Environmental Rights Threatened for Over 99% of Humanity

Author: University of Colorado at Boulder
Published: 10 Nov 2025 - Updated: 14 Sep 2026
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed | Research, Study, Analysis

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content

Synopsis

This research from the University of Colorado Boulder, published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Communications, documents what researchers call the most comprehensive analysis of environmental inequality to date, revealing that over 99% of the world's population has at least one environmental right threatened, with nearly half facing three or more simultaneous threats including polluted air, unsafe water, extreme heat, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss. The findings carry particular weight because they quantify environmental harm across five core areas defined by the UN's 2022 right to a healthy environment resolution, demonstrating that disadvantaged populations - including those with lower incomes, displaced communities, and Indigenous peoples - are disproportionately affected by poor air quality, limited water access, and excessive heat.

This information proves valuable for disability advocates, seniors, and vulnerable populations who are often most susceptible to environmental hazards like air pollution and extreme temperatures, conditions that exacerbate existing health challenges and limit mobility and independence. The research team from CU Boulder's Better Planet Lab collected extensive datasets to map where environmental conditions violate human rights standards, providing legal advocates and communities with concrete evidence that environmental injustices aren't isolated incidents but part of a documented global pattern.*

At a Glance

1 - South Asia holds 41% of all people living with every one of the five environmental threats. This region makes up only one-fifth of the world's population.
2 - Pollution from the United States is linked to 38,000 air quality deaths in China each year. It is also tied to 12,000 such deaths annually in India.
3 - The 2022 UN resolution recognizing the right to a healthy environment is not legally binding. It also fails to account for environmental harm caused across international borders.
4 - Emissions from the 27 European Union countries have made extreme weather 1.8 times more likely in Southeast Africa and the Amazon. Researchers point to due diligence laws in the Netherlands, France, and Germany as models for accountability.

Topic Definition

Environmental Rights: Environmental rights are the entitlements every person holds to the natural conditions that make a healthy life possible, a principle the United Nations formally recognized in 2022 when it affirmed the universal right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. In practice, these rights span five core areas: clean air, clean water, a safe and stable climate, healthy and sustainably produced food, and thriving biodiversity and ecosystems. When any of these conditions fall below accepted health and safety standards - such as air with particulate pollution above World Health Organization guidelines - a person's environmental rights are considered threatened. Because pollution and emissions cross national borders, the harm caused by one country's activities can violate the environmental rights of people living thousands of miles away, which is why researchers increasingly treat environmental rights as a shared, global concern rather than a purely local one.

Overview

More than 99% of the world's 7.7 billion people have one or more of their environmental rights threatened, according to new research. The analysis was published September 25 in Environmental Research Communications.

In the most comprehensive analysis of inequality in environmental conditions to date, CU Boulder researchers revealed that nearly half of the global population lives in regions facing three or more environmental problems. Those include polluted air, unsafe water, extreme heat, food insecurity and biodiversity loss.

It provides strong evidence for urgent climate action, as representatives from nearly 200 countries prepare to convene for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), the United Nations' annual climate meeting, in Brazil beginning November 10.

"Over the years, communities around the world have been fighting for local environmental justice," said first author Naia Ormaza-Zulueta, a postdoctoral researcher in the Better Planet Lab at CU Boulder. "We want to stitch their stories into a single, undeniable global tapestry so that they can't be dismissed as isolated problems."

In 2022, the UN formally recognized that everyone on the planet has the right to a healthy environment. The landmark resolution, while urging countries to take action to protect that right for their people, is not legally binding.

The resolution also failed to account for environmental harm caused by activities in other countries, said Ormaza-Zulueta. Extensive research has shown that large, industrialized nations, such as the United States, emit the most greenhouse gases, but lower-income countries experience the greatest impacts.

Top examples of international drivers of threats to human rights. This world map illustrates how environmental harm crosses international borders, showing wealthy industrialized nations as perpetrators (marked with red dots) whose pollution and emissions disproportionately affect victim regions (shown in yellow-orange shading). The United States and Canada are linked to causing 41,000 deaths in China and India, 15% biodiversity loss in South America, and 2.5 heat waves in various regions. The European Union is shown causing 0.7 heat waves in Africa and the Middle East, along with 1.5 heat waves elsewhere. Japan's activities impact biodiversity in Southeast Asia by 2.9%. The map uses three colored lines to represent different rights dimensions - safe climate, safe ecosystems, and clean air - with arrows flowing from perpetrator nations to affected regions. A gradient scale on the right indicates cumulative threat levels from minimum to maximum, demonstrating that regions in South Asia, Southeast Africa, and South America experience the highest concentration of environmental threats despite contributing least to global pollution, while wealthy nations in North America, Europe, and East Asia remain largely unshaded as they externalize their environmental damage to poorer regions - Image Credit: Naia Ormaza-Zulueta and Zia Mehrabi/CU Boulder.

Pollution Without Borders

Ormaza-Zulueta and Zia Mehrabi, a data scientist in the Department of Environmental Studies and founder of the Better Planet Lab, wanted to put a number on how many people have had their environmental rights threatened.

