Council of Europe in the Debate about Environmental Protection and Climate Change. Facing a Democratic Challenge in the 21st Century
Council of Europe in the Debate about Environmental Protection and Climate Change. Facing a Democratic Challenge in the 21st Century

Summary/Abstract: The 21st century has been characterised by intense transition and vast challenges. Environmental degradation and climate change are areas that exert enormous impact on the economic, political, cultural and social functioning of regions, nations and society as a whole. The consequences of all these changes are leading to broad divisions throughout the world and large asymmetries in the division of economic inequalities, giving rise to increasing conflicts and serious crises, which in some regions of the world take the form of a mega-crisis. International organisations, non-governmental organisations, outstanding authorities and think-tanks all present various scenarios for the development of the world situation, stressing at the same time the need to eradicate the negative tendencies evoked by environmental pollution and climate change. In this context the role of the Council of Europe and its agencies is enormous. The Council of Europe, an organisation that establishes standards in the area of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, is responsible for supporting nations in their democratic transformations. The Council, with its myriad of legal achievements and instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights, and great institutional potential in the form of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers, the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities can be an important partner in the global dialogue aimed at stopping climate change and unfavourable occurrences in the environment. The participation of the Council of Europe in the debate on the preparation of the Global Climate Treaty in 2015 offers it the chance to accomplish its mandate, and at the same time provides it with the opportunity to make use of all its legal achievements and institutional potential.

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