The European Union has taken a leadership role in this area by adopting the Regulation on the taxonomy of sustainable activities and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive25, which introduce specific disclosure and accountability obligations on environmental matters for large companies26. The culmination of this evolutionary process is represented by the formal recognition of the right to a healthy environment by the United Nations’ main bodies. On 8 October 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 48/1327, explicitly affirming for the first time that “having a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right.” This historic statement was subsequently confirmed and amplified by the UN General Assembly on 28 July 2022 with the adoption of Resolution 76/30028, approved by 161 Member States, with only 8 abstentions and no votes against. The Resolution formally proclaims “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right important for the enjoyment of human rights.” Although these resolutions are not legally binding, as they are acts of soft law, they produce significant indirect legal effects. Firstly, they crystallize an almost universal international consensus on the fundamental nature of environmental rights. Secondly, they provide an authoritative interpretative basis for the application of existing human rights treaties, guiding the case law of international bodies. Finally, they give greater legitimacy to legal actions brought by civil society in environmental and climate matters, strengthening the procedural standing of claimants in environmental litigation29. IV. INTERNATIONAL JURISPRUDENCE: FROM THEORY TO APPLIED PRACTICE A fundamental step in the recognition process of the right to a healthy environment is represented by case law, through which national and international courts have begun to treat environmental issues not merely as matters of political 25 Ibidem 26 Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU as regards corporate sustainability reporting. 27 Resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council 48/13 of 8 October 2021, “The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. 28 Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly A/RES/76/300 of 28 July 2022, cit. 29 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, UN Doc. A/73/188, 19 luglio 2018. 133 THE RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
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