The right to healthy and favorable environment in the jurisprudence of the european court of human rights
| Autor | Elena E. Gulyaeva |
| Cargo del Autor | Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation - Russia |
| Páginas | 293-312 |
293
THE RIGHT TO HEALTHY AND FAVORABLE ENVIR ONMENT IN THE JURISPRUDENCE ...
THE RIGHT TO HEALTHY AND FAVORABLE
ENVIRONMENT IN THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
ELENA E. GULYAEVA
(Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation - Russia)
1. INTRODUCTION
The European policy provides the world’s hi ghest environmental standards,
developed over decades. Nethertheless, it faces s everal serious challenges, not least
those of climate change, unsust ainable consumption and production , as wel l as
various forms of poll ution 1.
Currently, the legal framework for long-term environmental cooperation among
states is most fully codified informally in the draft Convention on Environment and
Development2 (1995) of the Intern ational Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources, in cooperation with the International Council on E nvironmental
Law, and in the Declaration of Principles of International Law Relating to Sustainable
Development3, adopted at the Conference of the International Law Association (ILA)
on November 6, 1995.
It has to be emphasized, however, that environmental rights are considered
by scholars as the third and fourth generation of human rights, in particular, the
right to a healthy environmen t; the right to freely see k, receive, transmit, produce
and sp read info rmation about the en vironme nt, about l egal phen omena an d
processes, etc. The fourth generation of rights often includes the rig hts of mankind
as a whole (to peace, nuclear safety, peaceful explora tion of space, environmental
rights, etc.) 4. The need to recognize a new fundamental human right - the right to
a healthy and balanced environment is of recent nature at the global a nd European
1Environment and climate change. URL: https://eur-le x.europa.eu/summary/chapter/20.html
2Draft International Covenant on Environment and Development – Implementing Sustainability –
Fifth Edition: Updated Text. 2015. https://sust ainabledevelopme nt.un.org/, last accessed 2021/01/02
(accessed 05.04. 2021).
3New Delhi Declaration on the Principles of International Law Related to Sustainable Development
of 2002 . https://www. ecolex.org/details/literature/new-delhi-decla ration-of-principles-of-international-l aw-
relating-to sustainable-development-mon-070850/
4Vasak K. Les problèmes spéc ifiques de la mise en oeuvre des droits économiques et sociaux de
l’homme. Université catholique de. Centre d’études européennes. Vers une protection éfficace des
droits économiques et sociaux. Deuxième colloque de Département des droits de l’homme. Louvian,
Vander, 1973, ð. 11–34.
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ELENA E. GULYAEVA
level. The human right to a healthy and clean all-round environment5 is an ina-
lienable right that does not change over time.
The Russian Federation is a Party to the Kyoto Protocol a nd treaties on the
ozone layer protection, the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change 6. A new stage in the struggle for clean Earth was the elaboration
and signing of the Kyoto Protocol and Par is Agreement 7.
The climate policy in our country is being implemented in accordance with
the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federa tion a pproved by 17 D ecember 2009
Russian Pres idential Decree No. 86 18. In the first period of the Kyo to Pr otocol
operation, Russia has not exceeded the established level of greenhouse gas emission
by100 per ce nt of the 1990. Until 2 020, the target fo r limiting green house gas
emissions was set by Presidential Decree No. 752 of September 30, 2013 and is no
more than 75 per cent of the 1990 level.
One of the key markers state regulation field of harmful emissions is the so-
called Inte nded Nationall y D etermined Contr ibution (hereina fter - INDC). The
Russian Federation submitted a first report (INDC) under the Paris Agreement. The
target set by Russia contribute s to the globa l temp erature goal, as by 2030, the
cumulative reduction in Russian greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 will exceed
55 bill ion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The Decree of the President of Russia
states that «economic-wide green house gas emissions will be limited by 2030 to 70
per cent of the 19 90 level with due regard for the need of sustainable socio-economic
development and maximum consideration of the absorptive capacity o f forests and
other natural ecosystems»9. Russia is one of the few countries that has exceeded
their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol in its first period of operation, and
since 2013 has voluntarily set increasingly ambitious tar gets to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions10.
5Human Rights and the Envi ronment. Legali ty, I ndivisibil ity, Dignity and Geograph y. E lgar
Encyclopedia of Environmental Law series / Edited by James R. May, Erin Daly, Elga r, 2019;
Environmental Rights. The Developme nt of Standards / ed. by Stephen J. Turner, University of
Lincoln , Din ah L. She lton, George Washing ton Un iversity, Washin gton DC, J ona Razzaque,
University of the West of England, Bristol, Owen McIntyre, Unive rsity College Cork, James R.
May, Widener University School of Law, Delaware, 2019; The Human Right to a Healthy Environment
/ Edited by John H. Knox, Ramin Pejan, 2018; Solntsev A.M. Protection of E nvironmental Human
Rights: Textbook. 2nd ed. - M .: PFUR, 2015.
6On February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change came into force, addressing the issue of global warming. It requires industrialized
countries to reduce their combined emissions of six major greenhouse gases during the five-year
period from 2008 to 2012 below the levels that existed in 1990. By the time the Protocol entered into
force, more than 190 countries had ratified it
7Paris Climate Agre ement 2015 . URL: https://t reaties.un.org /Pages/ViewDetai ls.aspx?src=TREA TY&
mtdsg_no=XXVII-7-d&chapter =27&clang=_en (accessed 05.04.2021). The Paris Climate Agreement
was adopted at the World Climate Conference in 2015. Currently there are 195 Contracting Parties
to this international treaty, and 189 countries, including Russia, have ratified the treaty.
8Presidential Decree of 17.12.2009 ¹ 861-rp «On Climate Doctrine of Russian Federation». URL: http:/
/www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_94992/ (accessed 05.04.2021).
9Decree of the President of the Russian Federation «On reduction of greenhouse gas emissions» ¹ 666
of November 4, 2020. http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/45990 (accessed 05.04.2021).
10 https:// www.ec onomy.go v.ru/ma terial/n ews/ Russia repor ted a bout the f irst I ntended National ly
Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.html (accessed 05.04.2021).
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