3 November 2015: The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, has issued a press release warning that climate change poses “severe and distinct threats to food security,” which, as argued in her interim report in August 2015 (A/70/287), could result in another 600 million people suffering from malnutrition by 2080.

Elver cautions that “increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather, rising temperatures and sea levels, as well as floods and droughts” will negatively impact food production, with significant implications for the right to food.

The Special Rapporteur’s statement comes as governments prepare for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC in Paris, France, in November-December 2015. With expectations that COP 21 will adopt a global climate change agreement, Elver stresses, “Any agreement must include a clear commitment by all relevant parties to ensuring climate justice and food security for all.”

Highlighting the mounting pressure from civil society for Parties to take a human rights approach to the Paris agreement, Elver underscores that “those who have contributed the least to global warming are the ones set to suffer the most from its harmful effects,” adding that mitigation and adaptation measures should respect human rights.

On solutions, the Special Rapporteur calls for shifting from industrial agriculture to approaches that support local food systems, smallholder farmers, food democracy and cultural traditions, while maintaining environmental sustainability and promoting a healthy diet. [UN Press Release] [UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Press Release] [Publication: Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food]