American University 16 June 2010 Pdf

From Human Impacts to Human Rights: Reconciling climate change, development and human rights

American UniversityWashington College of Law

Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Washington, DC | 16 June 2010

Presentation by Edward [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian LawWashington, DC | 16 June 2010


PURPOSE of today’s lecture

Assess how climate change interacts with development

Examine the interface between human rights and climate change

Explore the role of governance in the transition to low carbon climate-resilient development




PURPOSE of today’s lecture

The WHY of human rights and climate change is as important today as the WHAT!

We want to understand why vulnerable populations are turning to this approach; what challenges they have faced; what the results have been; and what the implications are going forward.




SCOPE of today’s lecture

Climate Change and Development

Climate Change and Human Rights

Governance

HR and CC: Limits and possibilities




Learning Methods

Presentation

Interactive

Assignments

Shared expertise




Learning Methods

READ the case studies

RESPOND to the questions

RELATE the to your own country / work

REPORT your conclusions for an open discussion




Climate Change: An assessment

“Like a stranger who has just blown into town, climate change seems a presence without a past”.





Unequivocal means that climate change is real and undeniable

Accelerating means that the effect is getting worse

“Very Likely” Anthropogenic implies a probability of more than 90% that it is human induced and not the result of natural causes





“Man can perceive the problematic, yet he does not understand the origins, significance, and interrelationships of its many components and thus is unable to devise an effective response”.





“Perhaps the greatest weakness of sustainable development lies in the fact that we have not yet begun to invent a politics to go with the concept”.







Part 1Climate Change and DevelopmentAn additional stress on an already stressed system

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate change and variation in which a system is EXPOSED, it's SENSITIVITY, and its ADAPTIVE CAPACITY (IPCC 2007a, p21)




Exposure to Risk

Exposure - the character, magnitude, and rate of climate change and variation to which a system is subjected, such as:

๏Risks to unique and threatened systems (coral)

๏Extreme weather events (storm surges and sea swells)

๏Reduced agricultural productivity

๏Increased water insecurity

๏Increased health risk

๏Large-scale singularities

๏Aggregate impacts (impacts worsen over time)




Exposure to RiskExposure in ASIA“The human drama of climate change will largely be played out in Asia, where 60% of the world’s population lives - over half near the coast - making them directly vulnerable to sea level rise” (New Economics Foundation 2007).

๏ A 1m rise in sea level would inundate coastal cities and communities throughout Asia. In 2007 almost 20 million people were displaced as devastating floods hit northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

๏ Freshwater availability, particularly in large river basins, is projected to decrease. This, along with population growth and increasing demand arising from higher standards of living, could adversely affect more than a billion people by the 2050s (IPCC 2007, p13).

๏ South Asia could experience losses of up to 10 percent of many of its local staples including rice by 2030. Fears over the supply and cost of rice led to food riots and export bans in a number of South Asian countries in 2007 and 2008.

Exposure to RiskDrought Flood Storm Coastal 1m Coastal 5m Agriculture

Malawi Bangladesh Philippines All Low lying All Low lying Sudan

Ethiopia China Bangladesh Vietnam Netherlands Senegal

Zimbabwe India Madagascar Egypt Japan Zimbabwe

India Cambodia Vietnam Tunisia Bangladesh Mali

Mozambique Mozambique Moldova Indonesia Philippines Zambia

Niger Laos Mongolia Mauritania Egypt Morocco

Mauritania Pakistan Haiti China Brazil Niger

Eritrea Sri Lanka Samoa Mexico Venezuela India

Sudan Thailand Tonga Myanmar Senegal Malawi

Chad Vietnam China Bangladesh Fiji Algeria

Kenya Benin Honduras Senegal Vietnam Ethiopia

Iran Rwanda Fiji Libya Denmark Pakistan

Low income High incomeMiddle income

Six Climate Threats: Top Twelve Countries Most at Risk

Source: World Bank 2008




Sensitivity

๏ Geographic context

๏ Dependence on the environment for livelihoods, food, fuel, shelter and medicine

๏ Asset and Resource deficiency

๏ Governance / political economy issues

Sensitivity - Intersecting inequalities - produce different experiences of climate change impacts:




Sensitivity

Who are vulnerable?

๏ Women

๏ Indigenous Peoples

๏ The urban poor

๏ Inhabitants of small island states

๏ Vulnerability is not a uniform taxonomy




Poverty, hunger and increased water scarcity

๏ Temperature rises beyond 2°C will increase the number of people at risk of poverty and hunger, leaving an additional 600 million facing acute malnutrition by the 2080s

๏ The Stern review predicted that temperature rises of 2°C will result in as many as 4 billion people experiencing growing water shortages.




Loss of livelihoods

๏ The livelihoods of roughly 450 million of the world’s poorest people are entirely dependent on managed ecosystem services. 2.6bn people are dependent on agriculture.

๏ Livelihood sources of the poor are usually narrow and climate-sensitive. In periods of stress they draw down on a variety of assets and resources leaving them further exposed to the next risk.




Health and fatalities




๏ Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever are expected to increase. At present, approximately 40 percent of the world’s population is at risk from malaria but this number is projected to rise to 80 percent by 2080.

๏ The number of deaths from weather-related disasters and gradual environmental degradation due to climate change is expected to jump to about 500,000 people per year.

Involuntary displacement and migration




๏ The IPCC and the Stern Review state that by 2050, up to 200 million people may be permanently displaced due to climate change, while UNDP estimates that global temperature increases of 3–4°C could result in 330 million people being permanently or temporarily displaced as a result of flooding.

