Failure to take urgent action to curb climate change is effectively violating the human rights of people in the poorest nations, an aid charity warns.
A report by Oxfam International says emissions, primarily from developed countries, are exacerbating flooding, droughts and extreme weather events.
As a result, harvests are failing and people are losing their homes and access to water, the authors observe.
They say human rights need to be at the heart of global climate policies.
Oxfam will be submitting its report, called Climate Wrongs and Human Rights, to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Righting wrongs
“Climate change was first seen as a scientific problem, then an economic one,” explained report author Kate Raworth. “Now it is becoming a matter of international justice.
The global impacts of climate change meant that nations had to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions, Ms Raworth said.
“Litigation is seldom the best way to solve a dispute.
“That is why we need a strong UN deal in 2009 to cut emissions and support adaption,” she added, referring to next year’s key UN climate summit where a future global climate strategy is expected to be agreed.
“However, vulnerable countries do need options to protect themselves. Rich country polluters have been fully aware of their culpability for many years.”
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