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Abstract

The framework of human rights is based on a “fundamental and irrevoca- ble belief in the dignity and worth of every individual.”! While many differ- ent channels have emerged for protecting human rights in the face of global climate change, there is still significant room for improvement. For decades, there was no formal recognition of human-centered environmental rights.? The recent United Nations General Assembly (“UNGA”) acknowledgement of a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a tool that can “facilitate the reconceptualization of human rights law to better adapt to the negative impacts of climate change.” It represents a step toward the type of robust rights-based framework necessary to combat climate change and mit- igate the harms, inequities, and injustices associated with it.* However, the UNGA resolution alone is insufficient, as it does not create binding legal obligations on United Nations (“UN”) member states.’ Climate change presents “a series of nearly unsurmountable obstacles to the concrete application of human rights law to its adverse effects on the world popula- tion.” Given the scope of the challenge, all approaches must be explored. Accordingly, this note evaluates domestic and intemational climate change legal instruments, their success in creating an effective rights-based frame- work to address climate change, and potential strategies for improving the linkage between environmental protection and human rights.

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