Climate crisis impacts citizens’ right to life: SC

The landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India sheds light on the critical intersection between climate change and human rights. It emphasizes the constitutional guarantee of the right to life and the imperative for India to prioritize clean energy initiatives, particularly solar power, to mitigate the adverse effects of the climate crisis.

1: Dimension- Constitutional Right to Life and Health:

• The Supreme Court underscores the impact of climate change on the fundamental right to life, stating that without a clean and stable environment, this right cannot be fully realized.
• Factors such as air pollution, rising temperatures, and natural disasters like floods and droughts directly affect citizens' health and well-being. The judgment highlights the need for citizens to be free from the adverse effects of climate change to uphold their constitutional rights.
• Case Study: The judgment references the petition to protect the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB), illustrating the tangible impact of climate change on wildlife conservation efforts.

2: Dimension- Impact on Tribal Rights and Equality

• Climate change disproportionately affects indigenous communities, threatening their lands, forests, and cultural heritage.
• The court acknowledges that the destruction of tribal lands and displacement from their homes can impact the constitutional guarantee of the right to equality.
• Case Study: The court discusses the plight of tribals in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, highlighting how their relationship with nature is intertwined with their cultural and religious practices.
  • The right to health (which is a part of the right to life under Article 21) is impacted due to factors such as air pollution, shifts in vector-borne diseases, rising temperatures, droughts, shortages in food supplies due to crop failure, storms and flooding.
  • The inability of underserved communities to adapt to climate change or cope with its effects violates the right to life (Article 21) as well as the right to equality (Article 14).

3: Dimension- Unequal Energy Access

• Despite the potential of clean energy initiatives to address energy inequality, challenges remain in terms of infrastructure, financing, and policy frameworks. Women spend an average of 1.4 hours a day collecting firewood and an average four hours cooking.
  • Unequal energy access disproportionately affects women and girls due to their gender roles and responsibilities such as through time spent on domestic chores and unpaid care work.
• Case Study: The success of initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) in electrifying rural households demonstrates the effectiveness of targeted policies in expanding energy access to marginalized communities.