ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the most important provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which relate to children's rights and the environment. It analyses how the climate crisis affects children and youth in unique and exacerbated ways. A number of rights are chosen for examination, such as those relating to health, life, and participation, although all CRC rights are intersecting and interdependent. The chapter considers how health and a healthy environment have been framed in CRC Article 24 and approached by the Committee, particularly through General Comment No. 26. The right to life, survival, and development, the right to education, and the right to play are also considered. The best interests principle, it is argued, means that children's rights and interests should be at the forefront of the creation of climate action plans and policies. The chapter finally turns to CRC Article 12, the right of children to be heard. It considers the way in which children have moved from being seen as climate victims to active environmental human rights defenders, and how this postpaternalism has been revolutionary for children's rights.
