The UN is investigating the link between climate change and human rights

On 28 August 2024, the UN Secretary-General published a report exploring the links between loss and damage caused by climate change and human rights, and the role that societies can play in redressing the negative effects of climate change on people and the planet. The report provides clearer information on the links between the impacts of climate change on human rights, based on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as " ECtHR ”), which found that Switzerland had breached its human rights obligations by not taking sufficient steps to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Like the ECtHR's judgment, the report's primary focus is on steps that states should consider in addressing the loss and damage caused by climate change. These measures can affect businesses, such as regulating the involvement of the private sector in loss and damage responses. It highlights the importance of companies' climate and human rights teams working together to conduct integrated climate and human rights assessments that can support their approach to a just transition.

(Mizan Rahman, Moira Thompson Oliver, George Murray, more at lexology.com)