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RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE: A PROGRESSIVE STEP TOWARDS HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

Shruti Tripathi

2nd year Law Student at Dharamashatra National Law University, Jabalpur


"The Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change is a very progressive step towards healthy environment as climate change that is long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns"



The Great India Bustard was recommended for the title ‘National Bird of India’ by Dr. Salim Ali who is also known as the ‘Birdman of India’ but the idea was not taken into consideration as it was said that the name ‘bustard’ could be embarrassing and misunderstood.  


The recent case, MK Ranjitsinh & ors v. Union of India & ors.[1] was originally a writ petition made by Mr. MK Ranjitsinh inorder to seek protection for two endangered species i.e. Lessor Florican and The Great Indian bustard, in this case the choice was between promotion of solar power generation and protection of an endangered species[2] as in this case, the court was analysing the earlier verdict which issued an interim injunction on April 19, 2021, restricting the installation of overhead transmission lines across a huge area of around 99,000 square kilometers. The Court ordered that going forward, all low-voltage powerlines in the bird-concentration area will be installed underground. It was also mandated that actions be done to install bird diverters but solar and wind energy businesses was finding it hard to comply with the 2021 ruling's instructions, appealed this order, which resulted in the court' most recent ruling.


The recent judgement overruled the 2021 judgement and declared that there is no justification for a ban on the construction of transmission lines for the distribution of solar energy throughout an area of roughly 99,000 square kilometres and that doing so would not benefit the cause of Great India Bustard’s conservation. The three judge bench in the case also acknowledged a new constitutional right i.e. Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change under Article 21 and Article 14 of the Indian Constitution which is the right to life and liberty and the right to equality respectively.


The Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change is a very progressive step towards healthy environment as climate change that is long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns[3] are having a huge impact on nature as well as humans. Greenhouse gas emissions even after various warnings and international agreements are still increasing causing Earth’s temperature to escalate day by day which results into various activities like floods, volcanic eruption etc. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA:

·       Global temperatures rose about 1.8°F (1°C) from 1901 to 2020.

·       Sea level rise has accelerated from 1.7 mm/year throughout most of the twentieth century to 3.2 mm/year since 1993.

·       Glaciers are shrinking: average thickness of 30 well-studied glaciers has decreased more than 60 feet since 1980.

·       The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic at the end of summer has shrunk by about 40% since 1979.

·       The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 25% since 1958, and by about 40% since the Industrial Revolution.

·       Snow is melting earlier compared to long-term averages.[4]

These figures shows the gravity of the situation and the urgent need to protect and create a healthy and sustainable environment and the step taken by the Supreme Court of India to have a Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change shows the considerable amount of effort taken by the court in the hope of protecting the environment.


It could be said that the Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change would have a very positive impact on the climate as the environmental concerns of the people might be taken before courts across the nation, and they could get it resolved, it would be significant as gradually more and more major environmental issues could be resolved by the courts. 


However, there are still absence of legislation in the field of environment and climate change in India but this judgement can be taken as an opportunity by the legislators to make laws and legislations on climate change as due to its tropical location, India is also vulnerable to a variety of man-made and natural calamities. Furthermore, nearly 700 million of her one billion population living in rural areas directly depends on climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, forests, and fisheries) and natural resources (such as water, biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, grasslands) for their subsistence and livelihoods[5] and declining environment would create a more vulnerable situation for India. Hence, there is a necessity to have laws and legislations to regulate the degrading climate and environment.


But just having a rights or laws to conserve climate and environment is not enough, the implementation of the rights must be properly done as the slogan “Good laws, bad implementation” is very prevalent in India, it must be ensured that the Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change is rightly implemented and is there is no inefficiency in its implementation.


The right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change is beneficial for animals too because a clean and healthy environment is needed by them too as animals are more susceptible to heat stress, which can lead to health problems including decreased growth and reproduction, reduced immunity to disease, and increased susceptibility to parasites and pathogens[6] even the case was originally brought to the court so that the endangered species of The Great Indian Bustard which is mostly found in arid regions like Rajasthan could be protected and climate change was one of the major reason why the birds were being endangered. So, it can’t be denied that the Right to be free from the adverse effect of climate change is a progressive step towards a healthy environment.


In the end we can say that MK Ranjitsinh & ors v. Union of India & ors is a significant and landmark judgement by The Supreme Court of India and Right to be free from adverse effect of climate change would leave a productive impact on the climate and environment of the country. It would be beneficial for each and every sector of the society from the richest to the poorest ones and would help in improving the health conditions of humans as well as animals. The legislators could take this as opportunity and provide more laws and legislations related to environment which will have a huge effect if implemented correctly. Hence, we should create awareness and ensure that the right to be free from adverse effect of climate change is provided to each and every citizen of our country


[1] MK Ranjitsinh & ors v. Union of India & ors.(2024)

[2] Shreshtha Mathur, MK Ranjitsinh v. Union of India: The Supreme Court’s very own Sophie’s choice moment Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news, https://www.barandbench.com/columns/mk-ranjitsinh-v-union-of-india-the-supreme-courts-very-own-sophies-choice-moment (last visited Jun 25, 2024).

[3] What is climate change? United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change (Last accessed: 25 June 2024).

[4] Climate change impacts. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/climate-change-impacts

[5] Majra, J. P., & Gur, A. (2009, April). Climate change and health: Why should India be concerned?. Indian journal of occupational and environmental medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822161/

[6] Ivo. (2023, February 18). How climate change impacts animal health. International Veterinary Outreach. https://www.ivo.vet/blog/how-climate-change-impacts-animal-health

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