A/HRC/29/19 Human Rights Council to demonstrate leadership and do its part to achieve urgently needed progress. 7. The Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Flavia Pansieri, stated that human-induced climate change undercut the rights to health, food, water and sanitation, adequate housing and — for the people of small islands and coastal communities — even the rights to self-determination and survival as distinct peoples. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — the world’s most authoritative voice on climate science — had conclusively documented the immediate and long-term harm that climate change brings to our environment, and the seven resolutions of the Human Rights Council on climate change clearly detailed the impact of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights. 8. She said that the Intergovernmental Panel and the Human Rights Council had highlighted the disproportionate impact that climate change had on poor, vulnerable and marginalized communities, and on people already at risk owing to factors such as gender, poverty, age, minority status and disability. Those who had contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions, including the poorest people in the poorest countries and future generations worldwide, would be affected the most. 9. Ms. Pansieri called for immediate action to implement a human rights-based approach to climate change that identified and satisfied the most pressing needs of vulnerable persons living in our highly inequitable global society, and that promoted careful stewardship of the world’s resources and higher levels of accountability for the benefit of all. A new legally binding climate agreement would strengthen the commitments made by States in the 2010 Cancun Agreements to ensure that “parties shall, in all climate changerelated actions, respect, protect, promote and fulfil human rights for all”1 and include clear references to the human rights principles of equality, non-discrimination, accountability, participation, empowerment, solidarity and transparency, among others. 10. Discussing the larger global context, including the post-2015 development agenda and financing for development negotiations, she emphasized that a rights-based approach must not only be integrated within all relevant international discussions and outcomes, but also followed by action. The Deputy High Commissioner exhorted States to take real steps to reduce the harmful effects of climate change, in ways that are fully consistent with their human rights obligations. 11. Equitable climate action, which is designed to limit climate change and prevent and mitigate its negative impacts, must have people’s rights at its core. Care must be taken to prevent and remedy any negative impacts on the human rights of groups that are vulnerable, marginalized, discriminated against or at risk, including indigenous peoples, minorities, persons living in poverty, migrants and displaced persons, older persons, persons with disabilities and children, and to empower and protect the rights of women. 12. Ms. Pansieri said that, at the most recent meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action on climate change, held in Geneva in February 2015, several States had expressed support for the inclusion of strong language on human rights in forthcoming agreements, and 18 States had signed the “Geneva Pledge on Human Rights and Climate Action”. 2 She urged all States to make this commitment and called upon participants to highlight the critical linkages between human rights and climate change and to promote action-oriented outcomes to facilitate global, local, individual and collective efforts to save humanity from irreversible global warming and its devastating impact on human rights. 1 2 4 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/SP/SP_To_UNFCCC.pdf. See http://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Geneva-Pledge-13FEB2015.pdf.