A/HRC/33/31 Annex II Key messages on human rights and climate change of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right 1. In order to foster policy coherence and help ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts are adequate, sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and otherwise compliant with human rights obligations, the following considerations should be reflected in all climate action. To mitigate climate change and to prevent its negative human rights impacts 2. States have an obligation to respect, protect, fulfil and promote all human rights for all persons without discrimination. Failure to take affirmative measures to prevent human rights harms caused by climate change, including foreseeable long-term harms, breaches this obligation. The fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms that climate change is caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Among other impacts, climate change negatively affects people’s rights to health, housing, water and food. These negative impacts will increase exponentially according to the degree of climate change that ultimately takes place and will disproportionately affect individuals, groups and peoples in vulnerable situations including, women, children, older persons, indigenous peoples, minorities, migrants, rural workers, persons with disabilities and the poor. Therefore, States must act to limit anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g. mitigate climate change), including through regulatory measures, in order to prevent to the greatest extent possible the current and future negative human rights impacts of climate change. To ensure that all persons have the necessary capacity to adapt to climate change 3. States must ensure that appropriate adaptation measures are taken to protect and fulfil the rights of all persons, particularly those most endangered by the negative impacts of climate change such as those living in vulnerable areas (e.g. small islands, riparian and low-lying coastal zones, arid regions and the poles). States must build adaptive capacities in vulnerable communities, including by recognizing the manner in which factors such as discrimination, and disparities in education and health affect climate vulnerability, and by devoting adequate resources to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of all persons, particularly those facing the greatest risks. To ensure accountability and effective remedy for human rights harms caused by climate change 4. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights instruments require States to guarantee effective remedies for human rights violations. Climate change and its impacts, including sea-level rise, extreme weather events and droughts have already inflicted human rights harms on millions of people. For States and communities on the frontline, survival itself is at stake. Those affected, now and in the future, must have access to meaningful remedies, including judicial and other redress mechanisms. The obligations of States in the context of climate change and other environmental harms extend to all rights holders and to harm that occurs both inside and beyond boundaries. States should be accountable to rights holders for their contributions to climate change, including for failure to adequately regulate the emissions of businesses under their jurisdiction, regardless of where such emissions or their harms actually occur. 16