In view of the man-made exploitation, pollution and destruction of our living environment, we all have a responsibility to enable a climate-friendly and sustainable life by shaping it together. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the “fight for our lives”, the “movement for environmental and climate justice” is one of the pillars of the modern human rights movement.

But are the current (legal and factual) prerequisites for equal participation of all in the protection of “Mother Earth” and our local living environment really sufficient? What is missing at national and especially local level for the effective implementation of human rights, particularly with regard to environmental and climate protection? Which stakeholders have which obligations? How important is the consideration of gender and climate justice in this context? And how can civil society social engagement, education and culture contribute to promoting the interrelatedness of effective and efficient global and local climate and environmental protection?

At invitation of the Human Rights Office of the City of Vienna, local and international experts discussed these and other issues on a panel on the topic of “Human Rights & the Environment – A Challenge” at the Vienna Human Rights Conference, which took place on 10 and 11 December 2023 at Vienna City Hall to mark the end of the International Year of Human Rights.

Among other things, the invited experts Ernest Aigner (Competence Center for Climate and Health, Austrian National Public Health Institute), Sithara Pathirana (Programme Director, Klima Biennale Wien), Michaela Krömer (Lawyer for Climate, Environmental and Constitutional Law), Hans Sakkers (Programme Manager “Localising Human Rights”, City of Utrecht) and Lena Schilling (Climate Activist and Author) addressed the question of the extent to which human rights are implemented at local level, the challenges inherent in the innovative concept of “Human Rights Cities” and how the physical design of a humane living environment can promote solidarity and coexistence. The importance of human rights in climate and environmental policy, the (climate) crisis resilience of current political and decision-making systems, the need for transparent communication and education to mobilise civil society were also discussed.Last but not least the responsibility of science, politics and the courts, as well as educational and cultural institutionsin this context, were also addressed

The discussion was moderated by Camilla Sophia Haake, researcher at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR).

The complete programme of the event can be found here.