Climate change: Act now or pay a high price, says UN expert

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GENEVA (8 October 2018) – States must accelerate action to address climate change — from solar electricity to climate-friendly agriculture practices — or risk locking in decades of grave human rights violations, a UN expert says.

In a statement following the release of a new scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), David R. Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said that climate change rated as one of the greatest threats to human rights.

“Climate change is having and will have devastating effects on a wide range of human rights including rights to life, health, food, housing, and water, as well as the right to a healthy environment,” he said.

“The world is already witnessing the impacts of climate change — from hurricanes in America, heat waves in Europe, droughts in Africa to floods in Asia.”

Boyd said that for 25 years, scientists have issued increasingly clear warnings about the urgency of transforming economies and societies in cleaner, greener directions.

“There are scientific and feasible solutions to limit the damage,” he said. “States — particularly wealthy nations with high emissions — must act now to meet their human rights obligations and not only fulfill but go beyond their commitments under the Paris Agreement.”

The new report from the IPCC describes the challenges that humanity faces in the race to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change. The IPCC report identifies plausible trajectories that would improve both human and ecosystem health. However, the IPCC warns that these positive outcomes will require “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” Keeping the temperature increase below 1.5 degrees requires urgent action to implement stronger policies and increase the level of ambition beyond commitments made under 2015’s Paris Accord.

The difference between a 1.5 degree increase and a 2.0 degree increase is dramatic. The latter would likely inflict human rights violations upon millions of people. It would increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events from heat waves to superstorms, decrease water availability and agricultural production in vulnerable areas, and increase the risk of “Hothouse Earth.”

ENDS

* The IPCC is an intergovernmental and scientific body mandated to provide objective, scientific assessments of climate change and its impacts. The IPCC report released on 8 October illustrates the pathways to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures and the impacts of this magnitude of change.

David R. Boyd was appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment for a three-year term commencing August 1, 2018. He is an associate professor of law, policy, and sustainability at the University of British Columbia.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.

For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ms. Soo-Young Hwang (+41 22 917 92 67 / shwang@ohchr.org ) or write to srenvironment@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact
Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org