Climate Change, Human Rights, and Social Justice Notes

Climate Change, Human Rights, and Social Justice

Abstract

• Climate change disproportionately affects low-income countries and poor people in high-income countries.
• Environmental consequences:
  • Increased temperature.
  • Excess precipitation in some areas, droughts in others.
  • Extreme weather events.
  • Increased sea level.
• Adverse effects on:
  • Agricultural production.
  • Access to safe water.
  • Worker productivity.
  • Environmental refugees due to uninhabitable land.
• Adverse health effects:
  • Heat-related disorders.
  • Vector-borne diseases.
  • Foodborne and waterborne diseases.
  • Respiratory and allergic disorders.
  • Malnutrition.
  • Collective violence.
  • Mental health problems.
• Threats to human rights:
  • Civil and political rights.
  • Economic, social, and cultural rights.
  • Rights to life, access to safe food and water, health, security, shelter, and culture.
• Vulnerable populations:
  • Poor people.
  • Minority groups.
  • Women.
  • Children.
  • Older people.
  • People with chronic diseases and disabilities.
  • Residents in areas with high prevalence of climate-related diseases.
  • Workers exposed to extreme heat or weather variability.
• Global inequity: low-income countries produce the least GHGs but are most affected, with less adaptive capacity.
• Adaptation and mitigation measures must protect human rights and promote social justice.

Introduction

• Climate change is a defining moral issue of the 21st century.
• Environmental and health consequences disproportionately affect low-income countries and poor populations, impacting human rights and social justice.
• Climate change threatens rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
  • Right to security.
  • Right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, and social services.
• Threats to civil and political rights:
  • Right to life.
  • Rights related to culture, religion, and language as per the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
• Threats to economic, social, and cultural rights (International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights):
  • Right to self-determination.
  • Rights to determine political status and pursue economic, social, and cultural development.
  • Right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
  • Right to education.
• Threats to women's rights, especially in rural areas of developing countries (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women).
• National governments have a duty to protect human rights.
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) promotes international cooperation.
  • Parties should fully respect human rights in all climate change-related actions.
  • Human-rights considerations should guide climate policy development and implementation.
• Adverse environmental effects of climate change:
  • Increased temperature and heat waves.
  • Heavy precipitation events.
  • Intensity and duration of droughts.
  • Intense tropical cyclone activity.
  • Sea level rise.
• Other effects: shrinking glaciers, increased pollutants, changes in ecosystems.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses changes and human contributions.
• Adverse health consequences: heat-related disorders, vector-borne diseases, waterborne and foodborne diseases, respiratory and allergic disorders, malnutrition, violence, and mental health problems.

Disparities Among Countries

• Large inequalities exist in GHG emissions and adverse health consequences.
• Developing countries face the greatest impact.
• Countries with the least GHG emissions experience the most adverse health consequences.
• In 2004, per-capita GHG emissions:
  • United States, Canada, and Australia: approximately 6 metric tons (mt).
  • Japan and Western European countries: 2 to 5 mt.
  • Developing countries: approximately 0.6 mt, with many below 0.2 mt.
• Economic Impact on Poor Countries:
  • Economic growth in poor countries is seriously impaired.
  • “Business-as-usual” path may decrease poor countries’ mean annual growth rate from 3.2% to 2.6%.
  • Poor countries are more vulnerable due to:
    • Exposure to high temperatures.
    • Reliance on agriculture and natural resource extraction.
    • Limited access to air conditioning, insurance, and risk-management.
• Risk Factors:
  • Socioeconomic, demographic, health-related, and geographic factors increase vulnerability.
  • Poverty, minority status, female gender, young or old age, diseases, and disabilities.
  • Low-income populations at low latitudes are heavily concentrated with adverse health effects.

