This oral statement was submitted to the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Climate Change. Click here to watch the statement.
I am Nishat Maryam, Senior Program Development Officer at Community World Service Asia, speaking on behalf of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) in response to the Special Rapporteur’s report on human rights and climate change.
Fossil fuels are the single largest contributor to global warming; they are responsible for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
There is an alarming prediction that between now and 2029, it is possible that we will breach the 1.5°C threshold, a critical limit we cannot afford to cross.
Rising temperatures will further intensify the causes that triple the risks to women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, with impacts that will extend to communities.
The United Nations has noted in 2023 that there is indeed a strong link between weather-related disasters and earthquakes and heightened intimate partner violence in 2023
Climate emergencies often sideline reproductive health care due to the lack of clean and safe water, damage to health infrastructure, and disruptions to social services.
As such, the phaseout of fossil fuels is both correct and urgent to halt the overheating of the planet.
We support the Special Rapporteur’s call urging governments to urgently commit to a fossil fuel phaseout.
