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Embedding Sustainability Constitutionally

Maria Eirini Liodi

January

A new amendment in the Cypriot Constitution has added Article 7A—the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This comes after a series of important developments in the international legal realm in recent years.

 

Such developments include the landmark case of KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland (ECtHR), otherwise known as the Senior Women for Climate Protection case, where a group of elderly women sued the Swiss government, alleging that its insufficient climate action violated their rights under both the Swiss Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case was brought forth in 2016, with its final judgment coming in early 2024. The Court found that Switzerland indeed failed to comply with its positive obligations under the Convention concerning climate change, with important shortcomings in implementing a relevant action plan specifically regarding its carbon budget and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits. This comes with Switzerland’s failures to meet its past GHG emission reduction targets.

 

This case is a fascinating example of the power of climate litigation as a tool allowing individuals or groups to hold governments and corporations accountable for inadequate climate policies.

 

In the meantime, in October 2021 we saw the UN Human Rights Council recognizing the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment after decades of advocacy from relevant civil society groups. The following year the UN General Assembly officially recognized this right, with 161 countries voting in favour and none against. This was another important milestone outlining that states ought to set climate protection and sustainability at the core of their priorities.

 

Going back to the case of Cyprus, I have heard a few people dismissing the amendment as a mere formality in adherence to European standards/international standards. Although that is certainly part of the equation, this amendment goes beyond a formality. 

 

The first time I came across the topic was a few years ago with AKTI’s “AdvocaCY” project, where I was surprised to realize that the right to a safe and sustainable environment was not in fact recognized by many countries, including Cyprus at the time. I found this shocking, especially given the plethora of climate and sustainability-related issues the country faces. For one, waste management is a serious issue on the island—an issue Cyprus may face serious fines for if adequate actions are not implemented. Additional shortcomings were addressed by lawyer and human rights specialist Mr. Achilleas Demetriades in a discussion of the Senior Women for Climate Protection case last April.

 

Amidst other things, he outlines how landmark cases such as this one, and progress in the recognition of a sustainable healthy environment as a human right, would be important on the topic of accountability in Cyprus. He also notes the hefty taxes and levies the state pays due to exceeding its emissions targets annually. While the exact numbers vary with Demetriades stating an approximation of 1 million euros a day in levies, and more recent articles arguing numbers approximating 165 million annually in 2021, one thing is certain: the consequences of inaction are as economic as they are environmental, and kicking the can down the road is unlikely to be beneficial.

 

Recent Eurostat reports capture the harsh reality in Cyprus: electricity prices rank above the EU average for consumers, while for industry, Cyprus ranks the second most expensive in Europe, largely due to the taxes and levies it is faced with.

 

So, why is this constitutional amendment relevant? As I have explored in previous pieces, the Cypriot government should place environmental protection at the core of its national strategy for several reasons: its location in the south-east Mediterranean, one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, warming 20% faster than the global average; its divided status, which leaves nearly half the island exempt from EU environmental protection and sustainability policies; and its rampant development, which, without adequate sustainability projects, leaves the island increasingly susceptible to impacts of climate change.

 

I will end with this—a constitution can be seen as “an attempt by a political community to express the fundamental rules and values of political life.” Beyond mapping out the legal foundations of the state, it outlines a system of checks and balances that aims to mirror the societal fabric of the country. What is a government saying to its people by enshrining the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment? It marks this right as one that it will prioritize, as “the protection of the natural environment is an obligation of the state.” The difference this amendment brings, alongside pioneering cases in Europe, is that citizens can hold their governments accountable with regard to their actions or inaction. This recognition by the UNGA and the domestic integration in our Constitution reinforces citizens’ ability to defend their rights and the environment and opens new opportunities for legal activism where it is required.


Photo credits: European Parliament, Flickr.

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