The urgency of climate action for human rights

Fourteen scientists have come together in a new paper published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences to alert the world to the dire moment we are in as a result of climate change. In the 2024 State of the Climate Report: Perilous Times on Planet Earth (October 2024) — part of an annual series — the scientists are speaking directly to other researchers, policymakers and the broader public to clearly lay out the threats and what needs to be done urgently to address them.

Human Level’s Take

• Out of 35 key planetary indicators, 25 are at record extremes, driven by unsustainable human activity, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and extreme weather events, leading to significant human rights impacts.
• Scientists emphasize that addressing these challenges requires transformative change, including advocating and implementing urgent and ambitious mitigation measures and integrating rights-based approaches into climate action strategies to mitigate the disproportionate effects on marginalized groups.
• The scientists’ findings can help you make the case for urgent rights-based climate actions with your colleagues. The data provided delves into the variety of reasons why these actions are needed - including for people, planet, as well as for economic and ethical reasons.
  

For Further Reading

• 25 out of 35 planetary vital signs —variables that help inform the state of Earth — are at record extremes. The most concerning changes according to scientists: unsustainable levels of human activity, increasing energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions, loss of tree cover, higher ocean acidification and temperature, and more instances of extreme weather. See below for more on these
• Every tenth of a degree of global warming reduced could help paint a dramatically different picture, but scientists believe that this can’t happen without transformative change. At the top of their agenda is tackling the “business as usual” mindset that is putting us on track for “climate catastrophe”: unfettered GHG emissions, waste, overconsumption, population growth, unsustainable diets and a failure to integrate social justice into our economic framework.
• The scientists place a strong focus on describing the links that exist between climate impacts, extreme weather, and human rights impacts. “Climate-related extreme weather and disasters are contributing greatly to human suffering.” Heat extremes is linked to many adverse human outcomes, including direct mortality, increased healthcare costs, mental health issues, and deaths from cardiorespiratory diseases. For instance, heat-related mortality is rising rapidly in the United States and heat waves across Asia killed more than a thousand people. Looking further ahead, research shows that by 2100, one-third of the global population could face increased risk of illness and early death, famine and other serious impacts. Overstretching finite natural resources means we could see more conflict, food insecurity, mass displacement and more.
• Climate fundamentally is a social justice issue, as those who contribute the least to its causes—typically marginalized groups and those in the Global South—are suffering the most severe impacts. Scientists argue that this inequity underscores the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to be integrated into climate action strategies.
• Some details on planetary vitals:
  • Human activity is beyond sustainable rates. Although fertility rates were down in 2023, variables like human population, ruminant (cud-chewing) livestock population, per capita meat production and GDP were all at record highs.
  • Energy consumption grew overall, including both fossil fuels and renewable energy use. However, fossil fuel consumption is still around 14 times greater than energy consumption from solar and wind together.
  • In good news, deforestation in the Amazon has decreased. But global tree cover loss reached its third-highest level, in part due to wildfires which caused record levels of forest loss. Losing tree cover creates feedback loops that reduce forest carbon sequestration, leading to further warming and additional losses in carbon capture. This could also hinder the effectiveness of some natural climate solutions.
  • Energy-related greenhouse gas emissions are above 40 gigatons of CO2e for the first time, a 2.1% increase from 2022. Surface temperature in 2023 was at a record high, a record which could even be broken in 2024. This is putting people in serious danger, especially in the places which are seeing the biggest temperature shifts.
  • Ocean acidification and ocean heat content are at record levels, leading to other impacts like mass die-offs of sea life. Meanwhile, the average global sea level is at a record high due to warming and the El Niño effect, which could ultimately displace hundreds of millions of people.
  • Extreme weather is causing increased heat-related deaths and more climate-related disasters like flooding, fires and severe storms. The scientists predict that these will balloon dramatically in the future.