A Human Rights-based Approach to Climate Finance

The document advocates for a human rights-based approach to climate finance to prevent social and environmental harm and promote sustainable development. It evaluates the Global Environment Facility (GEF), REDD+ initiatives, and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), finding that while some have integrated safeguards, others lack transparency and accountability. The report concludes with detailed recommendations for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), emphasizing the need for international safeguard policies, robust monitoring systems, a formal grievance mechanism, and meaningful civil society participation.

• A human rights-based approach to climate finance is a conceptual framework that uses international human rights standards to analyze obligations, inequalities, and vulnerabilities, aiming to redress discriminatory practices and unjust power distributions that hinder sustainable low-carbon development.
• The report identifies several guiding principles for climate finance: consistency with international human rights obligations, a 'do no harm' approach to prevent unacceptable harm to communities or ecosystems, transparency and accountability, public participation in decision-making, and equity and non-discrimination.

APA

Johl, A., & Lador, Y. (2012). A Human Rights-based Approach to Climate Finance. Center for International Environmental Law. https://ciel.org/Publications/ClimateFinance_Feb2012.pdf

Chicago

Johl, Alyssa, and Yves Lador. A Human Rights-based Approach to Climate Finance. Center for International Environmental Law, 2012. https://ciel.org/Publications/ClimateFinance_Feb2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Johl |first1=Alyssa |last2=Lador |first2=Yves |title=A Human Rights-based Approach to Climate Finance |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=February 2012 |url=https://ciel.org/Publications/ClimateFinance_Feb2012.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{johl2012human, author = {Johl, Alyssa and Lador, Yves}, title = {{A Human Rights-based Approach to Climate Finance}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://ciel.org/Publications/ClimateFinance_Feb2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }