This game-changing jurisprudence, recognizing protection against the adverse impacts of climate change as worthy of being considered a fundamental human right, came days before a similar ruling by Europe’s top human rights court that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.
In various countries where governments are struggling to meet their climate commitments and raise their ambitions, leading to perceptions that their climate responses lack urgency, legal systems are empowering citizens to hold administrations to account.
It has been 30 years since The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came into force (in March 1994), 30 years since India as a member of its governing body has been participating in—and often also leading—international negotiations on various defining principles (such as common but differentiated responsibilities) and mechanisms (for financing action and technology transfers in particular) that continue to evolve as the science of this complex global phenomenon unravels, and 30 years since we had the opportunity to prepare ourselves for climate change and its impacts.
In this time, the window for climate mitigation actions kept getting smaller as greenhouse gases continue being emitted with impunity. Recognizing this, UNFCCC negotiations got more complex with the inclusion of adaptation actions, and ultimately, in view of exponentially increasing risks from climate change, also of the ‘loss and damage’ caused by climate-change impacts.
India and the rest of the world are witnessing extreme weather events with higher frequency and intensity than ever before. We find ourselves woefully under-prepared to be able to anticipate such events, leave alone manage their impact somewhat effectively.
To make matters worse, the clustering of such extreme events is increasing the misery of people in general, and vulnerable populations in particular, manifold. The massive heat wave that India experienced this year exposed over 600 million people to health dangers, leading to many lives being lost and the establishment of the country’s first heat clinics.
As we looked for rain relief, different parts of the country were blessed with abundant rainfall, but the largely poor quality of our power infrastructure had a role in making the heat misery worse for just about everyone, and disproportionately so for the poor.
Extreme heat, rain variability, cyclones in coastal areas and melting glaciers are all going to be par for the course now. However, it is important to remember that when the Supreme Court of India speaks of the right to be protected against the adverse impacts of climate change, it cannot be interpreted as merely addressing the loss and damage from climate events.
Governments in India, through their policies and regulations, as well as all other institutional actors have to take responsibility for their mitigation, adaptation and resilience building (in)actions, and be held accountable.
Beyond the enabling environments provided by governments, all decisions and actions by informed and resourceful actors—from regulators, financial institutions and corporations to local municipalities—should also be challengeable.
The Supreme Court took an enlightened approach in recognizing the indivisible nature of what we know as sustainable development goals (SDGs). It also highlighted how climate change is connected with various human rights, including the right to health, indigenous rights, gender equality and the right to development.
As such, the entire machinery of the country dealing with the above and related issues becomes potentially culpable for enhancing the vulnerability of people to climate impacts.
While India is on track to become one of the world’s four largest economies, it ranks a poor 134th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (of the UNDP) and scores an even worse rank of No. 176 out of 180 countries on the Environmental Performance Index (of Yale University).
We are clearly in a wobbly situation with respect to sustainable development. Note that even on economic performance, we have a very unequal picture emerging, with the top 10% and top 1% in India accounting for 57% and 22% of our total national income, respectively, according to World Inequality Report, 2022, while the bottom half’s share has gone down to 13%.
Urgent action and course corrections are needed to better prepare India for the oncoming onslaught of extreme weather events. For the empowerment provided by the Supreme Court’s 6 April ruling to result in meaningful outcomes, the country will require a much more informed and engaged society and the genuine implementation of people’s participation in economic decision-making.