On July 28 the United Nations declared that access to a healthy environment is now a universal human right — alongside the right to education and the right to seek asylum.

With 161 votes in favor, and eight abstentions, the three-page resolution make it clear that this new human right works in tandem with the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a sister initiative adopted by U.N. member countries in 2015. The document also calls on countries, international organizations, and companies to adopt policies and practices that will turn this human right into a reality.

Here are four ways the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment could make an impact:

1. Environmental stories are now human rights stories.

People all over the world are already experiencing the effects of climate catastrophe — hurricanes, droughts, famines, pollution, fires. Natural disasters caused or exacerbated by climate change are forcing people to relocate. People on the front lines — displaced by environmental disasters — are referred to as “climate migrants” or “climate refugees.” According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, 1.2 billion people globally could be displaced by 2050 if natural disasters continue at the current rate.

Recent stories show that the great salt lake that abuts the rapidly growing metropolis of Salt Lake City, Utah is becoming an environmental disaster zone. In July, the lake level fell below its October 2021 record low. The evaporation of the lake leaves a toxic salt bed exposed to winds that could carry poisonous gases to city residents. The whole city is at risk of becoming uninhabitable.

Heatwaves are causing residents to reconsider settling in climate-vulnerable regions. In 2020, Phoenix, Arizona experienced a record 53 days over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 313 people in Arizona suffered from a heat-caused death that year, nearly twice as many such deaths as in 2019.

Stories of people directly impacted by an unhealthy environment are now tales, not only of environmental ruin, but of human right violations as well.

2. Highlights the connection between human health and planet health.

Conversations about climate change increasingly revolve around public health risks associated with unsustainable development. Heatwaves are causing premature deaths among the elderly. Toxic fumes from evaporating lakes are causing long-term respiratory issues. Fires are trapping smoke in people’s lungs. Mining operations are contaminating water. Industrial agriculture is depleting groundwater reserves. Floods and hurricanes can quite literally drown people in minutes.

The U.N. resolution recognizes that present and future generations are at the mercy of the natural world, dependent on a sustainable, clean planet to provide shelter, food and water. According to the document, “The protection of the environment, including ecosystems, contribute to and promote human well-being and the full enjoyment of all human rights.”

People will be shut out of the full scope of human rights if, for instance, they are at risk of missing out on an education because of long-term hospitalization due to lead poisoning.

3. Clarifies the urgency of solving the “triple planetary crisis.”

The right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment underlines the urgency of what the U.N. calls the triple planetary crisis: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Climate change is causing or exacerbating many natural disasters. According to WHO data, nearly all global populations (99%) breathe air containing pollutant levels exceeding WHO guidelines. Biodiversity loss is depleting food supplies and affecting access to clean water.

The right to a healthy environment makes it clear these interconnected issues must be faced and dealt with now. It is no longer realistic to see them as problems to be left for future generations to solve.

4. History shows us that similar resolutions can lead to effective change.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 when countries came together to form the United Nations and recognize the horror of the Holocaust. Over time, the scope of human rights has expanded to include resolutions against racial discrimination in 1965 and against torture in 1984.

In 2010, the U.N. adopted a resolution to include water and sanitation as a human right. The resolution has helped shape public policy in member countries such as Mexico when in 2012 the country reformed its constitution to include the human right to water. That year, four women from the municipality of Xochitepec, Morelos used the new human right to win a legal battle requiring their municipality to provide water service to their neighborhood.

Although countries have no legal obligation to comply with the new resolution, long-time environmental human rights advocates hope it will empower people to hold their governments accountable. If anything, the right recognizes the interwoven connection people have to the planet for survival.

For more information, see the companion “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode here.