Quezon City – Early this week, United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Michele Bachelet said of climate change, “The world has never seen a threat to human rights of this scope….The economies of all nations; the institutional, political, social and cultural fabric of every State, and the rights of all your people – and future generations – will be impacted.” Commenting on the statement, Yeb Saño, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said:
“The statement of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights is a clear call to action at this time of climate emergency. The Philippines is a stark example of the gross injustice brought on by climate change impacts which infringe on people’s most fundamental rights such as the right to life, shelter, food and livelihood. As a nation, we constantly demand for justice in climate negotiations between rich and poor nations. Yet we have put very little attention on the responsibility of companies that extract and produce fossil fuels and who have known for decades about the harm brought on by their business activities. As the ones who are largely responsible for creating the climate crisis, these fossil fuel companies must be held to account.”
“In the Philippines, the Commission on Human Rights is currently undertaking a landmark investigation into corporate responsibility for climate change[1]. If successful, the inquiry could result in the first legal finding of corporate responsibility for human rights violations in the age of the climate crisis. This can be a vindication for all climate-impacted communities everywhere.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit on September 23, the first-ever global summit on human rights and climate change will be hosted by civil society groups including Greenpeace and Amnesty International, together with the UN Human Rights Office in New York on 18-19 September. The People’s Summit on Climate, Rights and Human Survival aims to galvanize the human rights community to urgently scale-up its efforts on climate justice, creating the most diverse movement ever assembled to tackle the climate crisis. Saño, together with more than 200 activists and representatives from Indigenous Peoples, workers, academe, environmental and human rights groups from around the world will be attending.
Note to Editors:
[1] Greenpeace is among the signatories to a petition on December 2015 that asked the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines to investigate investor-owned “carbon major” fossil fuel companies for human rights harms resulting from climate change impacts. More information on the climate change and human rights case:
https://www.greenpeace.org/
Media Contact:
JP Agcaoili, Communications Manager, Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines
[email protected] | +63 949 889 1334
Filipinos are enduring the worst impacts of climate change, caused by greedy corporations. It’s time to hold them to account!