"Nature, water, and food resources need to be safeguarded during the shift towards renewable energy sources"
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights' opinion consultative on human rights and climate change offers comprehensive and detailed guidance for states and businesses. This guidance, based on both the inter-American legal system and international law, is significant as it is relevant to all states.
Elisa Morgera, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, has been at the forefront of this discussion. Appointed in 2024, Morgera has prepared three thematic reports since assuming the role, including one on the need to "decarbonize" our economies. Another report, focusing on critical minerals, is in preparation.
Morgera's first report, released in 2025, focused on the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels as a matter of international human rights law. She emphasised the need to question our energy demands and projections, suggesting that if the search for critical minerals continues to support the same economic model that underlies the fossil fuel-based economy, we are not effectively addressing the climate crisis.
The search for critical minerals cannot be justified without adopting a more holistic approach to environmental sustainability and human rights. Activities aimed at mitigating climate change should not emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases and should not harm the natural world's contribution to climate regulation.
At the climate summit COP30 taking place in Brazil in November, it is crucial to address the inclusivity of the decision-making process. This includes ensuring that environmental defenders and human rights defenders can contribute to COP negotiations, while addressing conflicts of interest and the growing number of fossil fuel lobby groups that are part of national delegations. We also need a clear process for monitoring progress in the gradual elimination of fossil fuels.
States should open their decision-making processes, allowing contributors to participate, justify decisions based on these contributions, and provide guarantees of access to justice if decisions do not seem adequate for effectively protecting human rights in the context of climate change. The Acordo de Escazú and the Convenio de Aarhus are crucial, as they specifically focus on public participation in environmental and human rights decision-making processes. Other international human rights treaties establish obligations regarding public access to information, ensuring that we have sufficient, understandable, and accessible information to exercise our right to participate in decision-making and access justice in matters affecting our human rights.
There is a need for much clearer national legislation about the responsibilities of companies in the gradual elimination of fossil fuels, taking into account the common but differentiated responsibilities of different countries in contributing to climate change. Companies must assess in advance if any of their activities or value chains could have a negative impact on human rights and take preventive measures, share that information with the public, create dialogue spaces, and accept complaints if these measures do not seem adequate to protect the human rights of potentially affected communities.
Morgera supports all the conclusions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' recent advisory opinion on the climate emergency. Her work continues to provide valuable insights and guidance for states and businesses as they navigate the complex intersection of human rights and climate change.
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