Il carattere inter-generazionale del “diritto all’ambiente”: un paradigma di solidarietà e responsabilità pro futuro

The inter-generational character of the “right to the environment”: a paradigm of solidarity and responsibility for the future.

Abstract

The most recent constitutional reform, in addition to recognizing specific autonomy to the “right to the environment”, is notable for another aspect: the provision of the element of intergenerational solidarity or equity. The express reference to an “interest of future generations” as one of the purposes of environmental protection evokes shared responsibility and combines past, present, and future. Only through virtuous behavior of present generations will future generations effectively enjoy their right to the environment. From this perspective, the protection in question arises as a duty today in order to become a right tomorrow.
Therefore, conservation and sustainability are useful tools in pursuing an effective model of ecosystem protection and postulate solidary interaction between generations, envisioned by the new Article 9. Is it correct to view the intergenerational perspective as the determining element in approaching the issue of environmental protection?
This contribution aims to examine the role and evolution of the bond of intergenerational solidarity in environmental protection from a diachronic perspective: from its elaboration at the Unesco General Conference in Stockholm in 1972 to the most recent constitutionalizations. Arising as an ethical-philosophical principle, it has gradually established itself as a legal value, first in international documents (Brundtland Report, 1987; Rio Conventions, 1992; World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 1993) and later in the constitutional texts of numerous jurisdictions (including France, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Sweden).