2023-06-05 02:24:00
Global action is urgently needed as a series of extreme heat waves ravaging Pakistan and wreaking havoc on human rights, Amnesty International said today in its new report A Burning Emergency: Extreme heat and the right to health in Pakistan.
The report, released on World Environment Day, examines the impact of extreme heat in Pakistan on people’s lives and their right to health and livelihood. It highlights the plight of people living in poverty in some of the world’s hottest cities.
“Pakistan is on the front lines of the climate crisis. Climate injustice is on display. Despite their small contribution to climate change, the population faces disproportionately severe consequences that are often life-threatening. Addressing a climate crisis of this magnitude requires attention and action on a global scale. Wealthier countries should not be misled about the important role they play,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
“On World Environment Day, we hope our report serves as a reminder that we have a collective responsibility towards some of the most marginalized people who are exposed to extreme temperatures. They are forced to live in torrid conditions as these scorching temperatures rise every year as we spend time idly doing nothing. Without further ado, the richest countries must demonstrate a decisive commitment to reduce emissions, quickly move away from fossil fuels and provide funds to help people adapt and quickly launch the loss and damage fund established at COP27”.
Amnesty International is also calling on the Pakistani government to develop comprehensive heat action plans that are consistent with human rights law and standards, and to ensure that the rights of groups especially vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat on health.
The report is based on face-to-face interviews with 45 people who suffered the adverse effects of extreme heat during the summer months of 2021 and 2022 in Jacobabad y Lahore (Pakistan). Jacobabad is one of the hottest places on the planet. In June 2021, the maximum temperature recorded reached an unbearable level: 52 °C.
Amnesty International interviewed people most at risk of heat exposure, including people working in agriculture, brick kiln labourers, delivery people, police officers, sanitation workers and others doing outdoor work. free.
Health professionals participating in the Jacobabad and Lahore interviews reported an increase in heat stroke, drowsiness, shortness of breath, burning sensation in the stomach, dizziness, fever, body aches, eye infections and headaches during periods of extreme heat. A person working in the health sector in Lahore told Amnesty International, “In May and June, many patients came to our clinic because of the heat wave. […]. Every day we received between 50 and 60 cases in the emergency room”.
“We have no escape”
It emerged from the interviews that while the impact of extreme heat is felt by everyone, there are people who are far worse off due to their socio-economic status.
A woman living in an informal settlement in Jacobabad said: “We are more vulnerable than anyone to heat. The heat affects the population in poverty. we have no escape”.
Daily wage workers interviewed by Amnesty International said they have no choice but to continue working in the heat, despite medical guidelines to stay indoors during periods of extreme heat. A tractor driver from Jacobabad said: “If we take a break there is no wage […] due to poverty, we have to work whatever the weather”.
People living in poverty and working in the informal sector with precarious jobs, lower incomes and fewer opportunities for rest and shade, with limited or no access to support, are severely affected by extreme temperatures.
In addition, the multidimensional and intersecting forms of discrimination suffered by women also undermine their ability to combat heat waves, with potentially dangerous consequences for their health and that of their children.
“Here the government is invisible”
A brick kiln owner in Jacobabad said: “If the government had taken care of the area, Jacobabad would have been a good place. But here the government is invisible”.
Despite the scorching temperatures in Jacobabad and Lahore, neither city has a heat action plan or climate-adapted social protection mechanisms. In Pakistan, more than 40 million people do not have access to electricity. Others have an erratic and irregular supply. People living in poverty do not have access to or afford electricity to run fans or air conditioners, nor can they afford to buy solar panels.
Much of the public health advice to avoid heat exposure assumes that people can afford to stay indoors, negotiate different work hours, have access to sufficient water, medical care, and cooling facilities.
“Well-designed and well-resourced social protection programs can help mitigate some of the worst effects of climate change as crises unfold in Pakistan,” said Dinushika Dissanayake.
Towards climate finance compatible with human rights
Amnesty International’s report sets out a comprehensive list of recommendations for the Pakistani government and the international community. These include asking the Pakistani authorities to carry out a needs assessment in the context of heat waves, focusing on and involving the most marginalized people, to develop and implement heat action plans that are that respect human rights and that provide effective social protection to help the population cope with heat waves.
All these actions require significant financial resources, so the international community must come together to ensure their availability. Debt relief, whose payments currently account for a significant part of public revenue and spending, can be one avenue of financing.
Wealthier countries should step up their action to reduce emissions and phase out fossil fuels, in line with their human rights obligations, and provide the necessary funding and support for Pakistan to put in place adequate adaptation measures and provide effective reparations for loss and damage, among other measures necessary to protect human rights. They must significantly increase climate finance, while ensuring a better balance between finance to mitigate climate change and finance to adapt to it, not forgetting help to carry out human rights-compliant loss and damage assessments .
“It is crucial that the rich States, the main responsible for the climate crisis, contribute funds to support not only adaptation, but also the repair of the losses and damages that the population has suffered or will suffer due to extreme heat waves caused by climate change in countries like Pakistan,” said Dinushika Dissanayake.
“This report reveals to us the devastation being caused by the irresponsible and unrestrained actions of governments, particularly rich countries and others who oppose a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels. They must ensure that the human rights damages are not irreversible and work for climate justice in accordance with their human rights obligations.”
#impact #climate #change #heat #waves #Pakistan