By Tuulia Toivanen
YMCA Finland
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Convention of Parties, more commonly known as COP, is taking place from 11-22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. At this year’s COP, or COP29, representatives of states, the private sector and civil society come together to review the implementation of the Convention.
At COP29, the spotlight is on negotiating the financing of adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, and the transition away from fossil fuels, as well as containing the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even a 1.5 degree Celsius of warming will most likely result in mass displacement, loss of life and harm to livelihoods. The most affected countries will be those of the Global South, which in turn have accounted for man-made climate change the least. The consequences and effects of climate change are thus distributed unfairly, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the current trajectory of the world is a temperature increase of 2.6 to 3.1 degrees Celsius.
What’s at stake at COP29?
As we are halfway through the conference, it is a good time to review what is at stake at COP29 from a human rights-centred point of view. The human rights approach is necessary in all discussions surrounding climate change, but it is especially appropriate since COP29 marks the third year in a row that COP has taken place in a country accused of suppressing free speech and limiting the right to peaceful assembly. So, how can we focus on human rights and a Just Transition when the locations where we are discussing these topics are seen as not allowing these conversations to take place outside of the COP venue?
The right to a clean and healthy environment is a human right recognised by the UN General Assembly. In addition, there has been the recently established mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and Climate Change, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to give its Advisory Opinion on the obligations of states in the context of climate change. The ongoing climate crisis, however, affects numerous human rights including the right to life, housing, food and water. In addition to this, the climate crisis exacerbates already existing economic and social inequalities and disproportionately affects people in vulnerable situations and with intersecting marginalised identities.
Human rights in the climate crisis
Although COP29 has been dubbed the “Finance COP” and much of the coverage is focused on climate finance, human rights directly apply to climate financing, both in the procedural aspects and the financing measures. Connected to this is the need for a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards an environmentally sustainable economy. The current system that created the climate crisis builds on and magnifies intersecting inequalities, and we must make sure we build a future that does not replicate the discrimination of the present and the past.
For this to happen, it requires the meaningful participation of activists, journalists, human rights defenders, civil society, youth organisations like the YMCA, and Indigenous people’s representation to scrutinise governments’ actions and press for more ambitious outcomes. The meaningful participation of people from the Global South in this regard is also paramount.
Civil society and just climate financing
This means the freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of association, and peaceful assembly must be protected and ensured. In theory, this is protected at COP29, as hosts of the UN Framework Convention’s conferences should respect the human rights of all participants. Nevertheless, previous conferences have left much room for improvement, especially regarding the participation of civil society and Indigenous peoples, as climate activists have been denied entry to countries and harassed, observers have been denied access to events they had the right to join, and countries have imposed restrictions on freedom of speech within the UN-run “blue zone”.
The fact that countries hosting COP conferences can use them to try to greenwash their image, can undermine the efforts and the credibility of these conferences. This puts more onus on COP participants to speak up for human rights and climate justice. Especially in the current environment surrounding climate activism, where activists advocating for change are ridiculed, fined, jailed or even killed at an alarming rate around the world.
In tandem with the focus on human rights, civil society should continue to push for more just climate financing. One step towards this is the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQGs) that must reflect the realities faced by the countries and people in the Global South – and it’s not just about the amount of money, it’s about justice, equity and the trajectory of our future.
There is no climate justice without human rights!
References
Ahead of COP29, the International Community Must Advocate for the Respect of Human Rights (10.10.2024) https://freedomhouse.org/article/ahead-cop29-international-community-must-advocate-respect-human-rights (read on 17.11.2024)
Bartmann, Marius, Aurélie Halsband, and Andrea Schapper. Climate Justice : Ethical Aspects and Policy Aspects. Baden Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co, 2023.
COP29: Climate Action Crucial to Protect Rights – Governments Should Ensure Fossil Fuel Phaseout, Civil Society Participation (7.11.2024) https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/07/cop29-climate-action-crucial-protect-rights (read on 17.11.2024)
COP29: What you need to know about the global climate summit (4.11.2024) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/11/cop29-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-global-climate-summit/ (read on 17.11.2024)
Questions and Answers: United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) (24.9.2024) https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/24/questions-and-answers-united-nations-climate-change-conference-cop29#_Why_is_the (read on 17.11.2024)
What we do – Climate Change https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/climate-change/#whyisclimatechangeahumanrightsissue? (read on 17.11.2024)