In December 2017, a picturesque beach-side community along California’s central coast became the newest victim of the climate crisis. The Thomas Fire burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed at least 1,000 structures, displaced over 107,000 people, and cost almost $2 billion in damages. Thomas held the title of the largest wildfire in California’s history for less than a year, before being surpassed by the Ranch Fire only eight months later.
Two months into the wet season, with the fire screaming down the foothills, we desperately awaited a single drop of rain. But by the time the first rains finally came on January 9, Thomas had left such a path of destruction that the downpour caused a devastating flash flood that killed 23 people, destroyed more than 100 homes, and closed the 101 freeway for several weeks.
Today, catastrophic natural disasters—the kind that scorched the mountains of Santa Barbara and drowned the Bahamas just weeks ago—are increasing both in frequency and severity as a result of the climate crisis we have created. Wildlife populations are in a free fall, air pollution causes millions of premature deaths annually, and rising sea levels and ocean acidification are threatening coastal populations. A recent report by the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment reiterates the case that the climate crisis actually poses a fundamental threat to human rights.
Which of our rights are at risk?
The Special Rapporteur makes the case that countries and businesses are violating their human rights obligations and urges immediate action to ensure a safe climate for humanity, as guaranteed to us by international human rights law. The right to life is a universally recognized principle of human rights law, and it is inextricably linked to the rights to food and health, as established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Just last year, the Human Rights Committee named climate change and environmental degradation as “[one] of the most pressing [threats to] the right to life.” Many elements of the climate crisis constitute a threat to the rights to life, food, and health, including extreme weather events, disease, pollution, and malnutrition, all of which are driven by human-caused climate change. And these are just a few of our human rights threatened by the climate crisis.
These days, we often hear about wealth, gender, and racial inequality. These issues have plagued us for centuries, but this millenium, they are confronted by a whole new battle, as we assess the impact that the climate crisis is already having on these dimensions of society. The Special Rapporteur explains how the most vulnerable populations, namely poor communities, indigenous populations, women, and people of color, tend to suffer the most as a result of climate change. Despite contributing very little to the problem, these communities suffer disproportionately and have limited resources to act independently and scarce access to decision-making bodies.
So what now?
Acknowledging the threat that the climate crisis poses to our human rights is only the first step. Now, countries must comply with their international human rights obligations by applying a rights-based approach to combating climate change, as discussed in the Special Rapporteur’s report. This means they are responsible for urgently reducing emissions with the highest possible ambition, providing accessible information to the public, promoting inclusive participation in climate solutions, and incorporating protections of the rights of all people into climate legislation, including indigenous communities and women.
While they comprise only a small segment of the global population, wealthier countries are most responsible for historical greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and they continue to lead in emissions today. For instance, the European Union and the United States, though they account for less than 15% of the global population, are responsible for almost half of historical carbon dioxide emissions. In addition to efforts to dramatically reduce emissions and promoting human-rights-centered climate solutions, wealthy nations such as these bear a responsibility to support developing countries, who suffer the most from the consequences of climate change, to do the same.
These obligations don’t just fall on countries alone. Businesses, as reiterated by the Special Rapporteur, must share this responsibility. This means they must work to reduce their own emissions, make data on their emissions publicly available, prevent any human rights abuses, and ensure that there are effective and accessible remedies for any violations caused by their business-related activities if they do occur.
But will that be enough?
The Thomas Fire brought the destructive and deadly reality of climate change to my community. It also made clear the ways in which our human rights, guaranteed to us by state and international obligations, are under fire as well. From the right to health—people were hospitalized for pneumonia and lung-related illnesses due to the ash—to the right to life—the 23 human beings we lost overnight—we know the climate crisis is here. In this detailed report, the Special Rapporteur confirms one thing: the climate crisis is violating human rights, and we must act now to ensure that their protection is placed at the center of our climate solutions.
By Adele Shraiman, Communications Intern
Originally posted on October 8, 2019