"Contribution to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in relation to the request for an Advisory Opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights made by the Republics of Colombia and Chile"-25 April 2024-

The main objective of our intervention is to strengthen the Inter-American human rights framework related to the responsibility of economic actors to respect and guarantee human rights, in particular on the context of the climate emergency. We present three ideas that could be integrated into the future jurisprudence of the Court so that it can continue to build a solid Inter-American Environmental Law for the well-being of all people, communities and nature:

• First, we would like to propose as a central element of this Advisory Opinion the right to development as a decisive element to integrate the human rights approach to the analysis of the climate emergency, as this SHOWS US THAT STATES ARE REALLY NOT MATERIALIZING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS STRICTLY LINKED TO THE GUARANTEE OF A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT.
• Second, we would invite the inclusion of some standards regarding the necessary consideration of the role of companies and the need to strengthen oversight and monitoring of their activities, as well as to prioritise their accountability. ENHANCED DUE DILIGENCE IS NECESSARY AND SHOULD INCLUDE MECHANISMS FOR PARTICIPATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE WITH DYNAMIC REMEDIAL MEASURES, ACCORDING WITH THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY NATURE.
• Finally, we would propose adopting, within the applicable standards, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction associated with climate emergencies in the region. THE DISASTER APPROACH PROVIDES INSTRUMENTS FOR DECISION-MAKING IN A DYNAMIC AND CHANGING CONTEXT SUCH AS CLIMATE ONE. A static view of climate does not correspond to its reality.