Pauline Gaile S.

Reyes
2019-12950-MN-0
BPEA 4-1

How does Climate change affect our human rights?

As the planet heats up, bringing with it more drought, famine and extreme

weather events, people will be left without access to basic human needs. Climate

change will cause millions of people to suffer and die, and as long as political

leaders refuse to take action against the greatest threat to humanity ever, those

numbers will only rise.

The subject of climate change extends beyond politics and the economy. It

is a problem with human rights, possibly the largest in recorded history. By

continuing to release greenhouse gases into the sky, we indirectly violate human

rights while also destroying ecosystems and causing species to go extinct.

The concept of human rights represents everyone's right to be treated fairly,

to live in safety and freedom, and to be protected by their government. Climate

change has a negative impact on a large number of our human rights, including the

rights to life, health, food, and an appropriate standard of living. This is

demonstrated by the havoc caused by each new extreme weather event, such as the

loss of life and the destruction of crops and property. Human rights will continue to

be violated if nothing more is done to stop climate change from destroying people

and the environment.

Food security is being impacted by the accompanying droughts from global

warming. Drinking water supplies are under risk due to fluctuating precipitation

and salinization of lakes and rivers. Extreme weather conditions directly endanger
human life and health and wreck people's homes. Rising sea levels could

completely destroy island states.

People will be forced to adapt as climate change worsens, spending billions

of dollars on infrastructure or migrating. Those with greater money can afford to

get away from danger. And a warmer planet will only worsen the disadvantages

and threats faced by individuals who have historically been excluded from or

marginalized in society.

Everyone isn't treated evenly by climate change. As global temperatures rise,

low income areas, people of color, and women will all be disproportionately

impacted. The unevenness of climate impacts may continue to impede the

advancement of climate action.

Climate change has a profound impact on human rights because it affects

not only the environment but also our own health. Over time, its consequences will

only intensify and worsen, ruining both the present and the generations that follow.

This is why the worst inter generational human rights violation in history may have

been caused by governments' refusal to address the climate problem in spite of

overwhelming scientific evidence.

People are not all equally impacted by climate change, despite the fact that

it threatens the entire human species. The poorest individuals, the nations with the

weakest economies, and future generations globally are currently and will be the

most severely impacted by climate change. Any strategy for combating climate

change must therefore take global justice issues into account.

References:

Climate change and human rights – can the courts fix it? - world. ReliefWeb. (2019,
March 19). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/climate-change-and-human-rights-can-courts-
fix-it

Why is climate change a Human Rights Issue? Amnesty International. (2022,

December 5). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/climate-change/

Earthday.org. (2019, December 17). Climate change is a human rights issue. Earth
Day. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.earthday.org/climate-
change-is-a-human-rights-issue/

Greenpeace International. (2020, July 17). What does climate change have to do with
human rights? Greenpeace International. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/19885/what-does-climate-
change-have-to-do-with-human-rights/