Book contents
- The Right to Life under International Law
- The Right to Life under International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- An Historical Introduction to the Right to Life
- Part I Overview of the Right to Life under International Law
- Part II Major Themes
- 5 Deaths as a Result of Armed Conflict
- 6 Jus ad Bellum, Aggression, and the Right to Life
- 7 The Use of Force in Law Enforcement
- 8 Counterterrorism
- 9 The Death Penalty
- 10 Deaths in Custody
- 11 Abortion
- 12 Euthanasia and Suicide
- 13 Poverty and Starvation
- 14 Assemblies, Demonstrations, and Protests
- 15 Arms Control and Disarmament
- 16 Enforced Disappearance
- 17 Accidents, Disease, and Natural Disasters
- 18 Pollution and Climate Change
- 19 Autonomous Use of Force
- 20 Slavery
- Part III The Protection of At-Risk Groups and Individuals
- Part IV Accountability
- Part V Human Rights Machinery Protecting the Right to Life
- Part VI Outlook
- Index
18 - Pollution and Climate Change
from Part II - Major Themes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2021
- The Right to Life under International Law
- The Right to Life under International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- An Historical Introduction to the Right to Life
- Part I Overview of the Right to Life under International Law
- Part II Major Themes
- 5 Deaths as a Result of Armed Conflict
- 6 Jus ad Bellum, Aggression, and the Right to Life
- 7 The Use of Force in Law Enforcement
- 8 Counterterrorism
- 9 The Death Penalty
- 10 Deaths in Custody
- 11 Abortion
- 12 Euthanasia and Suicide
- 13 Poverty and Starvation
- 14 Assemblies, Demonstrations, and Protests
- 15 Arms Control and Disarmament
- 16 Enforced Disappearance
- 17 Accidents, Disease, and Natural Disasters
- 18 Pollution and Climate Change
- 19 Autonomous Use of Force
- 20 Slavery
- Part III The Protection of At-Risk Groups and Individuals
- Part IV Accountability
- Part V Human Rights Machinery Protecting the Right to Life
- Part VI Outlook
- Index
Summary
This chapter considers whether, and if so, how, the right to life may be violated by pollution and, at the least, a wilful failure to seek to tackle climate change. A serious violation of international environmental law leading to death is ipso facto violative also of the right to life. This includes also the situation where environmental pollution in one State affects the environment and the population in another. Pollution has a significant and growing impact on the lives of children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lower respiratory infections are among the largest causes of mortality in children, accounting for 15% of deaths in 2015. In 2020, a death certificate in England listed air pollution as a cause of death for the first time.
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- Information
- The Right to Life under International LawAn Interpretative Manual, pp. 390 - 399Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021