They collected large datasets on environmental problems to calculate whether an individual in a given location around the world is experiencing, or has recently experienced, conditions that violated their rights in five core areas defined by the UN: clean air, clean water, a safe climate, healthy and sustainably produced food, and thriving biodiversity and ecosystems.

The team found that almost everyone on Earth lived in places that have recently experienced at least one environmental risk that failed to meet the UN conditions. Over 45%, or 3.4 billion people, had at least three rights threatened, and1.25%, or 95 million experienced all five conditions.

"The numbers are heartbreaking," said Ormaza-Zulueta.

Having access to clean air, defined as an annual average outdoor particulate matter concentration below the World Health Organization guideline, was the most common threat, followed by access to healthy and sustainably produced food.

In Colorado, a study has revealed that ozone pollution, mainly from cars, and oil and gas operations, causes more than 800 deaths each year.

"A lot of people think Boulder has great air quality for being so close to the mountains," said Mehrabi. "But the reality is that our ozone level is high for multiple months during the summer. There are days when the air quality is so bad that our children can't play outside."

Hotspots of Injustice

While most people are at risk of poor environmental conditions, not everyone feels the same impact. Consistent with previous research, disadvantaged populations, such as those with lower incomes, those who are displaced and those living on Indigenous lands, are far more likely to experience poor air quality, limited access to clean water and excessive heat than the rest of the population.

Those living in wealthier areas usually experience the best environmental conditions and are more likely to escape the worst impact as climate change progresses.

Internationally, several environmental impact hotspots stood out in the study: South Asia, for example, contains 41% of all people living with all five threats to environmental rights, despite making up only one-fifth of the world's population.

Much of the poor environmental conditions around the globe result from the activities of wealthy nations, the study found. For instance, pollution from the United States is responsible for 12,000 deaths from poor air quality in India each year and 38,000 deaths in China. Meanwhile, emissions from the 27 countries in the European Union have made extreme weather events 1.8 times more likely in Southeast Africa and 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. She added that the large demand for products in the United States and Europe has caused biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The resulting global warming and increased frequency of extreme weather events are felt around the world.

"An unstable environment destabilizes our society," Mehrabi said. "There is already a lot of fear in the United States and elsewhere about conflict, immigration, and other signs of instability. Environmental issues are only going to make them worse."

Even though the statistics are bleak, Mehrabi said they don't tell the whole story. In addition to the five core categories, many people are at risk of other poor conditions that were not measured, such as exposure to toxins released from mining and plastic waste.

"There are many solutions to these environmental problems we're facing now, from responsible clean energy to a more sustainable and just supply chain. We need strong policies that encourage businesses to adopt these solutions," Mehrabi said.

Mehrabi pointed to due diligence laws in countries such as the Netherlands, France, and Germany, which require domestic companies to uphold human rights across their global operations. He said other nations need to follow suit.

The team hopes this study can empower communities and lawyers working on environmental rights issues.

"By showing how these injustices are happening across the world, deniers can no longer dismiss the polluted river here or dirty air there as anecdotes. This can be a critical tool for pushing for policy changes," Ormaza-Zulueta said.

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)

What is the right to a healthy environment

It is a principle recognized by the United Nations in 2022 affirming that every person is entitled to clean air, clean water, a safe climate, healthy food, and thriving ecosystems.

What is COP30 and where is it held

COP30 is the 30th Conference of the Parties, the United Nations annual climate meeting, held in Brazil beginning November 10 with representatives from nearly 200 countries.

What is the Better Planet Lab

The Better Planet Lab is a research group at the University of Colorado Boulder that studies environmental data, founded by data scientist Zia Mehrabi in the Department of Environmental Studies.

What is particulate matter and why does it matter for air quality

Particulate matter is a mix of tiny airborne particles, and air is considered clean when its annual average concentration stays below the World Health Organization guideline.

What are corporate due diligence laws

They are laws in countries such as the Netherlands, France, and Germany that require domestic companies to uphold human rights across their global operations and supply chains.

Why are disability communities especially affected by environmental threats

People with disabilities, seniors, and others with existing health challenges are often more susceptible to air pollution and extreme heat, which can worsen conditions and limit mobility and independence.

What does transboundary environmental harm mean

It describes pollution and emissions that cross national borders, meaning the activities of one country can damage the health and environment of people living in other regions.

How can this research help legal advocates and communities

It offers quantifiable evidence that environmental injustices form a documented global pattern, giving lawyers and communities a tool to push for stronger policies and accountability.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: What makes these findings particularly troubling is the transboundary nature of environmental harm - pollution from the United States contributes to 12,000 annual deaths in India and 38,000 in China, while European emissions increase extreme weather likelihood in Southeast Africa and the Amazon by 1.8 times. The researchers deliberately excluded numerous additional environmental threats like mining toxins and plastic waste, meaning their already-stark statistics underrepresent the true scope of the crisis. As nations gather for COP30, this research offers communities and legal advocates something they've long needed: quantifiable proof that environmental degradation isn't an abstract future threat or a series of unfortunate local incidents, but a present-day assault on human rights affecting virtually everyone on Earth, with the most vulnerable bearing the greatest burden.*

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by University of Colorado at Boulder and published on 10 Nov 2025, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.

* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.