Strengthening intergenerational equity at the ocean-climate nexus : reflections on the UNCRC general comment No.26+

Morgera, Elisa and Lennan, Mitchell (2022) Strengthening intergenerational equity at the ocean-climate nexus : reflections on the UNCRC general comment No.26+. Environmental Policy and Governance, 52 (5-6). pp. 445-459. ISSN 0378-777X (https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219052)

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Abstract

The 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact brought the ocean into the international climate regime, and the 2022 Sharm el-Sheikh COP27 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has finally ushered the world into a special fund to respond to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including on the human rights of present and future generations. But much remains to be clarified about how ocean-based mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology will contribute to inter-generational equity. To shed light on these issues, this article starts from the premise that the ocean is an essential but little-understood component of the interdependency between climate change and human rights. It is followed by an exploration of the importance of a healthy ocean for children’s human rights as a way to advance inter-generational equity under the 30-year-old (1992–2022) UNFCCC through systemic interpretation. The upcoming General Comment on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change (General Comment No. 26) by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child presents an opportunity to clarify the role of existing international human rights obligations in strengthening intergenerational equity at the climate-ocean interface on the basis of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This appears vital to ensure coordination across intergovernmental bodies and national government departments to safeguard ocean-dependent children’s human rights through climate policy and action at different levels.

ORCID iDs

Morgera, Elisa ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5234-8784 and Lennan, Mitchell;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:83939
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    20 December 2022
    Published
    24 November 2022
    Accepted
    Notes:This article has been prepared under the UKRI GCRF One Ocean Hub. The One Ocean Hub is collaborative research for sustainable development project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) (Grant Ref: NE/ S008950/1). GCRF is a key component in delivering the UK AID strategy and puts UK-led research at the heart of efforts to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.
    Subjects:Law
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Strathclyde Law School > Law
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:31 Jan 2023 12:39
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 13:44
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/83939
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