergencyfood@sh.itjust.worksOP
      9·
      3 months ago

      There already are laws dealing with specific issues. So I guess the main advantage of making this a fundamental, rather than just a legal, right would be that it would bind governments. This will support challenges to laws diluting environmental protections, as well as allow lower courts to pass orders on issues where no specific laws already exist.