Melting Boundaries: Human Rights Dimensions of Climate Change and Need for Effective Legal Standards

ABSTRACT

Climate change is a threat to flora, fauna, human life and the property. Persistent snowfall and disappearing glaciers are forcing Inuit and other Arctic peoples to abandon their homes. The Melting glaciers has impacted the lives of mountain communities because of excessive flooding. Heat waves and drought in Africa’s Sahel region have affected its agricultural production. The rising sea levels is posing risk to the coastal lives. Even although climate change impacts all, the underdeveloped and impoverished countries are impacted differently. Among the nation’s most susceptible to climate change are the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island states (SIDS). To lower carbon emissions, many international agreements and treaties have been signed, however. But these international efforts didn’t bring any material change till now. It is observed that the countries most affected by climate change are not the developed countries that are responsible for the maximum emission of the most greenhouse gases. Instead, the LDCs and SIDS are the countries which are the most affected ones by the climate crisis. Consequently, the climate crisis has worsened the existing inequality among the developed, developing and underdeveloped nations. The author through this article has attempted to highlight the link between human rights and climate change. The author in this article, with the help of various instances claims that the Climate change has disproportionately affected the vulnerable and poor countries. Furthermore, the author has critically analysed the effectiveness of the international human rights law in addressing climate injustice with regards to human rights.