Astrid Puentes Riaño, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment, is deeply concerned about the growing threats to this fundamental human right. Having been recognized by a majority of nations at the United Nations General Assembly in 2022, this right emerged from a powerful movement led by civil society, including Indigenous communities, women, and youth, highlighting its universal importance. Ms. Puentes Riaño, a Colombian-born lawyer and academic, recently presented her critical report on air pollution to the Human Rights Council, emphasizing the simple yet profound truth: “Breathing clean air is vital for all.” Her work has a very real impact; before her 2024 nomination as the first woman and first representative from a developing country to hold this renamed mandate, she won a landmark case for the communities of La Oroya, Peru. This mining town suffered from severe toxic contamination, and the court’s decision was a historic step, ordering the government to compensate residents and hold mining companies accountable. The significance of this case, she notes, is amplified by its urban setting, as the majority of the world’s population resides in cities. This underscores her belief that human rights, health, and the environment are not just about remote forests and Indigenous peoples, but rather a concern for everyone. While international agreements like the Montreal biodiversity and high seas agreements have strengthened the right to a healthy environment, the return of populist leaders who roll back environmental protections has led many companies to abandon their environmental, social, and governance commitments. This shifting landscape presents a complex challenge, making Ms. Puentes Riaño’s work all the more crucial in safeguarding our collective well-being.
The global recognition of the right to a healthy environment is a significant stride, with 166 states now acknowledging it. Ms. Puentes Riaño highlights a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice in July 2025, which unequivocally stated that it’s “unthinkable” for states to fulfill human rights, including the right to life and health, without upholding the right to a healthy environment. This reinforces her conclusion that this right is now part of customary international law, meaning it’s so fundamental that all other human rights depend on its protection. However, the path to a healthy environment is fraught with challenges, particularly from the pervasive issue of fossil fuels. Her latest report on clean air emphasizes that fossil fuel extraction, use, and transportation are major drivers of air pollution. She points specifically to flaring, the burning off of natural gas during oil extraction, which happens globally – from the Middle East to Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The fact that some countries have banned flaring proves it’s not a necessary practice. She advocates for a global ban, urging states to better monitor the sector and regulate emissions and toxic substances like particulate matter, ozone, bauxite, and methane generated by flaring. While acknowledging that a just energy transition will take time, she recommends that states leverage the best available science and technology to accelerate this crucial shift. The stark reality of air pollution hit close to home just a day after her report to the council, when military strikes on oil storage sites in Tehran filled the sky with smoke and acid rain, leaving residents struggling to breathe. This incident serves as a powerful, somber reminder of the immediate and devastating consequences of environmental degradation, especially in times of conflict.
The terrifying prospect of environmental degradation becoming a weapon of war is a growing concern for Ms. Puentes Riaño. The incident in Tehran, where military strikes on oil storage sites led to huge fires and acid rain, tragically illustrates this point. She notes a disturbing trend regarding the use of natural resources and the environment as tools of conflict. It’s her hope that the recognition of the right to a healthy environment will also heighten awareness about safeguarding the environment during wartime and how civilians are disproportionately affected. Beyond the immediate devastation, recent conflicts have generated immense pollution. Scientists have observed a sharp increase in carbon emissions since the start of the war in Gaza, directly linked to the conflict and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. This surge in emissions, she points out, utterly negates efforts made in the Middle East, Europe, and globally to mitigate carbon emissions. Even a single week of war can have a massive, detrimental impact. Other forms of pollution include the release of massive amounts of CO2 from hit tankers and aerial bombings, leading to increasingly toxic air. Furthermore, the destruction of ecosystems and vital water sources constitutes a direct attack on the right to a healthy environment. Ms. Puentes Riaño specifically highlights the destruction of olive trees in Palestine and Gaza, which not only impacts the right to a healthy environment but also the fundamental right to food. These actions push us further away from critical international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero by the end of the century – targets crucial for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. A significant loophole, she observes, is that states are not required to include military-related emissions in their inventories. This omission, coupled with the increasing prevalence of war and conflict worldwide, severely impacts the environment, clean air, and the global climate, making the fight for a healthy environment an uphill battle.
The private sector’s stance on the right to a healthy environment is a mixed bag, as Ms. Puentes Riaño explains. While a broad coalition of civil society spearheaded the movement for this right, a positive sign was the support from a group of 50 businesses, known as B Corps. These companies recognized that upholding environmental and social standards was not just ethical but also “good for business.” However, on the other side of the coin, industries like fossil fuels and energy, alongside many others, often present a false dilemma, arguing that there’s a choice to be made between protecting human rights and pursuing economic development. Ms. Puentes Riaño firmly rejects this notion, asserting that “science proves that’s a false dichotomy.” She stresses the critical need for businesses to operate responsibly and uphold their duty to protect human rights, rather than seeing it as a trade-off. Her engagement extends beyond international bodies to local leaders, including her conversations with the Mayor of London. In these discussions, a major challenge highlighted by city officials in their efforts to ensure clean air and implement positive environmental actions is the pervasive issue of misinformation. This misinformation often propagates a narrative that such actions – even those as fundamental as protecting children’s health, who are particularly vulnerable to air pollution – are detrimental to the economy and will inevitably lead to business failures. This narrative, she argues, is a significant hurdle preventing effective environmental policy and undermines efforts to create healthy, sustainable communities.
The ongoing global hunger for critical minerals presents another significant threat, raising concerns about a new wave of environmental and human rights abuses that Ms. Puentes Riaño calls “absolutely” a risk. As she emphasized at the FIFDH film festival in Geneva, following the screening of “Yurlu,” a film about an Australian Indigenous community contaminated by an abandoned asbestos mine, “Wherever there is an extractive industry, there is a risk of impacts on human rights, including the right to a healthy environment.” This stark reality underscores the urgent need for stringent regulations and comprehensive planning from governments. She champions the necessity of robust environmental, social, and human rights impact assessments to prevent harm. While acknowledging that mining will always have a substantial impact, she insists that states must ensure that new mines do not negatively affect Indigenous peoples or other communities. If impacts are unavoidable, states have a responsibility to ensure they are thoroughly mitigated and properly remediated. The “Yurlu” case serves as a powerful example of the long-term consequences of irresponsible mining practices and highlights the crucial importance of a responsible closure and exit plan for mines. It’s simply not enough for a company to “put a lock on the door and leave” once operations cease; the environmental and social legacy can last for generations. The lessons from past mining disasters, particularly those impacting vulnerable communities, must guide future policies to prevent similar tragedies in the scramble for new resources.
Finally, Ms. Puentes Riaño expresses profound concern about the funding cuts to multilateral organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and what these cuts could mean for defending the right to a healthy environment. She underscores that upholding this right, and indeed all human rights, requires strong rule of law, effective regulations, and diligent monitoring, which in turn depend on robust institutional frameworks at national, regional, and international levels. Organizations like the UN, WHO, and other UN institutions play an indispensable role in advising states and monitoring situations, but these funding cuts severely impede their capacity. As an independent expert, she herself works on a pro bono basis, receiving no salary. However, even for unpaid experts, funding is essential for critical activities like country visits and preparing vital reports. These essential resources are now being cut, which directly impacts their ability to contribute. Her message is clear: “With fewer resources, we will be able to contribute less. If we decrease the already limited funding, it will compromise our ability to be impactful.” This dire warning highlights the precarious balance between global aspirations for a healthy environment and the practical realities of underfunded institutions. Without adequate support, the invaluable work of independent experts and international bodies in advocating for and protecting human rights, including the fundamental right to a healthy environment, will inevitably suffer, leaving vital communities and ecosystems more vulnerable than ever.