Countries across Central and South America have an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment, a human rights court found last week in a landmark decision that boosts efforts to address climate change in the region.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that countries bear a responsibility to prevent harms from climate change under the American Convention on Human Rights. It also emphasized a need to protect the rights of Indigenous people and those most vulnerable to environmental harm, including rural communities, children and people with disabilities.
The nonbinding opinion also found that countries have an obligation to regulate polluters and adopt ambitious climate targets based on science. And it called on countries to act to prevent climate disinformation.
“The court has broken new ground and set a powerful precedent in affirming the human right to a healthy climate,” said Nikki Reisch, climate and energy program director at the Center for International Environmental Law. “The court’s conclusions should put big polluters, like the fossil fuel industry, on notice: Climate-destructive conduct violates the law.”
