Mira Lulić, Davor Muhvić, Ivana Rešetar Čulo

CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Introduction

Climate change and human rights. Climate change profoundly affects human rights, impacting health, food, and migration. This paper analyzes international legal frameworks, treaties, and human rights bodies' judicial responses.

Abstract

Climate change in recent decades has increasingly affected various aspects of human life. Rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions such as heat waves and heavy rains, resulting in drought, forest fires and floods, lead to complex socioeconomic consequences and threats to fundamental human rights. Sea level rise due to climate change directly affects coastal and island states and indirectly almost all states in the world. Climate change affects human health, the availability of resources (especially drinking water and food) and, consequently, migration. These changes particularly affect poor and vulnerable groups due to their reduced ability to adapt to new circumstances. Climate change threatens the right to life, the right to adequate food and water, the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to adequate housing, the right to cultural identity, etc. The problems and challenges caused by climate change have led to the adoption of international treaties that regulate this matter, such as the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement. Due to the significant impact of climate change on the respect for human rights, but also due to the lack of effective international legal mechanisms of international treaties relating to climate change, individual complaints are increasingly being filed before international human rights treaty bodies. This includes UN human rights treaty bodies such as the Committee on Human Rights, as well as regional bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The paper provides an overview of the relevant international legal framework and (quasi)judicial practice in the area of climate change impact on human rights. The authors place a special emphasis on the advisory proceedings before various international courts and relevant case law of the human rights treaty bodies.

Review

The paper "CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS" addresses a critically important and increasingly urgent interdisciplinary topic at the nexus of environmental science, international law, and human rights. The abstract clearly articulates the profound and multifaceted impacts of climate change – from rising sea levels and extreme weather to resource scarcity and migration – on various aspects of human life. It effectively highlights how these environmental shifts directly threaten fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, food, water, health, housing, and cultural identity, with a particularly concerning emphasis on the disproportionate vulnerability of poor and marginalized communities. This foundational overview sets a strong context for the subsequent legal analysis. A significant strength outlined in the abstract is the paper's intention to provide a comprehensive overview of the relevant international legal framework and its application. It correctly identifies key international climate agreements such as the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement as foundational, while also recognizing their limitations in effective enforcement. Crucially, the abstract promises a detailed examination of the burgeoning area of individual complaints filed before international human rights treaty bodies, including UN committees and regional courts like the ECHR and IACtHR. The stated special emphasis on advisory proceedings and relevant case law indicates a sophisticated engagement with evolving (quasi)judicial practice, offering valuable insights into how human rights mechanisms are being leveraged to address climate-related harms. This paper promises to be an invaluable resource for scholars, legal practitioners, and policymakers navigating the complex intersection of climate change and human rights. By systematically reviewing both the overarching international climate law framework and the specific mechanisms of human rights protection in judicial and quasi-judicial contexts, it contributes significantly to understanding the current state of international law in this field. The focus on practical application through case law and advisory opinions suggests a highly relevant and timely contribution that could inform future legal strategies, advocacy efforts, and policy development aimed at strengthening accountability and protecting human rights in the face of the ongoing climate crisis.

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