Council of Europe Reinforces Environmental Commitment but Falls Short on Legal Recognition of Green Rights

During its 134th Session held in Luxembourg, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a series of decisions advancing the implementation of the Reykjavík Declaration, reaffirming the environment as a “visible priority” across the continent.

Key outcomes:

• Strong encouragement to accelerate work on a possible binding or non-binding instrument on human rights and the environment—a significant step toward a more robust legal framework.
  However, this is not enough. We must continue to call for a dedicated Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, as championed by the Campaign for the Right to a Healthy Environment.
• Adoption of the Council of Europe Strategy on the Environment and its Action Plan, offering a focused roadmap to tackle the triple planetary crisis—pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss—through the principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
• Adoption of the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, enhancing tools to combat environmental crimes across member states.
• Consideration of a new intergovernmental multidisciplinary committee to improve environmental governanceand policy coherence.

Despite this progress, Ministers missed a vital opportunity to launch negotiations for the legal recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment in Europe.
We must continue to push for an Additional Protocol that enshrines this right and strengthens environmental and human rights protections continent-wide.