Advancing Climate Justice in National Climate Actions: The Promise and Limitations of the United Nations Human Rights-Based Approach

• Author: Damilola S. Olawuyi
• Pages: 3-24

3

Advancing Climate Justice in

National Climate Actions:

The Promise and Limitations

of the United Nations Human

Rights-Based Approach

Damilola S. Olawuyi

Introduction .....................................................................................................3

I. e United Nations Human Rights-Based Approach ............................... 7

II. Implementing the HRBA at National Levels: Practical Barriers and

Limitations ............................................................................................. 12

A. Absence or Inadequacy of Climate Change Laws ..............................12

B. Restrictive Property Regimes ............................................................15

C. Limited Implementation Capacity .................................................... 18

D. Limited Resources ............................................................................ 20

Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 23

Introduction

One of the contemporary issues in climate justice debates is the need to

anticipate, prevent, a nd address the potential infringement of fundamenta l

human rights by projects underta ken to combat climate change.1 Climate

change mitigation measures, particularly Clean Development Mechanism

(CDM) and Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degrada-

tion in Developing Countries (REDD+) projects, have recently been linked

with human rights violations, land grabs, forced displacements, marginal-human rights violations, land grabs, forced displacements, marginal-land grabs, forced displacements, marginal-displacements, marginal-

ization, exclusions, and governmental repressions in developing countries.2

1. For detailed discussions of these debates, see D O, T H R-B A-

  C F 1–15 (2016); see also Damilola Olawuyi, Climate Justice and Corporate

Responsibility: Taking Human Rights Seriously in Climate Actions and Projects, 34 J. E  N.

R L. 1 (2016).

2. Scientic studies show that deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion,

conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, and res account for

Chapter 1

4 Climate Justice

e gaps and the high incidence of human rights violations resulting from

CDM projects have increased the calls for a more transparent, accountable,

and human rights-based approach to climate change mitigation.3 Emerging

debates on climate justice, therefore, recognize the growing indirect impacts

that climate change mitigation and adaptation eorts have on human rights

and examine how international law could provide legal frameworks to

address these impacts.

is expansive view of climate justice is well captured by the 2014 Report

of the International Bar A ssociation (IBA), which denes climate justice as

a process that seeks:

To ensure communities, individuals and governments have substantive le gal

and procedura l rights relating to the enjoyment of a sa fe, clean, healthy a nd

sustainable environment and the mean s to ta ke or cau se mea sures to be taken

within their national legislative and judicia l systems and, where necessa ry, at

regional and international levels, to m iti gate sources of climate cha nge and

provide for adaptation to its eects in a man ner that respects human rights.4

e IBA report emphasizes the ongoing search for legal and governance

frameworks that will ensure that the global climate change conundrum is

addressed in a manner that respects human rights.

e need to incorporate huma n rights considerations has also been

addressed in international climate change negotiations under the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For exam-

ple, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21) in Paris

recognized, in the Paris Agreement, that Parties should, “when taking action

nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector

and second only to the energy sector. e United Nations therefore recommends actions aimed at

reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, sustainable management of forests and

conservation, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). e Bali Action Plan identied

REDD+ as a prominent potential emission mitigation strategy. See Report of the Conference of the Par-

ties on Its irteenth Session, Held in Bali From 3 to 15 December 2017—Addendum, Part Two: Action

Taken by the Conference of the Parties at Its irteenth Session, Decisions Adopted by the Conference of the

Parties, UNFCCC, 13th Sess., Decision 2/CP.13–Decision 4/CP.13, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2010/7/

Add.1 (2010); see also A A  ., R E F D 

F D: A O A R (2009), http://www.redd-oar.org/links/

REDD-OAR_en.pdf.

3. See Olawuyi, Climate Justice and Corporate Responsibility, supra note 1; see also U N

E P (UNEP), C C  H R 9–10 (2015); Naomi

Roht-Arriaza, Human Rights in the Climate Change Regime, 1 J. H. R.  E’ 211 (2010)

(identifying areas where current climate change regimes may cause human rights violations in local

communities, including projects under the CDM, large hydropower and biomass projects, use of

biofuels, choices on energy and adaptation, and REDD+ projects).

4. I B A, A J  H R   E  C

D (2014) (emphasis added), http://www.ibanet.org/PresidentialTaskForceClimateChange-

Justice2014Report.aspx.