Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Elisa Morgera, has developed a report on access to information on climate change and human rights. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) will consider the report at its 79th session.

Dated 8 July 2024, the report (A/79/176) outlines the challenges and good practices related to access to information on climate change and human rights and clarifies States’ international obligations in this regard, both individually and as part of international cooperation. It also clarifies the responsibility of businesses.

The report seeks to inform the interpretation and application of the Paris Agreement on climate change, particularly its provisions relating to cooperation to enhance public awareness, public participation, and public access to information and a transparency framework regarding States’ compliance with their climate change obligations, as well as the Glasgow Work Programme on Action for Climate Empowerment and its action plan. It also seeks to inform “broader action” on SDGs 13 (climate action) and 14 (life below water).

According to the report, access is needed to the following information:

• The causes, extent, and effects of climate change, to ensure the public understands whether climate-related conditions are improving or worsening;
• Potential and actual negative impacts of climate change on human rights, to support the public’s resilience and adaptive capacities to respond to these impacts; and
• Proposed and ongoing climate response measures and their impact on human rights, to empower the public to assess the adequacy of State action to combat climate change and promote, protect, and fulfil human rights.

The report recommends that States collect and share such information, overcoming the challenges of the availability of historical data on climate change, inconsistent data collection, and the lack of local data, as well as disinformation campaigns on misleading and false solutions for a just transition, among others. It also acknowledges additional challenges related to intersectionality, including that social, economic, cultural, and health data, community feedback, and Indigenous and local knowledge remain underrepresented in information-gathering efforts.

The report discusses the impacts of inadequate access to information and barriers to obtaining access to information, suggesting that current practices can be improved. Among other recommendations, the report urges States to “identify the greatest need for progress in science to support basic economic, social and cultural rights, and the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, in the context of climate change, and prioritize the gathering and sharing of that information.” It also calls for participatory research and information-gathering practices by local grassroots organizations and networks of frontline communities.

The report highlights the need for international cooperation, including through regional and international organizations, to secure and promote access to information on climate change and human rights, enhance protection for affected communities, and hold States and businesses accountable.

Additional specific recommendations for States, businesses, and the UN system aim to enhance access to information “as a prerequisite for the transparency, inclusiveness and effectiveness of decision-making processes on climate change at all levels.” [Publication: Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change] [Publication Landing Page]