Note: this blog was originally published at https://justfair.org.uk/
In December 2024, Just Fair co-ordinated a joint response from members of the UK Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) Network to a call for evidence from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) on sustainable development.
We worked with Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Opportunity Green, Dr Koldo Casla and the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) to highlight the interdependence and links between human rights and the environment.
The Committee has now issued new guidance affirming what many communities and campaigners have long known: there can be no social justice on a dying planet.
UN affirms the link between human rights and the environment
In its latest General Comment 27, published in September, the Committee makes clear that “a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is an essential precondition for the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.” The guidance sets out how governments must act to uphold people’s rights to health, housing, food, water, work, and adequate standard of living in the context of environmental breakdown and the climate crisis.
Environmental justice is economic, social and cultural justice
For Just Fair, Friends of the Earth, Opportunity Green, Dr Koldo Casla and the ERCS, this new statement from the UN is a reminder that environmental justice is economic, social and cultural justice. It comes at a time when millions of people across the UK are facing the consequences of environmental degradation first-hand – from cold, damp housing and rising fuel poverty to the health impacts of air pollution and extreme weather.
A call for joined-up action
Just Fair, Friends of the Earth, Opportunity Green, Dr Koldo Casla and the ERCS welcome the new guidance as a landmark moment for environmental and social rights.
The ERCS welcomed the publication as a “wake-up call to governments everywhere.” ERCS highlighted the Committee’s strong emphasis on environmental justice principles, and its recognition that a healthy environment is indispensable to the full enjoyment of rights. The organisation praised paragraph 6 of the General Comment, which lays out a broad and inclusive interpretation of environmental rights that places affected communities at the centre of decision-making.
Opportunity Green also welcomed the guidance, noting that the Committee incorporated several of their recommendations into the final text. They drew attention to the Committee’s recognition of countries’ obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from housing, not only through energy efficiency and renewable energy, but crucially while ensuring that housing remains affordable and accessible.
As Opportunity Green explains, the failure to decarbonise the building sector, which accounts for 37 per cent of global operational energy and process-related CO2 emissions, directly fuels both the climate and housing crises. “Energy-inefficient homes raise bills, drive emissions and deepen fuel poverty,” they said. The new guidance, they argue, should spur governments to act urgently to deliver a fair and equitable transition for households and workers alike.
Strengthening accountability and participation
From the perspective of Friends of the Earth, the Committee’s final text marks an important step in integrating the right to a healthy environment within the broader framework of economic, social and cultural rights. They particularly welcomed the clarification that this right is both autonomous and indispensable, not simply implied in the Covenant, but inherent to it.
Friends of the Earth also noted the guidance’s focus on strengthening procedural rights: access to information, meaningful public participation, access to justice, and protection for environmental defenders. These principles are essential for ensuring that people most affected by environmental harms can claim their rights and hold decision-makers to account.
Next steps: turning guidance into action
As the Committee makes clear, development cannot be achieved on a dying planet. Governments, including here in the UK, must now take this guidance seriously and integrate it into law and policy. That means tackling the root causes of inequality and environmental harm together, ensuring that everyone has the right to a safe home, clean air, affordable energy, and a liveable planet.
Environmental justice is human rights justice, and the two must go hand in hand.
Read our joint submission to the Committee to inform the General Comment
