Blog
By Catie Shavin, Director, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights
I’m used to watching Australia burn.
Growing up in Melbourne, the rhythms of the annual bushfire season were as much a part of summer as melting ice-cream (and melting tarmac), flip flops and beach cricket.
We all know that this summer has been different. The scale of the fires these past months has been utterly unprecedented, leaving devastated communities and ecosystems in their wake.
Australia is not the only place where the impacts of the climate crisis are becoming forebodingly real. Floods, fires, cyclones, hurricanes and extreme storms, as well as clearly melting ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic, are all sadly much in evidence. Every continent is being affected.
The climate crisis is not just occupying a more central space in our minds and our newspaper headlines. It’s also coming up more frequently in discussions about business and human rights, leading me to ponder the role of the business and human rights field in responding to it.
Because, frankly, I’m becoming frustrated by the conversations we’re having – and not having – about business, human rights and the climate crisis. There are some exceptions, some panels and projects that are getting at what’s needed. But far too many of our discussions go no further than “the climate crisis will affect people and is therefore a human rights issue, so we urgently need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.
Clearly, we need to reduce emissions and minimise global temperature increases. But we also need to transform the complex economic systems that are contributing to global heating, transition to lower-carbon economies and lifestyles, and build resilience among communities, societies, businesses and institutions.
And to do all this in a way that is – ideally – just, practicable and effective.
This is where business and human rights has a critical role to play.
We are uniquely positioned to help ensure that efforts to limit – and adapt to – global heating don’t come at the expense of human rights. We need to bake the protection of and respect for human rights into the transition process itself – while also working to achieve positive human rights (and environmental) outcomes by minimising global temperature increases.
To do this, we need to start thinking much more seriously about how concepts, approaches and innovations developed to address business and human rights challenges can (and should) be applied to strengthen responses to the climate crisis.
For example, let’s explore:
1) How we can help define and clarify expectations of business
The Paris Agreement established a clear goal that global heating should be limited to no more than 1.5oC. However, the role of business in achieving this goal and contributing to just transitions remains unclear. What action do we expect of business (as well as governments and other stakeholders) and what does a good – or responsible – response look like?
By clarifying who should do what to address business-related human rights issues, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights helped turn talk into action. What insights, thinking or lessons can we share that could help clarify expectations of business (and government) responses to the climate crisis?
2) Business approaches to integrating respect for human rights with responses to the climate crisis
Companies will play a central role in efforts to transition to lower-carbon economies and build resilience to global heating – including by reducing their emissions, adapting their businesses to a warmer and more volatile world, developing new technologies and alternative energy sources, and unlocking financing.
A company that is operating with respect for human rights should be conducting human rights due diligence to identify and address the actual and potential human rights impacts of these activities and business decisions. But we know that many – even most – companies are still in the process of embedding respect for human rights in their organisations.
This means there may be gaps in the coverage of human rights due diligence processes. Human rights teams may not (yet) be coordinating effectively with environmental and climate teams. And in companies that are still in the early stages of working with (and learning about) human rights issues, it may be unhelpful to frame the climate crisis as a human rights issue too soon.
What examples of practice, tips and insights can be shared by companies that are already integrating a human rights lens into their climate response? Are there challenges it would be productive to explore together so we can find solutions faster?
3) Ways to better engage affected stakeholders and improve access to remedy
Vast numbers of people – potentially every human being on the planet – will be affected by the climate crisis and/or efforts to mitigate and adapt to a warmer world. It’s critical that effective efforts be made to engage with relevant stakeholders through every step of the transition process, to ensure diverse voices are heard and to improve access to remedy for those affected by the seemingly inevitable adverse impacts.
It is widely acknowledged that there is much more to be done to improve stakeholder engagement and access to remedy in the context of business and human rights issues. But we have already learned a lot about how to navigate situations in which large numbers of (vulnerable) people could be affected and/or where the impacts on people are complex and ongoing.
What learning can we share to help accelerate efforts to improve stakeholder engagement and access to remedy in the context of climate-related impacts?
Looking forward
These are just three examples of areas where the business and human rights field could make a valuable contribution to responses to the climate crisis.
I’d like to see us make much more effort to explore these opportunities this year, starting with more meaningful discussions on how we can contribute to solving the climate crisis, followed by renewed efforts to open up channels of communication with climate-focused colleagues and institutions.
We should be sharing with, and learning from, each other so we can all achieve more, faster.