HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: EVOLUTION OF A DISCOURSE

EVOLUÇÃO DUM DISCURSO

Abstract

The impacts on the environment and the climate crisis have been a cause for concern worldwide. The development of international law has been based on quantitative and qualitative standards, rules and regulations, hard and soft law, binding and non-binding, declarations, action plans, guidelines, treaties, customary law and international judicial procedures. However, international law requires new approaches to solve these global challenges in order to respond to the recent global crisis, such as environmental degradation and climate change. Therefore, the aim of this project is to address human rights and the environment, detailing the evolution of its discourse. The hypothesis raised in this work is that although the international discourse on human rights in the environment has experienced some advances in recent years, its weakness is still visible, since the creation of laws has not been sufficient and there is no evidence that COP30 to be held in 2025 will bring new developments. The methodology used in this work is qualitative. It includes an approach of a human right as a desirable framework for confronting the climate crises and a gender perspective. There is an approach to the functional analysis of the standards. It was possible to conclude that although there are many initiatives to reduce the negative environmental impacts and problems arising from climate change, there are still many gaps and challenges to be faced. Therefore, continuous actions need to be taken to minimize such negative impacts. In addition, COP30 represents a historic opportunity for Brazil to reaffirm its leadership role in negotiations on climate change and global sustainability. The developments of COP29 challenge Brazil to build a more ambitious and results-focused conference. This requires the promotion of regional and global articulations.