UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk Remarks to Human Rights Council Annual Panel on adverse impacts of climate change

“The climate crisis is a human rights crisis. Rising temperatures, rising seas, floods, droughts, and wildfires threaten our rights to life, to health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and much more. The heat wave we are currently experiencing here shows us the importance of adaptation measures, without which human rights would be severely impacted,” Türk said.

It is equally clear our current production and consumption patterns are unsustainable, and that renewables are the energy source of the future. Production capacity for renewables increased five-fold between 2011 and 2023.

“What we need now is a roadmap that shows us how to rethink our societies, economies and politics in ways that are equitable and sustainable. That is, a just transition. This shift requires an end to the production and use of fossil fuels and other environmentally destructive activities across all sectors - from energy to farming to finance to construction and beyond. This will be one of the greatest transformations our world has ever seen. And it has serious implications for human rights,” he said.

The High Commissioner stressed that if we don’t safeguard people’s lives, their health, their jobs and their future opportunities, the transition will replicate and exacerbate the injustices and inequalities in our world. The rich and powerful will benefit; the poor and vulnerable will lose out.

“Are we taking the steps needed to protect people from climate chaos, safeguard their futures, and manage natural resources in ways that respect human rights and the environment? Sadly, the evidence so far is that we are not – particularly in the energy sector,” he stated.

Türk noted that a just transition spans many areas, including financing, gender equality, peace and security, corporate responsibility and accountability. Respect for human rights must be a cross-cutting theme that unites all these areas.

The High Commissioner gave the following examples: First, development finance. Most international support for a just transition comes in the form of loans that can increase debt burdens for developing countries. Second, the gender gap in green and technological skills is growing. Women are less than one-third of the workforce in renewable energy sectors. Third, geopolitical competition among countries and companies is undermining rights and equity in the extraction of critical transition minerals. In some cases, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, competition over these minerals has fueled conflict. Fourth, corporate accountability for fossil fuel companies is utterly inadequate.

“Fossil fuel corporations perpetuate misinformation and disinformation and peddle false solutions and greenwashing that distract from continued damage. Polluters must pay. We must build on proposals, including the billionaire tax initiative, and the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, to make sure people and corporations that have caused and benefitted from planetary harm pay for it,” he said.

All States need to conduct impact assessments of their budgetary, investment and energy policies on the enjoyment of human rights and the environment. Fossil fuel subsidies need to be redirected towards renewable energy, sustainable food systems, and social safety nets, Türk added.

Policies need to be based on metrics that go beyond Gross Domestic Product, by measuring human development, equality, and environmental sustainability. This was part of the discussion of the Pact for the Future, the High Commissioner said.

“And regulations must protect people and nature from unprincipled corporate behavior. They should aim to reduce and eliminate discrimination and inequalities; and build systems and services that are inclusive and sustainable,” Türk said.

“Finally, a just transition – which is fundamental to humanity’s present and future wellbeing – requires solidarity, cooperation, and financial support for many developing economies. I hope all Governments represented here today will join forces to meet these urgent needs,” he concluded.

END

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In Geneva

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Ravina Shamdasani - ravina.shamdasani@un.org

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