Energy transition must be fair and promote gender equality, says GI-ESCR to Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights at 177th Session of IACHR

The Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA), Soledad García Muñoz, invited GI-ESCR and a number of civil society organizations in Mexico and Central America to a meeting in the framework of the 177th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, to address the pressing issue of the effects of climate change on the human rights of the most disadvantaged and marginalized populations and communities in the region.

The meeting was attended by Commissioner Julissa Mantilla Falcón, IACHR Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants and on the Rights of Older Persons, experts, human rights defenders and approximately 30 civil society organizations in Mexico and Central America working on climate change and human rights issues.

GI-ESCR made a statement to draw the Special Rapporteur's attention to "the need to use the human rights normative framework to ensure that the transition to renewable energies, an indispensable measure to combat climate change, is fair and considers the gender perspective at all times”.

GI-ESCR emphasized that there is still a pending matter for REDESCA and the IACHR to promote fair models of energy transitions that promote gender equality.

"Despite the fact that various international mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur and the IACHR, have taken the lead in the development of human rights standards related to climate change, there is still a pending issue to be addressed, of models of fair energy transitions that promote gender equality. There is a opportunity to deepen and broaden the analysis of the impact of climate change on women's rights, and to develop comprehensive analyses to visualize what a just energy transition for women might look like”.

"Therefore, from GI-ESCR, we highlight that, in order to avoid that the rapid and extensive development of renewable energies does not incur in the same harmful practices of fossil energy and extractive industries, it is necessary to develop human rights standards so that states design and implement renewable energy policies and regulatory frameworks with a gender perspective".

Along these lines, REDESCA and the IACHR were called upon to strengthen their work promoting just and inclusive transitions to low carbon economies.

"Energy transition models must not only guarantee economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, but also promote gender equality. Necessary measures must be taken to avoid a repetition of the patterns of abuse generated by extractive policies”.

REDESCA organized the event with the objective of facilitating a direct dialogue between civil society organizations and REDESCA in order to: 1) address the effects of climate change on the guarantee, respect and protection of human rights, in particular of the most vulnerable populations; 2) discuss what concrete actions have been proposed by state actors and private entities, in order to address the different claims that arise in this context; 3) collect testimonies, as well as other data and figures that document the situation in the territory that will serve as inputs for the Rapporteur’s monitoring work.

GI-ESCR thanked the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights, Soledad García Muñoz, and the IACHR for opening up spaces for participation and dialogue with organised civil society on this fundamental issue for the Latin American region.

This type of event is extremely important for the development of the mandate of the Rapporteur and the IACHR, as well as for civil society and the collaboration between them.

"We recognize the leadership of REDESCA and the Inter-American system in incorporating environmental rights into the regional human rights framework and we urge the deepening of their cooperation with other regional and universal human rights mechanisms to promote the recognition of these fundamental rights at the global level".