Climate Change and Human Rights: The Role of International Human Rights in Motivating States to Take Climate Change Seriously

Abstract

The article considers the role of human rights in motivating states to take climate change seriously. Specifically, it considers the potential for a claim under the IAHR regime.

Climate change has been described as the greatest environmental challenge and one of the greatest challenges facing human kind. This is in part due to the complexity of the science, and because the causes of human induced climate change are at the core of western societies and economies, the ever increasing consumption of energy and other resources used to support our way of life. Most importantly, however, it is such an overwhelming challenge because the consequence of failure is predicted to be so enormous.

Keywords: climate change, human rights