The human right to a healthy environment
The Scottish Government has committed to incorporating the human right to a healthy environment in a new Human Rights (Scotland) Bill.
2022
- January 2022: we were delighted to be the first to present to the Equality and Human Rights Portfolio Group. Facilitated by Inspiring Scotland, we presented a webinar on Environmental Human Rights, what they are, and why they matter. It was great to begin exploring the intersection between environmental human rights and the equality groups that are represented or supported by other organisations from the portfolio.
2021
- December 2021: we launched our Advocacy Manifesto and online petition calling for an enforceable human right to a healthy environment. You can watch the launch event. As part of the event, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment gave his support to the petition.
- October 2021: Youthlink Scotland is the national agency for youthwork. We were excited to facilitate two workshops at their conference Our Climate Emergency – youth work’s role for people and planet. The workshops were attended by a wide range of youthwork professionals where we were able to share ideas about how to support young people’s demand for environmental and climate justice. You can read our presentation Connecting the dots: social, environmental and climate justice here and now.
- September 2021: we gave a short 4-minute presentation on why the human right to a healthy environment should be included in the Human Rights (Scotland) Bill at Glasgow People’s Health Inquiry.
- September 2021: we were delighted to be collaborate with Inclusion Scotland on a webinar for the Human Rights Consortium Scotland’s ‘Incorporation Fortnight’. All our rights are linked: environmental rights and disabled people’s rights outlines how the human right to a healthy environment can advance the rights of disabled people. We answer questions like why should disabled people care about environmental rights and why should environmentalists address disabled people’s rights. A link to the audio recording of the webinar is available via the HRCS website. You can also read our joint briefing on how the human right to a healthy environment advances disabled people’s rights.
- June 2021: we participated in the ALLIANCE Annual Conference as a panelist for their webinar: A Scottish Human Rights Bill: Putting rights into law and action. It was great to contribute alongside Inclusion Scotland, Human Rights Consortium and the People-led Policy Panel, Scottish Human Rights Commission. Read our presentation on incorporating a human right to a healthy environment as pivotal to enabling all our human rights: Our human right to a healthy environment – it’s obvious isn’t it?
- April 2021: we joined Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN) for an interactive webinar exploring how the full incorporation and implementation of a human right to a healthy environment would strengthen environmental and climate justice in Scotland. Read the full webinar report via the SCCAN website or read the presentation.
2020
- December 2020: we co-hosted an interactive webinar, with Scottish Environment LINK, to develop a shared understanding with LINK members and gave a presentation on why Scotland needs a human right to a healthy environment.
Litigating for the climate using planning legislation
ERCS is a member of the Scottish Climate Emergency Legal Network, a collaboration started by the Legal Services Agency (LSA) and a number of academic lawyers to explore routes for strategic litigation in Scotland to tackle climate change.
In October 2020, we were invited to give a presentation at their annual conference on using the land-use planning system to litigate for the climate.
Urban environmental justice for all?
September 2020, ERCS co-facilitated a workshop on ‘Urban Environmental Justice for All?’ at this year’s virtual conference of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN).
Read the workshop presentations on exploring the urban politics of greenspace inequality in Glasgow and Brazil, and how to use participatory video to include unheard voices:
Community Empowerment & Challenging Greenspace Inequality, a Glasgow case study
Participatory video to explore experience of greenspace – beyond the usual suspects
Experienced environmental quality and the right to the city
Children’s rights
July 2020, Together – Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights hosted the State of Children’s Rights Webinars. These focused on the key issues highlighted in the State of Children’s Rights Report 2019 to identify progress and improvements. We facilitated a workshop on Children’s Rights to a Healthy Environment.
