GENEVA (19 September 2023) – A UN expert today urged States to accelerate strategies for decarbonisation and detoxification that are integrated and guided by human rights.

“Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed to tackle the global climate crisis. Decarbonisation of the energy matrix and polluting sectors of the economy is essential to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. Yet, some climate technologies proposed in recent years may increase the toxic burden on people and the planet,” said Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights.

In his report to the 54^th session of the Human Rights Council, Orellana said the extraction of so-called transition minerals and metals can exacerbate the toxic impacts of mining. He also noted that solar panels and wind turbines used to generate electricity, and lithium-ion batteries to store it, can pose significant waste management challenges. “Mislabelling nuclear energy generation as ‘green’ downplays the acute challenges of uranium mining and radioactive waste disposal,” he said.

The expert warned against disinformation campaigns that promote misleading and false narratives about purported climate solutions. “Dangerous chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are being promoted as an integral part of the energy transition, ignoring their persistence in the environment and toxic effects,” he said.

“Decarbonisation efforts guided by human rights must be applied to all sectors, including in the shipping industry,” the Special Rapporteur said as he presented the recommendations he made to the International Maritime Organization. He noted that maritime shipping accounts for around 90 per cent of international trade by volume. “The vast majority of this activity is powered by heavy fuel oil, making the industry a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous air pollutants,” he said.

Orellana stressed that the adverse impacts caused by some decarbonization efforts weigh heavily on groups in vulnerable situations. “This situation undermines progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty and hunger, to ensure healthy lives, clean water, decent work, sustainable consumption, and to protect and preserve lands and waters,” he said.

“Environmental and human rights safeguards should be strengthened and enforced, not dismantled in the name of energy transition. Human rights due diligence standards along the supply chain for climate change mitigation technologies should be mandatory,” the expert said.

The Special Rapporteur urged States not only to assess the greenhouse gas reduction potential of climate action, but also to conduct a full life cycle assessment, including the impacts of material extraction, pollution released during manufacture, chemical exposure during use, and waste management and disposal.

ENDS