Summary
The Asheville-based nonprofit Community Roots drafted a proposed Climate Bill of Rights Ordinance which includes a Rights of Nature clause stipulating that “ecosystems and natural communities within the city of Asheville possess the right to naturally exist, flourish, regenerate, evolve, and be restored.” The ordinance also includes the right to self-government, a healthy climate, clean air, water, and soil, freedom from toxic trespass, environmental justice, a sustainable energy future, and protection from governmental and corporate interference.
In 2020, Community Roots launched a ballot initiative process to collect the minimum number of signatures to place the proposed ordinance on the ballot. If enough signatures are collected, the proposed ordinance is placed on the ballot to be voted on by the public at large. In the city of Asheville, 11,000 people must physically sign on to a proposed ordinance — digital signatures are not allowed — for it to be placed onto a ballot. The organization fell 27 signatures short of getting the Climate Bill of Rights on the ballot in 2020. However, this was the closest that an initiative has gotten to making it on an Asheville ballot. The group launched a second signature campaign in 2022.
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/the-city-of-asheville-north-carolina-climate-bill-of-rights-ordinance/.
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