Disparities Among Population Subgroups

• Climate change disproportionately affects populations already suffering from human rights violations.
• Residents of low-income countries, low-income communities in high-income countries, minority groups, unemployed people, individuals with chronic diseases and disabilities, and people in unsafe environments.
• Women:
  • Disproportionately affected in low-income countries.
  • Primary responsibility for gathering water, food, and fuel.
  • Face challenges due to droughts, decreased agricultural production, and distant resources.
  • Increased risks of injury and rape while gathering resources.
  • Higher death rates from extreme weather events.
  • Pregnant women are more susceptible to vector-borne and waterborne diseases.
  • Fewer resources to deal with damage from extreme weather due to bias and discrimination.
• Children:
  • Adversely affected in numerous ways.
  • WHO: 88% of climate change-related disease burden affects children under 5 years old.
  • Increased malnutrition due to water and food shortages.
  • Less access to adequate education.
  • More vulnerable to extreme weather events.
  • Especially susceptible to vector-borne and waterborne diseases.
  • Climate-sensitive health outcomes, such as malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria, primarily affect children in developing countries.
  • Projected increases by 2030:
    • Diarrhea in developing countries: 8% to 9%.
    • Malnutrition in South-East Asian Region: 17%.
    • Mortality from coastal floods in WHO European Region: 630%.
    • Mortality from inland floods in WHO Region of the Americas: 800%.
    • Falciparum malaria in endemic African regions.
• Indigenous People:
  • Especially vulnerable due to close ties to the natural environment.
  • Environmental consequences affect physical and spiritual well-being.
  • Geographic factors influence vulnerability.
    • Inuit and Arctic peoples experience major consequences due to Arctic warming.
    • Settlements on low-lying deltas or floodplains at risk from sea level rise and flooding.
    • Mountain settlements dependent on snow pack are at high risk.
• Workers:
  • At increased risk in many occupations:
    • Outdoor workers in extreme heat.
    • Workers exposed to extremes of temperature or precipitation.
    • Workers exposed to air pollutants, infectious agents, wildfires, extreme weather events, and/or psychological stress.
    • Specific industries: utilities, transportation, emergency response, health care, environmental remediation, construction, demolition, landscaping, agriculture, forestry, wildlife management, heavy manufacturing, and warehouse work.

Environmental and Health Consequences Affecting Vulnerable Populations

• Heat Waves:
  • Increased frequency in recent years.
  • Cause heat-related disorders and exacerbate cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, and other chronic conditions.
  • Adverse consequences on work productivity and daily activities.
  • Vulnerable populations: older people, people living alone, urban populations, and those without air conditioning.
  • Geographic differences in mortality from heat waves in Europe.
• Extreme Weather Events:
  • Increased by climate change.
  • Cyclones or hurricanes, increased precipitation and flooding, and increased droughts.
  • Poor and marginalized people in flood plains and drought-prone areas are especially vulnerable.
  • Lack access to protective and preventive services and socioeconomic resilience.
  • The risk of being affected by weather-related natural disasters is approximately 80 times greater in developing countries than in developed countries.
  • Hurricane Katrina (2005) demonstrated the disproportionate impact on the poor.
    • Warmer water increased Katrina's power.
    • Most vulnerable populations suffered the most.
    • Charity hospitals' pleas for assistance were ignored.
    • Rich neighborhoods were able to evacuate, whereas poor people were trapped.
• Sea Level Rise:
  • Increased about 20 cm (8 inches) in the past 100 years.
  • Worsens coastal erosion, exacerbates storm surges, inundates low-lying areas, and causes salinization of coastal aquifers.
  • Threatens low-lying coastal nations like Bangladesh and island nations in the Pacific Ocean.
  • Creates millions of environmental refugees.
• Air Pollution:
  • Climate change increases chemical air pollutants such as ozone.
  • Respiratory disorders are likely to increase, especially among low-income and minority populations.
  • Increased allergenicity and distribution of pollen and aeroallergens due to carbon dioxide stimulating plant growth.
• Food Insecurity and Malnutrition:
  • Climate change adversely affects the ability to grow sufficient food.
  • Food and nutrition security worsen, especially for poor people in low-income countries.
  • Increased acute and chronic childhood undernutrition.
  • Increases in food prices resulting from climate change also adversely affect the nutritional status of children and other vulnerable populations.
• Vector-borne Diseases:
  • Climate change impacts the distribution and abundance of vectors and pathogens.
  • Major changes in patterns of vector-borne diseases, including malaria, Rift Valley fever, tick-borne encephalitis, and West Nile virus disease.
  • People in low-income countries and impoverished people in high-income countries are more vulnerable.
• Waterborne and Foodborne Diseases:
  • Affected by climate change in multiple ways.
  • Heavy rainfall and floods contaminate water supply systems, increasing gastrointestinal illness.
  • Droughts reduce safe drinking water availability.
  • Storm events overwhelm deteriorating sewer infrastructure.
• Collective Violence:
  • Climate change increases the global frequency of collective violence.
  • Strong evidence of a causal association between climate change and violence.
    • High temperature and extreme precipitation increase sociopolitical instability and conflict.
  • Scarcity of key environmental resources contributes to violent conflict.
  • Populations in low-income countries and poor people in mid- and high-income countries are more adversely affected.
  • Neighborhoods with higher levels of social disadvantage experience higher levels of violence due to unusually warm temperatures.
• Mental Health Problems:
  • Impacts include direct effects of extreme weather events, indirect vicarious impacts, and psychosocial impacts at the community and regional levels.
  • Disproportionately affect people of lower socioeconomic status.