Increased incidence of violent conflict




๏ Climate change acts as a “threat multiplier” that heightens the conditions for internal conflict, sows the seeds of instability in already volatile regions, and increases the likelihood of failed states.

Damage to infrastructure and utilities




๏ Slow and rapid climate impacts destroys assets and infrastructure

๏ Public utilities can be severely undermined with impacts on long-term development

Opportunity cost of climate change responses




๏ Valuable assets are diverted from development to combat climate change impacts

๏ Climate change mitigation may alter the way we look at livelihood diversification and access to affordable energy

Adaptive Capacity

Adaptation - “Refers to changes in processes, practices, or structures to moderate or offset potential damages or to take advantage of opportunities associated with changes in climate (IPCC 2001).

Adaptive Capacity - The capacity to mobilize resources to build resilience

๏Various types of assets

๏Technological

๏Knowledge

๏Governance




Adaptive Capacity

Strengthening adaptive capacity by building assets, capital and resources

๏Human

๏Social and cultural

๏Natural

๏Physical

๏Financial

๏Research and Innovation




Resilience

Resilience occurs where adaptive capacity is strong, inequalities are addressed, and exposure minimized. It reflects the ability to deal with change and continue to develop.




Participatory Exerciseread, respond, relate, report

Task 1: Read (10 mins)

Task 2: Prepare responses to questions (5 mins)

Task 3: Open discussion (20 mins)







Part 2Climate Change and Human RightsFrom the margins to the mainstream




Human Rights or Human Rights Law?First Principles

Political and Legal Goals LegalConceptual Frameworks Legal

Broad Disciplines NarrowLacking Rigor Intensive

Core Instruments Common Sources Core InstrumentsWide Rights and Obligations NarrowWide Institutions NarrowWide Measures / Instruments NarrowGlobal Jurisdictions Strictly defined

The Court of Public Opinion

Pressure Points The CourtsTo be determined Limits and Possibilities To be determinedTo be determined Outcomes To be determined




Why have vulnerable populations turned to human rights?

๏ Frustration

๏ Urgency and ambition

๏ Public Diplomacy

๏ Improve analysis

๏ Responsibility and accountability

๏ “A game-changer”

๏ Redress, justice and compensation

ASIL 104th Annual MeetingInternational law in a time of change

Panel on International Environmental JusticeWashington, DC | 26 March 2010

From the Margins to the Mainstream: The possibilities and limits of climate justice

A series of game changers

What challenges have they faced?




๏ The complexities of Climate Change

๏ The politics of Climate Change

๏ The politics of Human Rights

๏ The perceived shortcomings of Human Rights

๏ The profile of the advocates

What results have they achieved?




๏ Increased visibility

๏ Breaking down of path dependency

๏ Moral and political authority

๏ Greater advocacy

What are the long-term implications?




๏ Change the debate

๏ Mobilize new constituencies

๏ Analysis

๏ Risk management

๏ Process

๏ Instruments - rethinking old ones and developing new ones

๏ Monitoring and evaluation

๏ Substantive outcomes




Part 3Governance and Climate ChangeThe road ahead

The Building Blocks

๏Mitigation

๏Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)

๏Adaptation

๏Technology

๏Finance




๏How much is required?

๏New and additional?

๏How to generate funding?

๏How to disburse / target funding?

Finance




Estimates put the cost of climate change at between $4bn and $109bn per year (Stern 2006 / UNDP 2007)

Finance

Baseline ODA (up to 0.7% of GNP)GDP Contribution (0.5% - 1%)Carbon TaxesGeneral taxes and specific fundsAviation / Shipping taxGHG LevyTax on Financial Transactions (Tobin Tax)Emissions Cap and TradeAuctioning of Emissions RightsCDM and Carbon Offset Markets

Source: How will the world finance climate change action? World Bank presentation to the Bali Brunch, April 2009




Vulnerable communities are least responsible for the cause and least able to deal with the consequences of climate change.

Scales and Principles

Global: UNFCC, Kyoto, Bali Roadmap

Regional: EU and other initiatives

Local / Sub-national:Initiatives at provincial, community and household level

National:Policies at the state level




Rationalize energy, water and agricultural price, tax incentives, fiscal and expenditure policies

Efficiency standards; codes, zoning, climate screening / proofing of investments

Capacity of public, private and financial sector institutions to assess and act on climate risks and new business opportunities

Improve investment climate; deepen financial and capital markets; new markets (cap & trade, CDM, etc...)

Education, raising awareness and promoting change in consumer behavior and preferences, public diplomacy

Incentives

Regulations

Institutions

Markets

Public Outreach




Scales and Principles




Part 4A human rights-based approach to climate changeLimits and Possibilities




A human rights-based approach to climate changePossibilities and Limits

๏ Does climate change violate human rights?

๏ Does climate change undermine the realization of rights?

๏ Does it matter?





๏ Can Human Rights provide added value to climate responses?

๏ What role for Human Rights in climate governance?

๏ Can Human Rights improve substantive outcomes for vulnerable populations?





๏ Climate Change and Human Rights in your country: help or hindrance?

The prospects and implications of this interface rest on it demonstrating instrumental added value.

This involves demonstrating utility in four issue areas: analysis, governance, risk management, and integration with existing institutional incentives and priorities.

Human rights can also be a powerful tool for advocacy and can be a transformative political tool.

From the Margins to the Mainstream?

The Choice

ASIL 104th Annual MeetingInternational law in a time of change

Panel on International Environmental JusticeWashington, DC | 26 March 2010

From the Margins to the Mainstream: The possibilities and limits of climate justice

Thank you for your participation

[email protected]






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