Climate Crisis Threatens the Right to Food says UN Human Right Chief

Last updated on July 7th, 2023 at 06:01 am

The UN human rights chief warned on Monday, July 3rd, that the effects of the climate crisis are threatening the right to food.

In 2021, 828 million people were hungry. Volker Türk said at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council that the crisis could put up to 80 million more people in danger by the middle of this century.

The right to food is the subject of our discussion this morning, and it is obvious that climate change seriously jeopardizes this right. Crops, herds, fisheries, and entire ecosystems are destroyed by extreme weather conditions and sudden and gradual disasters brought on by climate change. It is impossible for communities to recover and sustain themselves as a result of their repeated occurrence.

In 2015, the leaders of the world promised, among other things, to make it easier for the world to deal with the threat of a climate crisis.

But developed countries have not kept their financial promises. In the fight to make the effects of the crisis less bad, small polluters in the least developed countries have to pay an extra price.

These are typically nations that did not benefit significantly from industrialization and did not make a significant contribution to the industrial processes that harm our environment and violate our rights. What is the issue with human rights if this?

Volker Türk said in Geneva that subsidies to the fossil fuel industry need to stop if the next generation is to have a future that can be lived in.  

He added that, among other things, “COP28 must be the decisive game-changer we need so badly.”  He said in his speech that if a 7-point plan was carried out, “a just transition to a green economy – nationally and globally” could then “take place.”

Conclusion-

Human rights are seriously threatened by the climate crisis, so immediate action is required. If we are to safeguard the planet and the future of humanity, we must reduce our emissions and move towards cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. In order to effect meaningful change, this necessitates cooperation between governments, corporations, non-profit organizations, individuals, and other stakeholders. We must wake up to the truth of this situation, and only then can we start to address the threats that climate change poses to our shared human rights.