by René Lavanchy
Living in a low-emission environment should be a legally binding human right, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said this week in a move which could change the European Convention on Human Rights.
The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, which drew up the convention in 1949 and which employs Mr Prescott as its climate change rapporteur, will say that the right to “live in a healthy and viable environment” should be incorporated into the document, at its climate change conference next week.
Mr Prescott is leading a European campaign to lobby countries ahead of the Copenhagen climate change conference in December.
He told Tribune this week: “There’s a right to liberty and freedom but the right to security is an important human right. The threat is now from the insecurity brought about by climate change.”
Asked if he thought the proposal could make it in to the Convention, he said: “We have the direct responsibility and I think that’s now a possibility. We’ll debate it at the end of this month.”
He acknowledged that the new right could possibly lead to countries or companies being taken to court for excessive pollution. “It puts the responsibility on government… Do we take governments to court? These are difficulties but it concentrates on the mind of people”.
The European Union has pledged £100 billion in aid for developing countries to help green their industries. Mr Prescott said they should pay out more. “The burden of emissions on developing countries is very considerable, and we have to take account of that. Europe’s got to show the colour of its money if it wants this.
“Any agreement must take into account that one of the aims is you’re going to decrease poverty and allow people in the developing countries to grow [their economies].”
