Supreme Court of India’s Landmark Ruling on Climate Change: A Step Towards Justice or a Flawed Promise?
The Supreme Court of India’s recent judgment extending constitutional rights to include freedom from the adverse effects of climate change has sparked both hope and concern among environmentalists and legal experts. On the one hand, the ruling represents a significant step towards recognizing the urgent need to address the climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities.
However, a closer examination of the judgment reveals several flaws that could potentially undermine its positive potential. The Court’s emphasis on large-scale solar and wind energy projects without adequately considering their environmental and social impacts is a major concern. Moreover, the judgment’s failure to address the potential of decentralized renewable energy sources and demand management strategies is a missed opportunity to promote truly sustainable solutions.
In addition to these flaws, the judgment’s silence on the rights of nature and the increasing jurisprudence on the subject at the international level is a glaring omission. Recognizing the rights of nature could provide a powerful legal framework for protecting ecosystems and safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities who depend on them.
Furthermore, the judgment’s failure to address the broader issues of India’s development model, which is heavily reliant on mega-industrial, infrastructural, and extractive projects that contribute to deforestation and displacement of communities, is a major shortcoming. If the Court were to take a more comprehensive approach to climate justice, it would need to address the systemic causes of environmental degradation and human rights violations.
Despite these flaws, the Supreme Court’s judgment has the potential to be a positive step towards climate justice in India if the Court takes further steps to address these concerns. By expanding the mandate of the expert committee it has set up to include an assessment of alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy, and by addressing the broader issues of India’s development model, the Court could help to ensure that the judgment becomes a catalyst for real sustainability and justice.
