The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 17th September 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Rights of future generations must guide climate debate

Why in News?

The Summit of the Future, set for September 2024 at the UN, will address global issues threatening humanity, emphasising future generations’ rights.

It aims to ensure climate justice, sustainable development, and protection against current and future existential threats.

Introduction

• The United Nations will hold the Summit of the Future in New York on September 22-23, 2024.
• This summit aims to tackle global challenges that threaten our shared future.
• It will focus on finding multilateral solutions to several important issues, including:
  • Conflicts
  • Climate change
  • Pandemics
  • Pollution
  • Income inequality
  • Discrimination
• The main goal of the summit is to create a world where everyone can thrive while being protected from these dangers.

‘Future Generation Rights’ as the Central Theme

• Future generation rights will be a key focus, emphasizing the importance of climate justice. 
•  The goal is to make sure that future generations inherit a world that is not harmed by the errors of those who came before them. 
•  This focus brings up an important question: While we have a moral duty to protect the rights of future generations, do we also have a legal responsibility? 

Debate on Legal Obligations to Future Generations

• A discussion about the rights of future generations took place in the European Journal of International Law in 2023.
• Stephen Humphreys, a researcher from the London School of Economics, wrote a thought-provoking article called ‘Against Future Generations’.
• In his essay, he suggested that focusing on the rights of future generations can distract us from the important duties we have to the current generation.
• He pointed out that governments might choose to focus on the needs and interests of today’s people, even if it leads to environmental harm, in order to maintain a good quality of life for their citizens.

Counter Argument in Defense of Future Generations

•  A rebuttal to Humphreys was released by legal experts from the Netherlands, India, and the U.S., titled 'In Defence of Future Generations'. 
•  This response was led by Wewerinke-Singh from the University of Amsterdam. 
•  The scholars argue that supporting the rights of future generations presents a view of justice and solidarity that spans across time and different cultures. 
•  They reference indigenous traditions, where taking care of future generations is seen as a sacred obligation. 
•  Many indigenous cultures consider it important to think about the impacts of actions on the next four to seven generations. 

Judgments Supporting Intergenerational Rights

• The article also cites several landmark judgments from around the world that emphasise intergenerational solidarity and environmental protection:

The Maastricht Principles on Future Generations’ Rights

•  The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations create a clear guide that connects sustainable development and climate justice to the rights of future generations. 
•  The Preamble states that human rights apply to everyone, including both current and future generations, without any time limits. 
•  It highlights that humanity has an ongoing duty to care for future generations, understanding rights in relation to natural systems and the best scientific knowledge available. 
•  The Maastricht Principles consist of 36 guidelines designed to direct actions at both the national and global levels. These include: 
  •  Protecting future generations from dangers posed by both public and private entities. 
  •  Making sure that future generations have a meaningful voice in decision-making processes that could impact their rights. 

Planetary Overshoot Day: A Warning

• The idea of Planetary Boundaries is an important way to measure how well Earth can support life.
• Out of nine planetary boundaries, eight have already been crossed.
• The Planetary Overshoot Day marks the point in the year when humanity's use of Earth's resources exceeds what the planet can renew in that same year.
• In 1970, Overshoot Day fell on December 30.
• By 2024, it has shifted to August 1, showing that Earth's resources are being used up very quickly.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

• The current trajectory suggests a “rush to perdition”, threatening to leave future generations with a bankrupt planet.
• Urgent action is needed not only to protect those at immediate risk but also to avoid condemning future generations to a world scarred by environmental degradation, inequality, and neglect.