A/HRC/43/53/Add.1 39. The Special Rapporteur was unable to identify any Fijian court decisions relying on or referring to the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment. The constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment has not yet been incorporated into any of the national environmental laws to emphasize this right as a fundamental principle. Although the right is directly enforceable under section 44 of the Constitution, which gives the High Court original jurisdiction to hear applications of actual or anticipated breaches of the Bill of Rights, and under the High Court Constitutional Redress Rules of 2015, this is an important step for Fiji to take. Based on the experiences of many other jurisdictions, incorporating the right to a clean and healthy environment into environmental legislation would contribute to stronger, more sustainable administrative decisions, increase public participation in environmental decision-making, and bolster the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and standards. 40. Courts in Fiji have made numerous decisions in environmental cases. In a highprofile case in 2019, the Department of Environment issued stop-work orders against a resort and casino being built on Malolo Island. Eventually a court intervened and the unlawful project was halted. D. A safe climate 41. Among the six substantive elements of the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, a safe climate is of paramount importance to Fiji. Along with other small island developing States, Fiji is acutely vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, from rising sea levels to the increasing intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones. Fiji is rated as “highly vulnerable” on the environmental vulnerability index (comprised of 50 indicators). Modelling done by the World Bank in preparing the climate vulnerability assessment of Fiji indicated that climate-related disasters, mainly floods and cyclones, would cost the equivalent of 5 per cent of GDP annually and push approximately 25,000 people into poverty each year, unless effective adaptation measures were put in place. 42. Climate change is an urgent challenge that Fiji must confront, yet other States are responsible for causing the problem. Per capita carbon dioxide emissions in Fiji are only 1.4 tons per year, compared to 8 tons in China and 16 tons in the United States. The sectors responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions of Fiji are energy and transport (59 per cent), agriculture (22 per cent), forestry (15 per cent) and waste (4 per cent). 43. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur heard about the extensive damage already inflicted on Fiji by flooding, droughts, rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion and salinization, and the devastating Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016, which is widely viewed as a sign of more frequent and intense storms in the future. Annual average temperatures and sea levels have increased each decade in Fiji, and the sea level is projected to rise 7–17 centimetres by 2030. In the agriculture sector, social and economic impacts include crop losses, reduced food production capacity and higher demand for imported staples. Over the longer term, ocean acidification is also a major concern. Climate change amplifies the risks of natural disasters to which Fiji has always been exposed, including floods and extreme weather events. These climate change-related impacts are wreaking havoc on Fijian farms, forests, fisheries, infrastructure and communities, and in doing so they are violating the rights to life, health, food, water, sanitation, housing, and a clean and healthy environment. 44. Tropical Cyclone Evan hit Fiji in 2012. In 2016, Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji hard. It was the strongest recorded storm to ever reach landfall in the southern hemisphere, with wind gusts exceeding 300 kilometres per hour. The cyclone caused 44 deaths, destroyed and damaged many homes, impacted 540,000 people (60 per cent of the population of Fiji), and cost between US$ 1.0–1.4 billion, or one quarter of annual GDP. In a testament to disaster preparedness in Fiji, early warnings reduced human losses and key infrastructure was quickly repaired. To assist residents in recovering, the Government’s response also quickly scaled up existing social protection programmes, including the Poverty Benefit Scheme, the Care and Protection Allowance and the Social Pension Scheme. 45. Fiji has been one of the world’s most powerful voices in calling for urgent action to address the terrible toll that climate change is inflicting on human health, human rights and well-being. As stated above, Fiji was the first country to ratify the Paris Agreement. Fiji 9