Side event at COP20: Lima’s chance to protect human rights in climate actions

The document reports on a side event held during COP20 in Lima, where experts and community representatives argued that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) lacks sufficient social safeguards and sustainable development criteria. Presenters highlighted specific hydroelectric projects in Guatemala and Panama where the absence of free, prior, and informed consent led to human rights violations and loss of life. The event called for the integration of international human rights law into climate policies and the establishment of effective appeals procedures and procedural regulations to protect vulnerable communities and environmental defenders.

• United Nations Independent Expert John Knox argued that states have obligations under international human rights law to protect environmental defenders and the most vulnerable, noting that two environmental defenders die every week.
• The Santa Rita hydroelectric dam project in Guatemala, registered under the CDM in June 2014, was implemented without free, prior and informed consent, resulting in deaths, including two children, and the criminalization of community leaders.
• The Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam project in Panama is cited as another example of a CDM-related project approved despite improper environmental impact assessments and consultation procedures, affecting community access to food and water.
• The CDM's sustainable development criteria and social safeguard systems are described as weak, with the appeals procedure stalled in a deadlock for two years and postponed to 2016.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2014). Side event at COP20: Lima’s chance to protect human rights in climate actions. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lima’s-chance-to-protect-human-rights-in-climate-actions_side-event-report.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Side event at COP20: Lima’s chance to protect human rights in climate actions. 2014. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lima’s-chance-to-protect-human-rights-in-climate-actions_side-event-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Side event at COP20: Lima’s chance to protect human rights in climate actions |date=10 December 2014 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lima’s-chance-to-protect-human-rights-in-climate-actions_side-event-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatch2014side, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Side event at COP20: Lima’s chance to protect human rights in climate actions}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lima’s-chance-to-protect-human-rights-in-climate-actions_side-event-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }