These resources explore the intersection between climate change and human rights. The papers listed here are meant to be a general guide for those looking to learn more about recent scholarship, research, political strategies, and legal solutions for more comprehensively integrating the social and human dimensions of climate change in climate discourse, narrative, law, and policy. The articles are arranged in no particular order.
“Key Points on Climate Justice,” Working Paper of the Global Humanitarian Forum, with forward by Three Degrees keynote speaker, Mary Robinson.
“Cumulative Impacts: Death-Knell For Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Decisions,” by Three Degrees Panelist Joe Guth. Published in Barry Law Review, Vol.11, pp. 23-57, (Fall 2008 issue, published in July 2009), copy downloadable from the Science and Environmental Health Network. Shorter summaries also available from ”Rachel’s Democracy & Health News # 999 (Feb. 19, 2009) and Precaution Reporter #183 (Feb. 25, 2009), both available here.
“In Search of Shelter: Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human Migration and Displacement,” co-published by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, CARE International, and Center for International Earth Science Information Network at the Earth Institute of Columbia University.
Programme of the 2009 Forum on the Human Impact of Climate Change, held by the World Humanitarian Forum, and chaired by Kofi Annan.
Read Henry Shue’s contribution to the “Technical Briefing” on historical responsibility in Bonn.
The Copenhagen “Agreed Outcome” Negotiating Text, published online by the UNFCCC.
The Right to Survival: The Humanitarian Challenge for the Twenty First Century, published by Oxfam.
The Age of Consequences: The Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Global Climate Change, co-published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies and the Center for a New American Security.
Adaptation to Climate Change: International Policy Options, published by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
Recalibrating the Law of Humans with the Laws of Nature: Climate Change, Human Rights, and Intergenerational Justice, published by The Climate Legacy Initiative (CLI). CLI is a collaborative project of the Environmental Law Center of Vermont Law School and The University of Iowa’s Center for Human Rights. The article features scholarship on the rights of future generations by two Three Degrees participants, Carolyn Raffensperger and Joe Guth.
Climate Change, the United States, and the Impacts of Arctic Melting: A Case Study in the Need for Enforceable International Environmental Human Rights, by Randall S. Abate, published in Stanford Environmental Law Journal and used here by the author’s permission.
Sea Level Rise Effects on Maritime Boundaries, by A.H.A. Soons, published by NILR in 1990. Although the article may seem old (1990), it is still applicable and demonstrates that some of the present concerns have been voiced already many years ago. Article used by permission.
Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice: Foundational Reflections, by Burns H. Weston, published in Vermont Journal of Environmental Law.
The Human Face of Climate Change: A November 2007 report by Christian Aid.
Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World, published for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Climate Change: Where’s the Justice, posted by Dr. James Garvey on Environmental Research Web.
Climate Change and Human Rights: A Rough Guide, published by the International Council on Human Rights Policy.
Climate Wrongs and Human Rights, a recent publication by Oxfam International.
