The High Court of Uganda declared that petroleum production sharing agreements executed between the government of Uganda and numerous oil companies are public documents that are subject to disclosure under Article 41(1) of the Constitution of Uganda and the Access to Information Act.
The High Court of Delhi ordered the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to provide an additional 60-day period for the public to comment on proposed changes to the environmental impact assessment law. The High Court also directed that the proposal must be translated into all official languages recognized in the Indian constitution to facilitate effective public participation.
The National Green Tribunal ordered coal mining and energy companies to implement a series of measures to reduce environmental pollution and health impacts associated with their facilities operating in the Tamnar and Charghoda coal blocks in the state of Chhattisgarh. The Tribunal declared that no expansion of mining or industrial activities in the area could be approved until a thorough environmental carrying capacity study is completed.
The Lahore High Court affirmed that the right to food is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution of Pakistan, Islamic edicts, and international law. The High Court granted a writ of mandamus directing government authorities to do all in their power to preserve, conserve, and manage food resources to prevent waste and to distribute excess food to people in need.
The High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh issued a Rule Nisi directing agriculture, health, and environmental ministries in Bangladesh to show cause as to why they should not phase out glyphosate-based pesticides in favor of using safer alternatives. Among other things, the ministries are required to fully study the use and impacts of pesticides, investigate pesticide-related deaths, and immediately implement public awareness campaigns about the risks of using glyphosate-based pesticides.
The government of India has a constitutional duty to protect communal water bodies, and the people of India have a right to a healthy environment which encompasses access to water; therefore, the government may not allocate these vital resources to private third-parties for development. Construction of artificial, replacement water bodies will not suffice because the environment cannot be resuscitated by “merely filling a hole with water elsewhere.”
Declaring "we need to move to climate change justice," the Lahore High Court Green Bench ordered the government of Pakistan to implement the National Climate Change Policy and convened a Climate Change Commission to oversee and report to the Court on progress.