A/HRC/31/52 1. Obligations at the national level 68. At the national level, each State has an obligation to protect those within its jurisdiction from the harmful effects of climate change. This obligation is relatively straightforward with respect to the establishment and implementation of effective adaptation measures. States must adopt a legal and institutional framework that assists those within their jurisdiction to adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change. While States have some discretion as to which measures to adopt, taking into account their economic situation and other national priorities, they should ensure that the measures: result from a process that provides for informed public participation; take into account national and international standards; and are neither retrogressive nor discriminatory. Finally, once the standards are adopted, States should ensure that they are implemented. 69. Consistent with the obligation to respect the rights of information and participation, article 7 of the Paris Agreement acknowledges that “adaptation action should follow a country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent approach”. It calls on each party to engage in adaptation planning processes, including formulating and implementing national adaptation plans and building the resilience of socioeconomic and ecological systems. 70. While appropriate adaptation measures will vary from situation to situation, States should take into account relevant national and international standards, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.36 States may be expected to take measures more quickly with respect to threats that are imminent or life-threatening, such as typhoons and floods, than with respect to longer-term effects. UNEP identifies several measures that may be considered necessary to protect the rights to life and health from imminent threats, such as: establishing early warning systems and risk notification; improving physical infrastructure to reduce the risk of floods or other hazards; adopting emergency response plans; and providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in emergencies.37 71. With respect to mitigation, the situation is more complicated. Most countries do not emit greenhouse gases in quantities that cause, by themselves, appreciable effects on their own people or on those living in other countries. As a result, none of these States can hope to avoid the effects of climate change merely by reducing its own emissions. Although the emissions of larger countries may well have a discernible impact on the effects of climate change on their own people, no single State can, by itself, do more than delay those effects as long as the emissions of other States continue to increase. This does not mean that States have no obligations under human rights law to mitigate their own emissions,38 but it does suggest that to understand the nature of those obligations, it is helpful to look at the duty of international cooperation. 2. Obligations at the international level 72. As section II explains, climate change threatens the enjoyment of a vast range of human rights. While some of its impacts can be ameliorated through adaptation measures, 36 37 38 General Assembly resolution 69/283. UNEP report, p. 22. For a discussion of measures to address slow-onset disasters, see the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced persons (A/66/285, paras. 54-65). Moreover, States may have obligations to address climate change based on other sources, including domestic law. See, e.g., Ashgar Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan (Lahore High Court Green Bench, 2015); Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. Supreme Court, 2007); and Urgenda Foundation v. Kingdom of the Netherlands (District Court of The Hague, 2015). 17