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In a groundbreaking step to address the climate emergency and its profound impact on human rights, Romina Picolotti of CHRE, Durwood Zaelke of IGSD and Prof. Dinah Shelton jointly submitted a supplementary brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Court’s advisory opinion proceedings. This brief advocates for the recognition of the human right to resilience, emphasizing its fundamental role in safeguarding the right to life amidst the escalating challenges arising from climate change.
Resilience is defined as the capacity to resist, adapt to and recover from the impacts of climate change while ensuring sustainable development and human well-being. This concept, rooted in international climate science and human rights frameworks, is proposed as an essential evolution of the right to life recognized in the American Convention on Human Rights.
The report stresses the urgent need for States to take effective mitigation, adaptation and restoration measures, ensuring that resilience is at the forefront of climate governance.
The report identifies and develops the content of three obligations linked to the human right to resilience:
- Obligation of States to implement effective mitigation strategies that ensure that the global temperature does not exceed the critical threshold of 1.5°C.
- Obligation of States to adopt effective adaptation measures, giving priority to vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by climate impacts.
- Obligation of States to restore key ecosystems to maintain global climate stability and human resilience, such as the Amazon, the Atlantic Meridional Reversal Circulation and glacial ecosystems, among others.
“This is a crucial moment to adapt human rights protection to the reality of the climate crisis,” said Romina Picolotti. “The human right to resilience is not just a legal framework, it is a moral imperative to ensure that present and future generations are prepared to survive and thrive in an increasingly uncertain world.”
The presentation draws on recent case law, such as La Oroya v. Peru, and international scientific consensus, including the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These underline the need for legal frameworks to reflect the urgency of the climate crisis and the vulnerabilities of frontline communities.
The report also highlights the role of due diligence, urging states to demonstrate compliance with resilience-building measures. In climate change-related litigation, the authors propose reversing the burden of proof, shifting it from the plaintiff to the defendant. This reversal implies that the alleged offender must prove that its activity did not cause either the alleged environmental damage or aggravate the climate emergency, thus facilitating the protection of the fragile stability in which the climate system finds itself and overcoming the evidentiary difficulties faced by victims.
For media inquiries, please contact Romina Picolotti at: [email protected]
Link to the amicus brief:
https://center-hre.org/wp-content/uploads/Resilience_supp_brief-FINAL-Nov-6th-2024-English.pdf