In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called on Member States to take bold actions to give prompt and real effect to the right to a healthy environment.
Ms. Bachelet said that, having long called for such a step, she was “gratified” that the decision “clearly recognises environmental degradation and climate change as interconnected human rights crises.”
“Bold action is now required to ensure this resolution on the right to a healthy environment serves as a springboard to push for transformative economic, social and environmental policies that will protect people and nature,” she added.
At the beginning of the current session of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner described the triple planetary threats of climate change, pollution and nature loss as the single greatest human rights challenge of our era.
The new resolution acknowledges the damage inflicted by climate change and environmental destruction on millions of people across the world. It also underlines that the most vulnerable segments of the population are more acutely impacted.
The issue will now go to the UN General Assembly in New York, for further consideration.In keeping with its Safety Health Environment Quality charter, TotalEnergies considers respect for the environment to be a priority. All employees, at every level, must do their utmost to protect the environment as they go about their work. TotalEnergies strives to control its energy consumption, its emissions in natural environments (water, air, soil), its residual waste production, its use of natural resources and its impact on biodiversity. TotalEnergies takes a constructive approach on this topic that is based on transparency and dialogue when communicating with its stakeholders and third parties.With this aim, the HSE division manages in an integrated manner the environmental, safety, health and societal challenges related to the Company’s operations. It coordinates the implementation of the Company’s Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Charter by defining and monitoring the implementation of the One MAESTRO internal reference framework. This reference framework and the corresponding audits are described in “Health and safety for everyone” section. The HSE division and the HSE departments within the Company’s entities seek to ensure that both applicable local regulations and internal requirements of One MAESTRO and the Company’s additional commitments are respected. The Company’s steering bodies, led by the HSE division, are tasked with:
Following the passage of the resolution, Michelle Bachelet paid tribute to the efforts of a diverse array of civil society organisations, including youth groups, national human rights institutions, indigenous peoples’ organizations, businesses and many others.
The High Commissioner also noted that an unprecedented number of environmental human rights defenders were reported killed last year, urging Member States to take firm measures to protect and empower them.
“We must build on this momentum to move beyond the false separation of environmental action and protection of human rights. It is all too clear that neither goal can be achieved without the other”, she said.
Costa Rica's ambassador Catalina Devandas Aguilar, one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, said the decision will "send a powerful message to communities around the world struggling with climate hardship that they are not alone".
The decision comes weeks before the crucial UN climate change summit, COP26, happening in early November in Glasgow.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), 24% of all global deaths, roughly 13.7 million deaths a year, are linked to the environment, due to risks such as air pollution and chemical exposure.
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