UNHREP Policy Paper: CLIMATE JUSTICE AS A HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED FRAMEWORK

Climate justice has emerged as one of the most critical ethical, legal, and political frameworks inglobal climate governance. It is no longer sufficient to treat climate change as a purely scientificor environmental matter, as the crisis increasingly reveals structural inequalities, historicalinjustice, and uneven global vulnerability. Climate change affects communities differently basedon wealth, geographic exposure, political representation, and access to adaptation resources.These unequal impacts reinforce existing social injustices and deepen poverty, displacement,health insecurity, and conflict.This paper, developed by the United Nations Human Rights Educational Project(UNHREP), examines climate justice as a human rights-based framework that connectsenvironmental protection with global equity and sustainable peace. It argues that climate policymust not only aim for emission reduction and technological transition, but also uphold humandignity through accountability mechanisms, inclusive decision-making, and fair distribution ofresources.Using a qualitative policy-based approach, this paper integrates human rights principles withclimate governance instruments, including the Paris Agreement, Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs), and evolving norms recognizing the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainableenvironment. The paper highlights that the climate crisis is fundamentally linked to rights suchas the right to life, health, food, water, housing, and cultural identity. It also addresses theimportance of intergenerational justice and the ethical responsibilities of high-emission statesand corporate actors.The paper concludes with the position that climate justice must be operationalized throughtransparent financing, legally binding accountability, protection of Indigenous and marginalizedcommunities, and climate education that empowers global citizenship. UNHREP recommendsstronger mechanisms for loss and damage support, inclusive adaptation governance, and globalpartnerships rooted in human rights obligations.