Addressing Climate Change While Protecting Human Rights

• Mitigation (primary prevention): Measures to stabilize or reduce GHG production.
• Adaptation (secondary prevention): Measures to reduce the public health impact of climate change.
• The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change identified necessary policy responses.
• Human rights need consideration in mitigation and adaptation measures.
• International organizations and governments should ensure human rights are considered.
• Nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations need to hold governments accountable.
• Governments should develop monitoring systems to detect and respond to any human rights violations.
• Governments should coordinate multisectoral participation, focusing on protecting vulnerable populations.
• Governments should develop long-term strategies and programs to protect human rights threatened by climate change.
• Mitigation:
  • Necessary to attain health-protective solutions that will last.
  • Policies and technologies can stabilize or reduce GHG production.
  • Energy policies: promote renewable energy, decrease fossil fuel use, and reduce energy demand.
  • Transportation policies: promote active transport (walking and bicycling) and fuel-efficient vehicles.
  • Agriculture policies: decrease meat production and consumption, appropriate development of biofuels, and reduce methane emissions.
  • Increase GHG removal from atmosphere with carbon dioxide sinks and land-use policies.
  • Reducing population growth rates can play an important role.
  • Transportation policies that promote safe active transport can reduce GHG emissions and also increase physical activity, improve health status, and prevent cardiovascular diseases and other disorders.
• Biofuels and Food Price Shocks:
  • Mitigation measures can have unintended consequences that adversely affect vulnerable populations.
  • Using agricultural land for biofuels can decrease available land for growing food, increasing food prices.
  • Biofuel policy affects commodity prices of food grains.
  • Linked to food price shocks, which aggravate food insecurity.
  • Diverting food and feed to biofuel production substantially increased food prices globally.
  • In 2011, biofuels accounted for 20% to 40% of increases in food prices.
  • Ethanol and corn prices are closely linked; as the ethanol price increases by 1 cent per gallon, the corn price increases 4 cents per bushel.
  • The average US household spends a lower proportion of income on food than the average household in any other countrydonly 6% compared with up to 80% in the poorest households in low-income countries.
  • Poor people in urban areas are especially vulnerable to food price shocks because they purchase most of their food.
• Carbon Tax and Equity:
  • Increases in fuel prices disproportionately affect poor populations.
  • Many households are in “fuel poverty” (spending more than 10% of their income on fuel).
  • Reliance on cheaper energy sources, such as biomass fuel, produces high concentrations of harmful indoor air pollutants.
  • An estimated 2.4 billion people use biomass fuel for cooking, and an estimated 4.3 million people die annually from indoor pollution from stoves that are inefficient and/or unvented.
  • Time spent collecting wood or manure for fuel precludes spending time on education, especially for girls.
• Centralized Versus Distributed Electric Power:
  • Power outages are frequent in low-income countries, averaging more than 144 hours per month in about 17% of low-income countries.
  • Rural electrification is uncommon in the least-developed countries.
  • Providing electricity to such dispersed people using traditional electrification models based on central- ized power generation, transmission, and distribu- tion is impractical.
  • The “bottom-up and widely distributed” electrification paradigm using microgrid technology offers a practical and more equitable alternative.
• Bikeable Neighborhoods and Equity:
  • Equity issues arise when planning for more bikeable neighborhoods.
  • People with higher incomes are more likely to be regular bicyclists.
  • Wealthier communities have higher tax bases to support active transport.
  • Residents of high-income neighborhoods report more favorable esthetics, greater traffic safety, less crime, and more access to recreational facilities than residents of low-income neighborhoods.
  • Car ownership is lower among poor people and bicycling is an inexpensive and practical form of transport.
  • Roadways are generally less safe in poorer communities.
• Adaptation:
  • Measures designed to decrease the impact of climate change on public health and social systems.
  • Planning for extreme weather events can improve emergency responses and minimize morbidity and mortality.
  • Public health surveillance can lead to more effective control and prevention of disease.
  • Marginalized populations have increased burden of adverse health effects and decreased resources to adapt.
  • Climate change threatens to worsen existing socioeconomic and health inequalities.
• Adaptation and Human Rights:
  • One group’s adaptation measures should not create risks for other groups.
    • Waste heat from air conditioning can warm outdoor air, exacerbating urban heat exposure.
  • Populations vary in their capacity to adapt to an identical risk.
  • Different adaptation measures have different effects on human rights.
  • Ecological approach is better, for example planting mangroves for storm surge protection.
• Protecting Future Generations:
  • How much money should the current generation spend to mitigate climate change for future generations?
  • Is a life saved today worth more than a life saved in the future?
  • Should the health and well-being of future generations be discounted?
  • Assumptions about valuing future generations influence policy decisions.
    • Nicholas Stern uses a 1.4% discount rate.
    • William Nordhaus uses a 6% discount rate.

Conclusion

• The global climate crisis threatens most people and their human rights.
• The adverse consequences of climate change will worsen.
• Addressing climate change is a health and human rights priority, and action cannot be delayed.
• Mitigation and adaptation measures must be equitable, protecting and promoting human rights.