On 28 July 2022, by a recorded vote of 161 in favor and zero against, with eight abstentions, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right. The UNGA called upon States, international organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders to “scale up efforts” to ensure a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for all.

The rights of Nature were introduced as a legal concept in the 1970s. It is based on legal personhood for “Nature” - ecosystems - and its rights to exist, thrive, and regenerate being codified in law. However, the roots of the rights of Nature are deeper than human law. They are a manifestation of the already existing intrinsic value of the countless beings within the web of life we are all part of, and a way for western law to conceptualise this value.

This blog entry addresses the need for international protection of youth and children displaced by the effects of climate change. Accordingly, (1) the special vulnerability of youth and children to climate-related displacement is shown; (2) the existing legal framework protecting children and youth in the context of climate change-related displacement is explored, (3) and it is explained how international adjudication might help develop a uniform standard for their protection.

In this blog-post we seek to unpack the principle of non-regression, clarifying its legal status under international environmental law and human rights law, and analyzing the potential of this principle in protecting the rights of present and future generations in the face of regressive climate policies.