UN Human Rights Council 62: UK Explanation of Position on the draft resolution on human rights and climate change

UN Human Rights Council 62: UK Explanation of Position on the draft resolution on human rights and climate change
UK Explanation of Position on the draft resolution on human rights and climate change. Delivered at the 62nd Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Mr President,
The UK thanks the Core Group, led by the Philippines, for their hard work this session. We appreciate their engagement with us.
The UK particularly welcomes the focus of this year’s resolution on the needs and interests of future generations. It is entirely appropriate to that theme that this resolution underscores the importance of efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 Degrees Celsius.
The need and urgency for greater mitigation action and ambition is clear. So, we are firmly of the view that mitigation should be more prominent in this resolution and we are disappointed that it is not. A just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels is integral to mitigation efforts, as the cross-regional General Comment has just set out.
There is no dispute from the UK that climate change can and does impact the enjoyment of human rights. That is properly a matter for this Council. However, the Human Rights Council should not be used as a forum to renegotiate the climate treaties or to misrepresent the independent legal nature of the Paris Agreement. Accordingly, the UK does not support any text in this resolution that does not accurately reflect obligations under the Paris Agreement or the decisions taken under it, including those in paragraph 28 of the Global Stocktake. Nor should the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities be applied in a manner inconsistent with that already agreed in UN climate negotiations, so we likewise do not support any such text that does so here.
Whilst we appreciate the rationalisation of the text on loss and damage, we remain deeply concerned by this resolution’s framing of the provision of climate finance and loss and damage. The New Collective Quantified Goal, adopted at COP29 and which establishes the framework for climate finance through to 2035, represents a clear consensus on climate finance. It is simply unhelpful for this resolution to be inconsistent with that agreed outcome. So, we do not support the parts of this resolution that elide obligatory and voluntary actions and introduce new terms that are not used in the UNFCCC and Paris framework.
The UK remains strongly committed to international climate action. So, we would welcome the Core Group and others working closely with us on the scope, focus and framing of the next iteration of this resolution over the coming year.
Thank you.