Climate-related human rights harm and the right to effective remedy

The document asserts that climate change violates fundamental human rights, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups, and argues that international law mandates effective remedies, including reparations. It criticizes the UNFCCC's voluntary funding approach and the explicit exclusion of compensation in the Paris Agreement and the Loss and Damage Fund. The authors propose a human rights-based approach to loss and damage that includes restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and satisfaction, funded by the 'polluter pays' principle through mechanisms like windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies. It also emphasizes the need for universal social protection, debt cancellation for the Global South, and protections for climate-induced displaced persons.

• Climate change at an average warming of 1.1°C threatens numerous human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water, sanitation, education, and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, with disproportionate impacts on women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ individuals.
• Under international human rights law, victims of climate harm are entitled to effective remedies, which must include substantive redress in the form of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.
• The authors argue that the UNFCCC framework is insufficient because it relies on voluntary funding and explicitly excludes liability and compensation, which contradicts long-standing State obligations under international law.
• To fund loss and damage at the required scale, the document suggests applying the 'polluter pays' principle through innovative finance, such as windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies, levies on commercial air travel and private jets, and a Climate Damages Tax.
• The document highlights that climate finance provided as loans further indebts the Global South and is ill-suited for addressing irreversible losses; it advocates for grants-based public funding and debt cancellation.
• Existing international mechanisms, such as the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds), as well as Truth Commissions like Canada's TRC, provide foundational guidance for implementing climate reparations.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Climate-related human rights harm and the right to effective remedy. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CIEL_Amnesty-International_Submission_UNSG-report-on-Loss-and-Damage_March-2024.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Climate-related human rights harm and the right to effective remedy. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CIEL_Amnesty-International_Submission_UNSG-report-on-Loss-and-Damage_March-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Climate-related human rights harm and the right to effective remedy |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CIEL_Amnesty-International_Submission_UNSG-report-on-Loss-and-Damage_March-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndclimaterelated, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Climate-related human rights harm and the right to effective remedy}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CIEL_Amnesty-International_Submission_UNSG-report-on-Loss-and-Damage_March-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }