With a general look at human rights laws and international and regional conventions, it can be understood that the concept of human rights has become closely and increasingly linked to the right to a healthy environment and sustainable development.

With the process of industrialization in the world and its consequences such as increased environmental pollution, depletion of fossil fuels, destruction of resources, etc., the need for the use of renewable energy sources to respect human rights, including “the right to health”, “the right to life” and “sustainable development”, becomes more apparent. In this regard, in this report, we intend to examine renewable energy sources and their relationship with human rights.

Renewable energies and environmental conservation

One example of human rights is sustainable development and preservation of a healthy environment. Shahriar Saber, a member of the board of directors of the Khorasan Electricity Syndicate, recently mentioned the importance of focusing on renewable energy development for two reasons and said, “The issue of environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and the limited resources of fossil fuels increase the need for attention and development of renewable energy sources. These are reasons for using renewable resources.” (1).

The difference between fossil fuels and renewable energy.

In theory, the amount of fossil fuels is limited and renewable energy is infinite. Unfortunately, we are using fossil fuels much faster than they are being created. It takes approximately 400 million years for fossil fuels to form on a planet, but humans have used about 80% of Earth’s total fossil fuels in just sixty years, from 1960 to 2020. When we say fossil fuels like oil are “running out,” what we really mean is that demand will exceed supply (2).

Types of renewable energy

Solar, wind, hydroelectric, ocean energy, biomass, geothermal, nuclear, and fuel cell energies are among the recognized renewable energies to date (3).

Renewable energies and ensuring human security

The concept of human security is often intertwined with the United Nations’ 1994 Human Development Report, drafted by “Mahbub ul-Haq”. Human security is people-centered. The 1994 UN Human Development Report defines human security as on one hand, protection from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, global warming, and severe environmental pollution, and on the other hand, safeguarding against sudden and harmful disasters in people’s daily lives. This report summarizes seven important aspects of human security in personal, environmental, economic, political, social, health, and food security dimensions, with an emphasis on the environmental aspect of human security and ways to support environmental security by stressing the need to replace fossil fuels with renewable fuels (4).

Introduction to Human Rights Generations

The division of human rights into three generations was introduced in 1979 by Karl Vasak, a Czech jurist. These three concepts correspond to the three principles of the French Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity (5).

First generation

The first generation of human rights is actually civil and political rights rooted in the values of classical liberalism. These rights were the result of the first slogan of the French Revolution in 1789, titled “liberty”.

The first generation of civil and political rights includes fundamental rights such as the right to life, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, assembly, security, and judicial guarantees.

Second generation

The second generation of human rights includes economic, social, and cultural rights. The emergence of these rights dates back to World War II, particularly the famous speech of US President Franklin Roosevelt, who considered one of the four freedoms to be freedom from want or need. This freedom is derived from the second principle of the French Revolution, known as Equality. Some economic and social rights, such as social security, work, adequate standard of living, and education, are included in this group as listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

Third generation

In recent decades, the third generation of human rights has been brought to attention. Stephen Marquez considers the new generation of human rights to include the environment, development, peace, common heritage of humanity, communication, and humanitarian aid. Among the rights that are effective in this generation and mentioned in the above-mentioned words, we can refer to the right to development, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to peace. According to the law, economic activities should not be accompanied by pollution or destruction of the environment. The third generation of human rights addresses the issue of the right to development and the right to a healthy environment. In the past years, the discussion on the “right to a suitable environment” has been criticized from two perspectives: human-centered and environment-centered. In some cases, when the issue of “sustainable development” is only discussed in economic and cultural terms (as mentioned in the “Rio Declaration”), the discussion quickly turns to the environment; in fact, we have

Fourth generation

The right to communication, as the fourth generation of human rights, was first introduced by French philosopher Jean D’Arcy in 1954 in the French magazine “Communications”. Experts acknowledge that today, the realization of important rights such as the right to life or the right to determine one’s own destiny is not possible without the full enjoyment of the right to communication.

Several important historical and international documents on a healthy environment.

The 1972 Stockholm Declaration may be considered a turning point in drawing the attention of the world to the issue of the environment and the formation of declarations, rules, and specialized institutions related to environmental law.

2- In the 1989 Hague Declaration, the right to life with dignity in a sustainable environment was emphasized.

3- In the following decade of 1980, and especially in June 1992, during the United Nations conference on the environment and sustainable development, global attention was drawn to the necessity of cooperation in this matter.

4- Vira Manteri, the judge of the International Court of Justice in the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros case, stated: “Protecting the environment is a crucial part of contemporary human rights doctrine, as such protection is a necessary and fundamental condition for the realization of many other rights, such as the right to health and the right to life.”

“In the 1999 Bishkek Declaration, it is stated: “Everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to benefit from a healthy and balanced environment.”

6. In the 2000 Human Development Report, environmental degradation is perceived as a violation of human rights and a violation of human rights. In this report, the right to the environment is titled as a fundamental condition for the promotion of happiness and human dignity, and the realization of human rights (6).

7- The United Nations Human Rights Council officially recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right on Friday and formally increased its role in the global fight against climate change and its destructive consequences. This resolution, first discussed in the 1990s, is not legally binding, but it can shape global standards. Lawyers involved in climate lawsuits say this can help them in discussions about the environment and human rights. David Boyd, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, called this decision a “historic progress” and said, “In a world where the global environmental crisis causes more than nine million premature deaths annually, it has the potential to change lives.” The United States did not vote as it is currently not a member of the 47-member council. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 13.7 million deaths per year (about 24.3% of the world’s population) are due to environmental hazards such as air pollution and exposure to chemicals (

It can be said that the concept of security, considering the historical priorities of humanity in each period, has been presented in the form of human rights in the first, second, third, and fourth generations, and in the third generation of human rights, we witness a new definition of security and human rights that is related to the preservation of a healthy and sustainable environment. One of the prerequisites for sustainable development is peace and environmental preservation, which has a close relationship with clean and renewable energies. This matter not only requires the responsibility of citizens, but also the will of those in power who have the necessary tools; in addition, international and regional cooperation is necessary for its realization. The recent resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council in this regard is not mandatory, but it can be inspirational.

Footnotes:

1- Renewable Energy – From Zero to One Hundred, Faradars, 18th of Farvardin month 1400.

2- Same.

3- Fargho, Ima, the United Nations has declared access to a clean environment as a human right, Reuters, October 8, 2021.

4- Puja, Sharma, the role of the Indian judiciary in enforcing the rights of the first generation of human beings, and the website of legal services in India.

5- Behrang Giaahchi, Kamyar, the third generation of human rights, development and the right to a healthy environment, Independent Farsi, Thursday 21 Khordad 1399.

6- Molayi, Yousef, The Third Generation of Human Rights and the Right to a Healthy Environment, Journal of Law; Faculty of Law and Political Science Magazine, Volume 37, Issue 4, Winter 1385.

7- Fargo, Ema, organization … same.