"Georgia is proud to be the first member of the Council of Europe to make the connection between human rights and the environment one of its priorities during its chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers”, - the Speaker, H.E. Kakha Kuchava, stated in his speech at the conference in Athens.

K. Kuchava spoke at the panel discussion, emphasizing that Georgia supports the Parliamentary Assembly's recent efforts to recognize a healthy environment as a fundamental human right.

"I've come here to discuss a global issue: the right to a healthy and sustainable environment. We all agree that a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is an essential component of a spectrum of human rights. No country is immune to environmental concerns, particularly climate change, which must be handled first and foremost from a policy standpoint”, - Kakha Kuchava remarked.

According to him, Georgia has prioritized human rights and environmental protection, and at the end of Georgia's presidency of the Council of Europe, our country, along with the next presidents, Greece and Germany, adopted a declaration on the relationship between the environment and human rights for the first time in the history of the Committee of Ministers.

"The declaration addresses environmental and climate risks, emphasizing the necessity for targeted international action to solve the issue”, - the Speaker stated.

Georgia's priority, he says, is public health and the environment. At both the political and practical levels, the country has made significant progress and achieved substantial results in this area.

"The right to environmental protection is protected by Georgia's Constitution, which provides that "everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment, to enjoy the natural environment, and to enjoy public space." - The protection of the environment and the rational use of natural resources are given by legislation, taking into account the interests of current and future generations”, - Kakha Kuchava stated.

Current developments in the world, he believes, demonstrate that we need to be more ambitious and employ environmental diplomacy to address difficulties. The Speaker further stated that the recent history of environmental talks demonstrates the need for people to collaborate on global issues and share responsibility for the interests of current and future generations. Kakha Kuchava underlined the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation and the role of parliaments in his remarks.

"By introducing new techniques, we can ensure that this process remains on the international agenda. Parliamentary environmental committees, in particular, can create a platform for exchanging knowledge and best practices on the issues they are working on. It is not uncommon to debate specific issues that also involve the environment; nevertheless, the environment often becomes the least important topic, and attention is diverted to other concerns. Parliamentary collaboration is critical in order to avoid this. The proposed platform aims to increase support and knowledge sharing among parliamentary committees, thereby bolstering political will to address common issues. To pursue a cohesive agenda and achieve actual achievements, this platform must be practical, effective, and results-oriented”, - according to the Speaker.

World leaders, he believes, should pay more attention to science and collaborate to adapt to a changing environment in order to reduce dangers. The Speaker went on to discuss the areas that need to be addressed in order to establish a healthy and sustainable ecosystem around the world.

"How can we meet our collective responsibility?" is a political question, not one about allegiance or ideology, but rather one about how we may come together and alter something to usher in a new era. Without exaggeration, it is a matter of survival. The fact that we recognize the gravity of this problem underscores the importance of working together to ensure that environmental and human rights are inextricably linked. This necessitates the member states' political coordination in order to have a bigger impact on the international stage and to promote environmental awareness of the Council of Europe's actions”, - Kakha Kutchava delivered in his speech.