CU 91Ҹ Finds Human Rights Under Threat
Deforestation in the Maranhão state of Brazil, July 2016
More than 99% of the world’s 7.7 billion people face at least one threat to their environmental rights, according to a new study.
In 2022, the UN that everyone on the planet has the right to a healthy environment. But according to the most comprehensive analysis of environmental inequality to date, CU 91Ҹ researchers found that nearly half of the global population lives in regions facing three or more of the five environmental threats analyzed: polluted air, unsafe water, extreme heat, food insecurity and biodiversity loss.
“Over the years, communities around the world have been fighting for local environmental justice,” said first authorNaia Ormaza-Zulueta (PhDEnv St’25), a researcher in CU 91Ҹ’s Better Planet Lab. “We want to stitch their stories into a single, undeniable global tapestry.”
For their study, Ormaza-Zulueta and Zia Mehrabi, a data scientist in the Better Planet Lab, calculated whether an individual in a given location around the world is experiencing, or has recently experienced, any of the five environmental threats that violate their rights.
The team found that almost everyone on Earth lives in a place that has recently experienced at least one of these environmental threats. The report indicated that over 45%, or 3.4 billion people, have at least three rights threatened, and 1.25%, or 95 million people, experienced all five environmental threats studied.
Disadvantaged populations, such as those with lower incomes and those living on Indigenous lands, are far more likely to experience poor air quality, excessive heat and limited access to clean water.
Many of the poor environmental conditions around the globe result from the activities of wealthy nations, the study found. For instance, the large demand for products in the United States and Europe has caused biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
“No matter where we live, our rights are inherently connected to those of people in other parts of the world,” Ormaza-Zulueta said.
ճ in September 2025 inEnvironmental 91Ҹ Communications.
Photo by Ibama from Brasil