Ian Fry, Australian National University Professor and former Tuvalu ambassador for Climate Change for more than 21 years, was appointed by the UN in May Dong Nhan Quyen Associationas the first Special Rapporteur on climate, following the overwhelming vote to recognize the Right to a Clean Environment, in 2021.
“Human-induced climate change is the single largest, most pervasive threat to the natural and social environment the world has ever experienced, and the poorest countries are paying the heaviest price,” said Dr. told delegates.
Mr. Fry highlighted the “huge injustice” perpetrated by rich countries and large corporations, which fail to act to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and as a result the poorest and least able to cope.
“G20 members accounted for 78 percent of emissions over the past decade,” he said.
The Special Rapporteur sat down with UN News before delivering his reportwhich focuses on three areas: mitigation action, loss and damage, access and inclusion, and protection of climate rights defenders.
He talked about what he hopes the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference in Egypt (COP27) will achieve, addressing some of the climate action challenges in the war in Ukraine, and sharing some recommendations. recommendations he made to member states, including a call for a High-Level Forum to be held next year.
Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, sat down for an interview with UN News.
UN NEWS: Could you please explain what was the focus of your first report to the General Assembly?
IAN FRY: The main issues are those coming up at the COP in Egypt.
First, the surrounding issues improve action on mitigation for countries to commit to more action. We know that still isn’t doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so I wanted to draw attention to that and consider the human rights impacts of not doing enough on climate change.
The next problem is exactly the result of that and I’m looking into it loss and damage problem. These are the enormous impacts that countries are suffering as a result of climate change and the enormous costs to be incurred. So far, there have been discussions around setting up a Loss and Damage Fundbut that’s happening very slowly, so I’m hoping to build more momentum to work on getting that fund agreed up and up and running.
The final problem is around reach and include. This is helping those most affected by climate change to have a voice in climate change meetings. These are women, children, young people, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, all groups at the forefront of climate change impacts and human rights. We need to find ways to get them involved in climate change.
UN NEWS: What is the link between human rights and the problems we see related to climate action
If we think about the floods in Nigeria and Pakistan, and the severe drought that is happening in Somalia right now, people’s human rights are being affected as a result of climate change.
These are the millions of people around the world whose basic human rights are being affected. So we have to make that connection, We have to deal with climate change.
On September 3, 2022, four-year-old Rahim stands on the rubble of a house destroyed by floods in Pakistan.
UN NEWS: During the last UN Climate Conference, to be held in Glasgow in 2021, member states signed a declaration completing negotiations on the surviving provisions of the Paris Agreement. What do you expect countries to speak about at the upcoming COP in Egypt?
Well, there are some problems on the table. We are leading to what is called Global Stocks [in 2023]here is a review of the implementation Paris Agreement. So there are procedures involved in establishing this review process.
I think the issue of crisis will revolve around this whole loss and damage debate. We have seen opposition from several key countries around resolving the issue, but developing countries have unanimously said that “we want loss and damage on the agenda” And so does civil society.
UN NEWS: And what are the challenges associated with loss and damage?
Well, there are big developed countries that are quite interested in that and look at it in terms of what polluters pay. Currently, the countries most affected by climate change and bearing the costs are having to deal with those costs themselves.
I was recently in Bangladesh and witnessed the effects of climate change firsthand. And it’s not fair for countries like Bangladesh to have to deal with the costs of climate change on their own, which are not of their own making. So the most vulnerable countries produce the least emissions, but they are paying the price in terms of damage from climate change.
So it’s time for the big countries, the big emitters, to stand up and say, ‘we have to do something, we have to contribute to these vulnerable countries’.
Villagers in Pakistan’s Khairpur Mirs district in Sindh province cross floodplains to reach their homes.
UN NEWS: What would be the best outcome of this COP for you?
I made some recommendations in my report. One of them is to begin the process of setting up this Loss and Damage Fund.
We must also have a process in place to ensure greater participation, especially for civil society groups, youth and women, and expand the COP to give these groups a better voice.
I also want to see the revised version of Gender action plan since it’s quite old, it’s not well developed. We know that there are important issues regarding the impact of climate change on women and young people, and those issues need to be addressed and included in the Agenda and Action Plan to be developed. to solve those problems.
There are many other problems that I am looking at to solve. For example, the problem of incremental reduction. I am trying to suggest that the parties should call on the United Nations Secretary-General to hold a special summit next year to strengthen their commitment to reducing emissions.
So hopefully that will happen too.
Aerial view of N’djamena after heavy rain in August 2022.
UN NEWS: Since The right to a healthy environment has been declared a Universal Human Rights, do you see countries making any changes?
I think countries are starting to see how they can deploy solve that. There is certainly dialogue within the nations.
I know The European Union is discussing how to include that resolution in their national legislation, in the constitutions. And I think the regional bodies are looking at that as well to develop the regional agreements that make that resolution.
UN NEWS: Do you think the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees can be maintained at this point?
Well, that’s a challenge. We don’t see that with the present Nationally Determined Contributions and the types of commitments that countries have made.
To be take the path towards two to three degrees Cso more action is needed for countries to reduce their emissions.
The complexity, of course, is Ukraine War, where we are seeing countries having to find old sources of fossil fuel energy to replace what they have been deprived of, as a result of war. So that’s the problem, and it’s also a distraction.
However, there is a good side to it, I think countries are also saying that they need to be self-sufficient in energy and the cheapest way to do that is to use renewable energy.
And we see Portugal moving towards 100% renewable energy, we know Denmark is doing that too, and I think that will push other countries to see the need to be renewable and self-sufficient. energy for them.
