2023-09-06 09:55:00
© Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.
In response to a report published today by the World Meteorological Organizationwhich shows that the increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves significantly reduces air quality around the world and constitutes a threat to people’s health and their right to a clean, healthy and safe environment. Sustainable development, Ann Harrison, climate change policy advisor at Amnesty International, said:
“Climate change increases the intensity and frequency of heat waves; at the same time, Extreme heat, aggravated by forest fires and desert dust, significantly damages air quality on a large scale and represents a threat to the population’s human right to health and a healthy environment.”
“EClimate change and air quality are inextricably linked. The same pollutants that cause climate change worsen air quality, creating risks to human health, harming ecosystems, lowering agricultural productivity, and putting lives at risk every day.”
“It is especially worrying to know that the data on which this report is based is from last year and still does not take into account the enormous amounts of pollutants generated by high record global temperatures reached in the last three months, nor the particles generated by the vast forest fires in Canada and Europe, many of which are still active.”
“The need to undertake a rapid, effective and participatory climate actionincluding the early phase-out of fossil fuels through a just energy transition that fully respects and protects human rights, in order to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights to life, health, water and sanitation, among others.”
“If we want to avoid a climate catastrophe even worse, now is the time to take significant measures. We cannot rely on unproven carbon capture, disposal and storage technologies, as they only discourage the phase-out of fossil fuels. Carbon credit markets—which have proven susceptible to manipulation and abuse by those who pollute with fossil fuels and resist the just transition that is needed—they are not the answer to this crisis either.”
“Countries must act to safeguard public health and human rights. Those with the greatest responsibility for historic emissions must ensure that existing commitments on climate finance are met to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and marginalized communities most vulnerable to climate change.”
Additional information
Amnesty International has highlighted the health impacts of climate change, which are worst for marginalized individuals and groups, such as refugees and migrants. He has also documented the impact of heat waves on human rights in vulnerable communities.
Amnesty International is part of a coalition of civil society and indigenous peoples, which has won the prestigious United Nations Human Rights Award for its successful campaign for universal recognition of the right of all people to a clean, healthy environment. and sustainable.
The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for atmospheric science and climatology, hydrology and geophysics. According to data released today by the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service, June, July and August 2023 was the hottest quarter on record.
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