{"id":6040,"date":"2021-12-01T09:41:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T09:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twentyfifty.co.uk\/?p=5912"},"modified":"2023-02-24T11:01:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T11:01:03","slug":"why-a-human-rights-approach-is-the-only-way-to-meet-your-climate-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twentyfifty.co.uk\/2021\/12\/why-a-human-rights-approach-is-the-only-way-to-meet-your-climate-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a human rights approach is the only way to meet your climate goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

VIEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why a human rights approach is the only way to meet your climate goals<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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1 December 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

When asked how their natural environment has changed over the last three years, and how these changes have affected them, farmers in Zambia replied that severe droughts had resulted in food shortages, \u201cBy tradition or culture children must eat first in hunger times, while we adults stay starving,\u201d one woman said. When times are at their worst neither adults nor children eat.<\/p>\n

Back in 2008, the UN Human Rights Council issued a resolution expressing concern that climate change \u201cposes an immediate and far-reaching threat to people and communities around the world.\u201d Former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, described climate change as \u201cprobably the greatest human rights challenge of the 21st<\/sup> Century.\u201d That climate change and human rights are inextricably linked has long been clear to us at twentyfifty and evidenced in the work we do.<\/p>\n

Listening to rightsholders\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The link between climate change and human rights is indisputable but it\u2019s also complex and is\u00a0often\u00a0only truly understood by the people on the ground experiencing it first-hand. When working with clients on impact assessments, we talk to people directly facing the consequences of our changing climate\u00a0to\u00a0identify\u00a0the\u00a0human rights issues related to flooding, extreme\u00a0weather,\u00a0and deforestation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We believe that human rights need to be central to any climate change plan. And any serious human rights approach must not only give due weight to the views of impacted rightsholders, but those views and voices should also be heard in boardrooms. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"We recently completed a human rights and environmental impact assessment in Turkey, looking at how climate change was impacting local people.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Following extreme drought conditions and fire in one region and flooding in another, farmers' crop yields were expected to drop by up to 50%.\u00a0\u00a0One farmer reflected \u201cWe will be the last generation who is producing [the crop], each year growing areas are getting smaller and drought has also affected production badly, in the past there were 300 households growing, now only half that.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The heavy financial burden and livelihood insecurity of farmers is being compounded by climate change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Tanzania, the local community noticed both a reduced frequency in rainfall and an increased intensity when it came.\u00a0\u00a0When there was less rain, children were having to hire bicycles to make two to three trips to fetch water, taking them three hours that potentially impacted their education.\u00a0\u00a0When there was heavy rain, it was damaging the crops and washing away the fertilizer reducing the volume and quality of the crops.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking with farmers in\u00a0Bangladesh,\u00a0we\u00a0heard how\u00a0trees were being cleared\u00a0to grow\u00a0crops\u00a0leading to increased temperatures in the village.\u00a0 Floods had become an annual occurrence\u00a0and a recent hailstorm had destroyed\u00a0much of\u00a0the annual\u00a0crop.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cDue to hailstorm\u00a0[the crop was]\u00a0destroyed. Maize cultivation suffered the most at that time. Most people had to take loans to survive\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>One wife of a farmer\u00a0raised the\u00a0importance of education\u00a0\u201c<\/span>We don't have any hope with our life, if our children can get to study well and get a job only then we will have a better life<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Laos, deforestation was having an impact on the amount of food available for foraging.\u00a0\u00a0According to the local farmers, people went into the forest to forage for food\u00a0such as\u00a0bamboo\u00a0but with less forest, came less food.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of climate change is being seen across the world and it is\u00a0the\u00a0most vulnerable\u00a0who are suffering\u00a0but they\u00a0can\u00a0also\u00a0anticipate\u00a0and respond\u00a0to\u00a0local\u00a0climate\u00a0changes better\u00a0than anyone.\u00a0\u00a0In many cases, it\u00a0is something they have been doing\u00a0for centuries.