“Last month, HPOD, together with the Programa de Acción por la Igualdad y la Inclusión Social (PAIIS), based at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and the Disability-Inclusive Climate Action Research Program (DICARP), based at McGill University in Canada, submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, urging the Court to ensure that States Parties to the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) are aware of their obligations under international law to ensure that their climate change adaptation and mitigation measures are inclusive of persons with disabilities. In response to a joint request by Colombia and Chile last year, the Court is poised to deliver an advisory opinion on the scope of states' international human rights obligations to respond to the ongoing global climate crisis. The Court's opinion presents a unique opportunity for a regional human rights tribunal to articulate a broad, human rights-based framework for states to undertake climate action as well as for this Court to expand on its 2017 advisory opinion on "State obligations in relation to the environment in the context of the protection and guarantee of the rights to life and to personal integrity."

The 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, November 20th. Dubbed the “African COP,” it resulted in a landmark agreement by States to establish a fund to provide compensation for the loss and damage caused by climate change following years of advocacy by countries in the Global South and civil society. Unfortunately, this achievement was undermined by the simultaneous failure of States to reach an agreement on the phasing out of all fossil fuels. Without progress on this front, the impacts of climate change will inevitably continue to threaten the social and physical infrastructure of countries vulnerable to climate change. The failure of States to take decisive action to fight climate change and limit warning also means that climate change will continue to threaten the effective enjoyment of a wide range of human rights for all individuals. However, the rights of certain groups are threatened more severely than others.

The 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, November 20th. Dubbed the “African COP,” it resulted in a landmark agreement by States to establish a fund to provide compensation for the loss and damage caused by climate change following years of advocacy by countries in the Global South and civil society. Unfortunately, this achievement was undermined by the simultaneous failure of States to reach an agreement on the phasing out of all fossil fuels. Without progress on this front, the impacts of climate change will inevitably continue to threaten the social and physical infrastructure of countries vulnerable to climate change. The failure of States to take decisive action to fight climate change and limit warning also means that climate change will continue to threaten the effective enjoyment of a wide range of human rights for all individuals. However, the rights of certain groups are threatened more severely than others.