A/HRC/31/52 83. States have obligations at the national level to take adaptation actions to protect their vulnerable populations from the effects of climate change, and at the international level to cooperate in order to facilitate the protection of vulnerable communities wherever they are located. The rights of the most vulnerable must be respected and protected in all actions, including actions taken to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Renewable energy projects and efforts to protect forests, while they may be highly desirable as methods of reducing or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, are not exempt from human rights norms. When such projects are proposed for the territory of indigenous peoples, for example, the projects must accord with the obligations owed to those peoples, including, where applicable, the duties to facilitate their participation in the decision-making process and not to proceed without their free, prior and informed consent (see A/HRC/25/53, para. 78). 84. The Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of respecting the rights of the most vulnerable. Its preamble specifically refers to the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations, as well as gender equality, in calling on the parties to respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights when taking action to address climate change. Article 7 of the Agreement emphasizes that, in addition to being country-driven, participatory and fully transparent, adaptation action should be gender-responsive and take into consideration vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems. To ensure that States satisfy their human rights obligations, they must implement the commitments they have made in relation to the protection of the most vulnerable. V. Conclusions and recommendations 85. Bringing human rights to bear on climate change has three principal benefits. First, advocacy grounded in human rights can spur stronger action. From the Male’ Declaration to the Paris Agreement, Governments and civil society organizations have successfully argued that strong climate action is necessary to safeguard human rights. These efforts have borne fruit, but they must continue and intensify. 86. Second, human rights norms clarify how States should respond to climate change. As the Paris Agreement recognizes, whenever States take action to address climate change, they should respect, protect and consider their respective obligations on human rights. Complying with human rights obligations not only helps to protect the rights of everyone affected by climate change. As the Human Rights Council has affirmed, it also promotes policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes. 87. States have procedural obligations to assess and provide information about the effects of climate change, to ensure that climate decisions are made with the informed participation of the public and to provide for effective remedies for climate-related violations of human rights. They must protect the rights of freedom of expression and association in relation to all climate actions, even when the rights are being exercised in opposition to projects supported by the authorities. 88. Based on the duty of international cooperation, States should fully implement all of the commitments they have made in relation to the Paris Agreement and strengthen their commitments in the future, in order to ensure that global temperatures do not rise to levels that would impair a vast range of human rights. Each State must also adopt a legal and institutional framework that assists those within its jurisdiction to adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change. In all of these actions, States must take care to protect the rights of the most vulnerable. 89. Third, human rights bodies can inform and improve climate policy by providing forums for issues concerning climate change and human rights that might 20