\u00a0\u00a0Engaging directly with the people affected\u00a0helps\u00a0companies to develop adaptation\u00a0programmes\u00a0that\u00a0work.\u00a0\u00a0It is positive that the voices of indigenous groups were given greater prominence at COP 26 in Glasgow this month, but they were still on the side-lines rather than where they need to be, inside the room, participating in the decisions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Investing\u00a0<\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the local community<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Similarly, a human rights approach will dramatically improve the chances that\u00a0climate\u00a0financing will\u00a0work. As Ikal Angeli, founder and director of Friends of Lake Turkana told a\u00a0recent\u00a0conference, \u201c[They don\u2019t]\u00a0understand what type of financing we are asking for or how it should be used,\u201d stressing that more effort needs to be put into understanding how communities want to be supported.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The opportunity to do so is huge.\u00a0 Existing pledges following COP 26 are estimated to amount to $96 billion per year until the end of 2022<\/a>. Billions have also been committed in the private sector with European energy giant RWE recently announcing a \u20ac50 billion clean tech investment plan.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now is the right time to\u00a0come together\u00a0with the most affected communities, to listen and\u00a0to take\u00a0decisions that benefit both people and the planet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparing for a rise in l<\/span>egal cases and regulation\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Beyond this, there is a strong business case for ensuring human rights and climate change risks\u00a0are\u00a0managed together.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It creates more\u00a0resilient supply chains, guarding against situations where people\u00a0are forced to abandon agricultural because they can no longer sustain a livelihood.\u00a0It\u00a0enables impactful financial\u00a0investments, funneling money into projects that respond\u00a0to individual\u00a0community\u00a0needs.\u00a0 It\u00a0avoids\u00a0unnecessary poverty,\u00a0such as\u00a0the\u00a0factory\u00a0that was moved\u00a0due to frequent flooding,\u00a0negatively\u00a0impacting the jobs of hundreds of people who couldn\u2019t relocate,\u00a0without any consideration\u00a0for\u00a0retraining or alternative incomes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Finally,\u00a0companies\u00a0will\u00a0only hit their\u00a0ambitious\u00a0long-term\u00a0net zero targets\u00a0by engaging\u00a0the\u00a0people\u00a0on the ground\u00a0who\u00a0know how to adapt\u00a0to today\u2019s already changing environment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The voices of\u00a0rightsholders\u00a0are likely to continue to get louder\u00a0and to\u00a0be\u00a0amplified by social and\u00a0conventional\u00a0media\u00a0and NGOs.\u00a0Human rights and environment cases\u00a0are on the rise as the legal world\u00a0argues for the fundamental rights of individuals in relation to\u00a0their\u00a0health and a healthy environment.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0mandatory due diligence is on the up and increasingly includes\u00a0climate change impact within\u00a0its\u00a0scope.\u00a0The most recent example being Germany\u2019s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which requires large companies to make sure social and environmental standards are observed in their supply chain.\u00a0The way ahead is clear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>only\u00a0<\/span>way forward<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The days of treating human rights and the environment separately are over.\u00a0\u00a0Climate change needs to be addressed globally and human rights impacts need to be addressed locally - addressing them together creates the change that the world is calling for.\u00a0\u00a0At twentyfifty, we have seen time and time again, that when companies listen and take account of rightsholders in creating their climate reduction plans, they benefit from improved investment and decision making that leads to more impactful results.\u00a0 Results that improve the lives and the environment of the communities they work in.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That is what excites us about our work, and we look forward to partnering with many more forward-thinking and inclusive leaders who have the ambition to reach net zero and the foresight to bring the views and voices of rightsholders into their boardrooms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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AUTHORS<\/h5><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hazel Culley<\/h4>\n

Sector Lead -
\nFMCG & Retail<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cora Morena Fritz<\/h4>\n

Consultant<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The link between climate change and human rights is indisputable but it\u2019s also complex. Listening and responding to rightsholders is key. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy a human rights approach is the only way to meet your climate goals - twentyfifty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The link between climate change and human rights is indisputable but it\u2019s also complex. 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