Children’s Right to Health in the Climate Crisis: State Obligations, Accountability and Intergenerational Justice
Bioethics and Health Law Journal (BHL),
Vol. 4 No. 4 (2024),
22 Esfand 2026
,
Page 1-15
https://doi.org/10.22037/bhl.v4i4.51224
Abstract
Climate change has evolved from an environmental concern into a systemic public health crisis with profound human-rights implications. Children, owing to their physiological vulnerability, developmental dependency and limited adaptive capacity, are disproportionately exposed to climate-related harms. This article examines the legal foundations of states’ obligations to protect and fulfil children’s right to health in the context of climate change and seeks to articulate a coherent, child-centred framework for accountability within international human-rights law. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical and comparative legal methodology. It draws upon international human-rights treaties, general comments and interpretive outputs of treaty bodies particularly under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights alongside UN and specialized agency reports, peerreviewed legal scholarship and relevant international and regional jurisprudence. The analysis demonstrates that: 1. climate change poses multidimensional threats to children’s physical and mental health through heat stress, air pollution, food and water insecurity, displacement and climate-induced disasters; 2. international human-rights law provides a robust normative basis for delineating states’ positive, negative and duediligence obligations regarding children’s health; 3. a persistent implementation gap exists between legal commitments and domestic practice, largely attributable to inadequate child-sensitive governance, fragmented policy responses and weak monitoring mechanisms; 4. emerging climate litigation initiated by children and youth has begun to reshape accountability narratives, though its effectiveness depends on parallel legal and institutional reforms. Ensuring children’s right to health in the era of climate change requires a recalibration of legal and policy frameworks toward explicit child sensitivity. This entails strengthening international and domestic legal norms, enhancing monitoring and adjudicative mechanisms responsive to climate-related health harms and mainstreaming child-centred considerations into mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study underscores the necessity of mandatory child-focused climate impact assessments, improved child-specific data systems and meaningful participatory avenues for children as rights-holders in climate governance.
- Right to Health
- Children
- Climate Change
- International Human Rights Law
- Intergenerational Justice
- Accountability Mechanisms
How to Cite
References
1. Kamara AB. Children’s rights in a changing climate: states’ obligations, the law and the way forward. Sierra Leone Legal Information Institute. 2023. Available at: https://sierralii.gov.sl/articles/ 2023-12-11/Kamaraa/protecting-childrens-rightsin-a-changing-climate-states-obligations-the-lawand-the-way-forward.
2. Akfi Ghaziani M, Milani SM, Akfi Ghaziani V. Metaverse and legal challenges in property law. New Technologies Law. 2022; 3(6): 142-153. [Persian]
3. Alam T. Blockchain and its Role in the Internet of Things (IoT). International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology. 2019; 5(1): 151-157.
4. Chen J, Burgess P. The Boundaries of Legal Personhood: how Spontaneous Intelligence can Problematise Differences between Humans, Artificial Intelligence, Companies and Animals. Artificial Intelligence and Law. 2019; 27(1): 73- 92.
5. Rodriguez J, Rouby M. The International Protection of Youth and Children Displaced by Climate Change. WY4CJ Legal Blog. 2025.
Available at: https://www.wy4cj.org/legal-blog/ the-international-protection-of-youth-and-children -displaced-by-climate-change.
6. What do recent climate rulings mean for children’s rights?. CRIN: Child Rights International Network. 2025. Available at: https://home.crin.org/readlistenwatch/stories/what -do-recent-climate-rulings-mean-for-childrens-rig hts#:~:text=The%20ICJ%20affirms%20that%20th e,(paras%20387%2D393). 7. Addaney M. International climate law: principles and obligations for states under international climate law focusing on state obligations. Utrecht Journal of International and European Law. 2025; 40(1).
8. Bulat D. Climate change, children’s rights and the rights of future generations. Contemporary Issues of Communication. 2024; 3(2): 165-172.
9. Cheong BC. Avatars in the metaverse: Potential legal issues and remedies. International Cybersecurity Law Review. 2022; 3(2): 467 494.
10. Donger E, Bhatia A, Pegram J, Kelly O. Inclusion of children and youth in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports (AR1-AR6). Nature Communications. 2025; 16(1): 6159.
11. Clemens A. Metaverse for Beginners: A Guide To Help You Learn About Metaverse, Virtual Reality And Investing In NFTs. Tehran: Gam-e Avval Publications; 2022.
12. Golo HK. Impacts of climate change on children’s rights to food and health: Analysis
under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Food Security. 2025; 17(1): 45-60.
13. Keller H, Leena G. UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Law and Legitimacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2021.
14. Mayer B. Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. American Journal of International Law. 2025; 119(1): 153-160.
15. Mirbod L, Seyednasseri MM. An inquiry into the protection of children’s right to health in the context of climate change. Health Law Journal. 2024; 2(2): 1-15. [Persian]
16. Morgera E. International environmental law: A case for transformative change through the lens of children’s human rights. Environmental Policy and Law. 2024; 53(5-6): 307-319.
17. Proulx K, Daelmans B, Baltag V, Banati P. Climate change impacts on child and adolescent health and well-being: A narrative review. J Glob Health. 2024; 14: 04061.
18. Sandberg K. Children’s access to justice in climate matters. In: Nordic Journal ofEnvironmental Law. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press; 2025. p.1-25.
19. Sanz-Caballero S. Children’s rights in a changing climate: a perspective from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics. 2013; 13: 1-14.
20. Wewerinke-Singh M, Doebbler C. Protecting human health from climate change: Legal obligations under international law. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(9): 5386.
21. Chance C. The metaverse: what are the legal implications?. Virtual Worlds. 2022; 1(2): 1-7.
22. Xu Z, Sheffield PE, Hu W, Su H, Yu W, Qi X, et al. Climate change and children’s health-A call for action. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2012; 9(9): 3298-3316.
- Abstract Viewed: 60 times
- PDF Downloaded: 48 times