Lunchtime 101: Why Scotland needs a legal right to a healthy environment

What is the right to a healthy environment and what would it mean for Scotland? Hear from Shivali, our Chief Officer, in a lunchtime conversation with Juliet Harris, Director of Together Scotland.

Why you should know about the right to a healthy environment

In July 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognising the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and that environmental damage has negative implications for the effective enjoyment of all human rights for present and future generations.

164 out of 193 UN Member States now recognise the right, which the UN sees as a critical tool for holding public bodies and big polluters to account in order to protect and restore the natural world.

Incorporating the right to a healthy environment in Scots law has the potential to transform policy choices to tackle both environmental and health inequalities, connecting the dots between healthy environment and healthy lives in Scotland.

Join our conversation to find out more.

Right to a healthy environment 101

Together we discuss and answer questions from you on:

• What is the human right to a healthy environment?
• What difference would it make for people and nature in Scotland?
• Why we need an enforceable right to a healthy environment in the Scottish Human Rights Bill?