Human Rights and Climate Change – International Standards

Gasmi, Gordana and Zirojević, Mina (2022) Human Rights and Climate Change – International Standards. Fiat Iustitia (1). pp. 86-98. ISSN 1224-4015

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Abstract

The study is dealing with the link between human rights protection and climate change seen from the perspective of international standards. Although the two areas developed separately, their interdependence has become more and more evident in the last two decades. Climate change and environmental degradation undermines the human rights either directly or indirectly. In contemporary circumstances, climate change issues affect both developed and developing countries, but its consequences are more devastating for developing countries, taken into consideration their scarce resources. In reality, climate change constantly hampers the broad range of human rights, such as the right to health, the right to life, the right to food, water, shelter, property. Exactly in the domain of the global health security, the issues of human rights protection and climate change effects are intertwined. The UN Framework Convention (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997) do not contain provisions that are directly related to the right to a healthy environment. Directly the reference to human rights was made only in the Paris Agreement (2015). Human activities affect negatively climate change at global level. International standards are aimed at possible solidarity needed to overcome it. The Kyoto Protocol has its own goals, in the part that refers to individual groups of countries, specified through the obligations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This is separately defined for the developed countries. The right to a healthy, safe, clean and sustainable environment is now recognized in many UN resolutions, national constitutions and regional instruments. Global dimensions of climate change problems pose the open question of developing countries’ position, bearing in mind their scarce resources to deal with it. International standards in the area of climate change are to be significantly improved in direction of more solidarity towards developing countries.

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