Earlier in the year the UN’s Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on human rights and the environment which, among other things, called for the appointment of an Independent Expert on human rights and the Environment. The Council has now decided to appoint Professor John Knox of Wake Forest University School of Law.
Professor Knox is a highly respected scholar on human rights in general but in particular his work on human rights and climate change and human rights and the environment stand out. He has acted as advisor to the UNEP as well as the World Bank and the Maldives on issues of human rights and climate change.