A/HRC/35/13 recommendation on gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in a changing climate,75 while the Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued, on several occasions, concluding observations including observations and recommendations on climate change. 76 In 2015, the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions issued the St. Julian’s Declaration on Climate Justice, in which the institutions committed to, inter alia, “promote the principle of equality and non-discrimination in climate action, including the rights of children”. The Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, whose forthcoming report will focus on children, and other special procedure mandate holders have focused on the impacts of climate change on human rights in their reporting.77 Finally, specific recommendations related to climate change and its impacts on the rights of the child have been issued on several occasions in the context of the universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council.78 V. Conclusions and recommendations 49. The conclusions and recommendations below are derived from the various elements that have informed the present study. A. Conclusions 50. The negative impacts of climate change, including the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, changing precipitation patterns, food and water shortages, and the increased transmission of communicable diseases, threaten the enjoyment by children of their rights to health, life, food, water and sanitation, education, housing, culture and development, among others. Climate change heightens existing social and economic inequalities, intensifies poverty and reverses progress towards improvement in children’s well-being. All children are exceptionally vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, with the youngest children being most at risk. 51. Climate change has a disproportionate impact on some children, including children with disabilities, children on the move, poor children, children separated from their families and indigenous children. Girls also face heightened risks due to climate change. In climate-vulnerable States and climate-sensitive areas, climate change poses a contemporaneous threat to inhabitants’ rights to life, survival and development, among others. The rights and opportunities of children living in such areas can be severely affected. Beyond threatening children’s physical well-being, climate change poses a threat to their cultural identity, to their connections with the natural environment and to their education. 52. The human rights obligations and responsibilities contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Paris Agreement and other international human rights instruments require States and other duty bearers, including businesses, to take action to protect the rights and best interests of children from the adverse effects of climate change. Many States already have in place laws, policies and commitments related to the protection of children’s rights, the preservation of a healthy environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, further action is needed to promote accountability for all actors, ensure children’s access to justice and protect children from the negative impacts of climate change. Children have a right to meaningful participation in climate policymaking aimed at accomplishing these 75 76 77 78 14 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CEDAW/Pages/DraftGRDisasterRisk.aspx. See, for example, CRC/C/GBR/CO/5. See, for example, A/HRC/31/52 and www.thecvf.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/05/humanrightsSRHRE.pdf. See, for example, A/HRC/33/6 (Samoa, 2016), A/HRC/30/13 and Corr.1 (Marshall Islands, 2015), A/HRC/26/9 (Vanuatu, 2014), A/HRC/24/8 (Tuvalu, 2013) and A/HRC/16/7 (Maldives, 2011).