ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses three frameworks that are useful to articulate, interpret, and give context to environmental rights: human rights; environmental justice; and sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the international community in 2015. In 2015, state leaders came together to adopt the post-2015 development agenda of the United Nations (UN). Building on the Millennium Development Goals and with a view to complementing what they have not achieved, UN member states agreed on the SDGs together with 169 targets specifying how to achieve them by 2030. Human rights law and environmental protection inter-relate in several different ways. The increasing North-South divide in relation to environmental protection led to a polarization in the UN General Assembly, almost paralyzing any action on environmental protection. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
