CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

The document explores the intersection of climate change and the right to development (RTD), arguing that RTD is not a 'right to pollute' but a framework for a 'technological leap' toward non-carbon development. It emphasizes that industrialized countries bear the responsibility for providing financial and technological support to developing nations. The author advocates for development models integrated with biological cycles, such as agroecology, and critiques carbon-based industrial models like the American Corn Belt. The briefing also evaluates the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under RTD criteria, finding uneven benefit distribution and a lack of human rights considerations. Finally, it positions RTD as a 'moral compass' for the transition to a green economy, referencing the Rio+20 process and the Cancun outcomes of the UNFCCC.

• Climate change is described as a systematic denial of fundamental human rights, with the World Bank estimating that a 2°C increase could drive 100 to 400 million people into hunger and leave one to two billion people without sufficient clean water.
• The right to development (RTD) should be understood as a catalyst for a 'technological leap' to bypass the environmental damage of industrialization, rather than a 'right to pollute' that justifies fossil-fuel based energy policies.
• Industrialized nations have a moral and financial obligation to support the developing world's transition to non-carbon development due to their historical responsibility for the climate crisis.
• Current industrial agricultural models, exemplified by the American Corn Belt, are criticized for decoupling biology from agriculture through fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and GMOs, contributing to climate change and creating 'dead zones' like the apoxia of the Gulf of Mexico.
• Agroecology is presented as a viable alternative development path that enhances food system sustainability and resilience to climate-induced droughts, pests, and weeds by recycling nutrients and diversifying species.
• An evaluation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under RTD criteria revealed that benefits are distributed unevenly among developing countries, environmental integrity is questionable, and human rights are not factored into sustainable development determinations.
• The RTD provides a necessary 'moral compass' for the transition to a green economy, emphasizing a participatory and accountable process where the environment is viewed as the infrastructure of society rather than a mere economic input.

APA

Orellana, M. A. (2011). CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CC_RightDev_Feb11.pdf

Chicago

Orellana, Marcos A. CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT. Center for International Environmental Law, 2011. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CC_RightDev_Feb11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orellana |first1=Marcos A |title=CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=24 February 2011 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CC_RightDev_Feb11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orellana2011climate, author = {Orellana, Marcos A}, title = {{CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CC_RightDev_Feb11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }