The Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change: a new legal tool for global policy change

Abstract

The Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change responds to the profound crisis of human hierarchies now characterizing the climate crisis. The Declaration, initiated prior to the 2015 COP 21 meeting by scholars from the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment (GNHRE), is one of a convergence of initiatives reflecting the need to understand human rights as intrinsically threatened by climate change. This article introduces the Declaration, the necessity for it, its philosophical and legal background and its support by contemporary cases providing evidence of the escalating legal need for such a tool. A key aim of the Declaration is to trace out a potential normative approach for establishing responsibility towards the planet and redressing unevenly distributed vulnerabilities and climate injustices while recognizing that it is vital that respect for human rights should be understood as an indispensable element of any adequate approach to * The Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment would like to thank all those from different backgrounds and cultures across the world who assisted in the drafting process, disseminating information and responding to the original Draft Declaration, and those involved in the drafting and editing of the final version. Special thanks are extended to the scholars who translated the Draft and the final Declaration into multiple languages to enable its global dissemination. This initiative had no funding and was driven by volunteers who generously gave their time. The authors of this article would also like to thank Dr Kerri Woods Lecturer in Political Theory, University of Leeds, UK for her early comments on a draft, and to thank Thomas Riddell for his research assistance. climate change. The Declaration strives to offer a compelling level of ethical appeal, as well as to be legally literate and philosophically rigorous. The drafting process engaged scholars and communities from across the world, prioritized indigenous involvement, and drew on indigenous ontologies and epistemologies. Newer philosophical approaches such as new materialist understandings of lively materiality also informed the drafting process. Accordingly, the language of the Declaration creates space for non-Western ways of seeing and being as well as responding to insights emerging from new scientific understandings of the world.

Rights-based approaches to climate decision-making

“…The transformative potential of rights-based approaches for climate decision-making remains far from realized, however. There are important gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that human rights are fully and effectively implemented in the processes and outcomes of climate governance at multiple levels [121,122]. In particular, there are several aspects of climate governance and issues of climate justice where the role and relevance of human rights require further clarification and innovation, including the recognition and protection of the rights of future generations [123], the human rights responsibilities of businesses in relation to climate change [124], and the contribution of human rights in efforts to enhance the climate resilience of populations [71,125,126].…”

Human Rights Education with Socioscientific Issues through the Environmental Education Courses

“…In this sense, he stated that SSI such as nuclear power plants, hydroelectric power plants, global warming, climate change, thermal power plants, and genetically modified organisms offer the necessary context for human rights education. On the other hand, attention was drawn to the relationship between human rights and numerous environmental aspects that were evaluated in the context of SSI in various studies (Akyuz, 2015a(Akyuz, , 2015bBenz, 2013;Clarke, 2010;Chang-Rundgren & Rundgren, 2010;Colakoglu, 2010;Davies et al, 2017;Demirdelen & Odman, 2017;Dolan et al, 2009;Evren-Yapicioglu, 2018;Kadioglu, 2008;Moro, 2002;Ziya, 2012;Rademacher, 2010;Yardimoglu, et al, 2014) in the related literature. This supports the claim advocated in this study that SSI can be an effective context for human rights education as part of environmental education courses.…”

Protecting Human Health from Climate Change: Legal Obligations and Avenues of Redress under International Law

“…Academics have suggested that States should ensure "effective remedies in administrative or judicial proceedings for climate harm or the threat or risk of such harm, including modes of compensation, monetary or otherwise [68]". Indeed, States are obliged to ensure access to effective remedies for violations of the right to health, including those occurring in connection with climate change [33,[51][52][53]69].…”