SPPGA and IRES Professor David Boyd’s first report to the UN Human Rights Council is now available in English here and in the six official UN languages here.
Air pollution is a global health crisis, causing an estimated seven million premature deaths every year, including more than 600,000 children. This is a clear violation of the right to life, the right to health, and the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment, which surely includes the right to breathe clean air. The good news is that prevention of these terrible health impacts and human rights violation is possible. Effective actions range from shifting to cleaner cookstoves in low-income nations to switching to 100% renewable electricity everywhere. Many countries are making impressive progress towards cleaner air, from Canada to China.
