General comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has published General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change on 22nd of August 2023. 

In this general comment, the Committee emphasizes the urgent need to address the adverse effects of environmental degradation, with a special focus on climate change, on the enjoyment of children’s rights, and clarifies the obligations of States to address environmental harm and climate change. The Committee also explains how children’s rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child apply to environmental protection, and confirms that children have a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.