The impact of climate change on the enjoyment of the right to health

Overview

In Article 4(f), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change commits to adaptation and mitigation considerations and actions "with a view to minimizing adverse effects [of climate change] … on public health and on the quality of the environment". Expanding on this, the Preamble to the Paris Agreement states that "parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on […] the right to health".

How does climate change affect health?

Climate change impacts health in a number of ways: directly, through extreme weather or changes in temperature; and indirectly through changes to natural systems that result in crop failures, expanding disease vectors, and displacement of persons. These mechanisms contribute to human vulnerability to disease and injury, diminished occupational and mental health, and risks posed by resource scarcity and migration.

According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, climate change will result in greater risk of injury, disease, and death due to increased heat and fire; higher risk of undernutrition due to decreased food availability and accessibility; lowered work capacity and productivity; and greater risk of food-, water- and vector-borne diseases. Globally, 400,000 premature deaths have been linked to climate change (DARA, 2012) and approximately 250,000 additional deaths due to climate change effects are expected per year between 2030 and 2050 (WHO, 2014). 

Activities, events and reports

Analytical study on the impact of climate change on the right to health

In preparing this study, OHCHR requested inputs from relevant stakeholders to a questionnaire on climate and health. These were summarized in a conference room paper for the panel discussion on 3 March 2016. Based on the panel discussion and inputs received, OHCHR submitted its analytical study to the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council.

• Questionnaire in English and French
• Informal summary of inputs received
• Inputs received in the original language
• Analytical study on the relationship between climate change and the human right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (A/HRC/32/23)
• One-page summary of the study

The right to health and the Nairobi Work Programme: input to the UNFCCC

This submission highlights the normative basis and recommendations for protecting the right to health from the negative impacts of climate change in the context of the Nairobi Work Programme.

• OHCHR's response to the UNFCCC Secretariat request for submissions on the Nairobi Work Programme on the questions of impact, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change: health impacts, including occupational health, safety and social protection, FCCC/SBSTA/2016/2, para 15(a) (i), August 29, 2016.

Human Rights Council panel discussion on the impact of climate change on the right to health

Pursuant to resolution 29/15, OHCHR organized a panel discussion on the impacts of climate change on the right to health during the 31st session of the Human Rights Council. The panel discussion was moderated by H.E. Mr. Trung Thanh Nguyen, Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

• Concept note: Human Rights Council panel discussion on climate change and the right to health
• Opening Statement by Ms. Kate Gilmore, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Keynote Address by Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization
• Summary report: Outcome of the panel discussion, submitted to the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council, A/HRC/32/24

Statements by panellists

• Mr. Dainius Pûras, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
• Dr. Lilibeth C. David, Undersecretary, Department of Health, Philippines
• Ms. Cristina Tirado, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of California Los Angeles, Chair of the International Union for Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) task force for Climate and Nutrition
• Ms. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad

Inputs received for the Analytical Study on the Impacts of Climate Change on the Right to Health

States

• Azerbaijan
• Cuba
• El Salvador
• Gabon
• Georgia
• Greece
• Honduras
• Jordan
• Mexico
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Peru
• Saudi Arabia
• Slovenia
• United States of America

United Nations

• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• World Health Organization

Intergovernmental organizations

• International Organization for Migration (IOM)

National human rights institutions

• Colombia - Defensoría del Pueblo
• Croatia - Ombudsman
• Ecuador - Defensoría del Pueblo
• French National Human Rights Commission (CNCDH-NHRI)
• National Human Rights Commission of Mexico (CNDH)
• New Zealand Human Rights Commission
• Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance
• Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) - Defensoría del Pueblo

Non-governmental organizations

• Centre de Lecture et Animation Culturelle
• Fondation Kalipa pour le Développement
• Human Rights Watch
• International Baby Food Action Network
• International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations
• International Indian Treaty Council
• International-Lawyers.Org
• New Zealand Climate and Health Council
• Southwest Native Cultures
• Universal Rights Group
• WaterLex

Academic institution

• The Lancet Commission
• University of Groningen