Keep human rights in U.N. deal to secure climate justice: Robinson
Human rights and gender equality must be enshrined in the legally binding section of a new global climate change deal…U.N. climate envoy Mary Robinson said…Some countries…want it only in the non-binding introduction...Strong, binding language on respecting human rights is needed because…"we need hooks of values in the agreement…that promote good climate policy," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation…Robinson said putting human rights in the binding deal would not create new legal rights. Climate change-related lawsuits are happening anyway, from the Netherlands to Pakistan, she noted…On a day focused on gender at the climate talks, Robinson called for language in different parts of the agreement…that ensures women's needs are met…To achieve "climate justice" for the poorest, a deal in Paris will have to include financial support to help them adapt to climate change impacts, and a mechanism for dealing with the unavoidable loss and damage those impacts cause, she said…