Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights synthesizes the 2022 activities of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) regarding climate change. It details the CRC's review of State reporting, its focus on mitigation and adaptation, and the development of General Comment No. 26 on children's rights and the environment.

• In 2022, the CRC integrated climate change into twenty-five out of thirty-three State review processes, utilizing Concluding Observations (COBs), Lists of Issues (LOIs), or Lists of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPRs). The Committee addressed climate change more frequently in reviews of developed States than in those of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), and other developing countries.
• The CRC emphasized the need for States to mitigate climate change and hold private actors accountable for environmental harm, particularly those involved in fossil fuel production. Specific recommendations included urging Germany to make its emission reduction plans more ambitious and calling on Canada and the Netherlands to establish regulatory frameworks to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries regarding fossil fuel extraction.
• The CRC highlighted extraterritorial obligations (ETOs) in three Concluding Observations, recommending that Germany, Canada, and Greece take measures to protect children's rights from environmental impacts both domestically and abroad. Additionally, the Committee recommended that the Philippines implement findings from the "Carbon Majors" inquiry concerning the responsibility of the forty-seven largest fossil fuel and cement companies for climate-induced harms.
• The CRC is developing General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a draft issued in December 2022. The draft links the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment to the rights to life, survival, development, health, an adequate standard of living, and education. It explicitly calls for States to phase out coal, oil, and natural gas in favor of renewable energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2023). Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CRC-Synthesis-of-Statements-on-Climate-Change-2023.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change. 2023. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CRC-Synthesis-of-Statements-on-Climate-Change-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change |date=2023 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CRC-Synthesis-of-Statements-on-Climate-Change-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2023committee, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2023}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CRC-Synthesis-of-Statements-on-Climate-Change-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }