315— Climate Change and Human Rights

A robust and persuasive framework to addressing climate change is needed in order to spur action and improve the strength of the response. A human rights-based approach, acknowledging the danger of climate change and the ability of a human rights framing to address it, is the framework necessary to solve this crisis. Human rights must be a part of every international and intergovernmental treaty and response to climate change, and human rights based goals need to be central to the response. The purpose of this presentation is to argue that a human right approach is the clearest path to mitigating climate change’s negative impacts and guaranteeing human rights for all those at risk of climate related hazards. This project explores the impacts of climate change on human rights, and how a human rights-based approach can mitigate these impacts. I will explore case studies from developing countries and conduct an in depth examination of human rights language in the Paris Climate Accords.