Human Rights Accountability of Climate Action

The policy brief highlights how climate mitigation actions under the UNFCCC can infringe on human rights, citing the Sasan coal power project as a case study of forced displacement and pollution. It calls for the Paris agreement to explicitly commit parties to human rights obligations and establish a robust institutional safeguard system, including grievance and monitoring mechanisms, to manage the risks associated with increasing climate finance flows from 2020 onwards.

• Certain climate mitigation actions implemented under the UNFCCC have caused environmental and human rights harms, including infringements on rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing, and culture.
• The Sasan coal power project (CDM project number 3690) resulted in the forced displacement of local populations through the demolition of houses and personal belongings without permission, inadequate compensation, and water pollution from fly ash that poisoned harvests and increased diseases.
• There is a policy gap in protecting human rights across climate actions due to a lack of harmonised guidance, leading to fragmented criteria and heterogeneous approaches to sustainable development, community consultation, and redress mechanisms.
• The author recommends that the Paris agreement include a commitment in Article 2 to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights obligations and establish an institutional safeguard system under Article 3ter, comprising a safeguard system, a monitoring system, and a robust grievance mechanism.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2015). Human Rights Accountability of Climate Action. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/All-climate-action-must-be-in-line-with-HR_WEB_final.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Human Rights Accountability of Climate Action. 2015. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/All-climate-action-must-be-in-line-with-HR_WEB_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Human Rights Accountability of Climate Action |date=November 2015 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/All-climate-action-must-be-in-line-with-HR_WEB_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatch2015human, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Human Rights Accountability of Climate Action}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/All-climate-action-must-be-in-line-with-HR_WEB_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }