The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP

Department of Energy and Climate Change

3 Whitehall Place

London

SW1A 2AW 

Date: 7^th December 2015

Dear Amber,

Human rights and gender equality in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

I am writing to express my concern regarding reports from the COP21 negotiations that the language on respect for human rights and gender equality is at risk of being removed entirely from the operative section of the Paris Agreement. Climate change represents a gross social injustice, and establishing overarching principles of climate justice, human rights and gender equality at the heart of the climate agreement will be a prerequisite for effective climate action. I urge you to ensure that the UK in particular is playing a constructive role in upholding a strong EU position on this issue.

It is vital that the EU adds its voice to those of vulnerable countries, civil society organisations, and calls from UN experts, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to ensure that respect for human rights and gender equality is upheld in the operative text. As a member of the Human Rights Council, the UK has agreed that human rights obligations and principles can strengthen climate policy-making by promoting coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes.  As I stated during my intervention in the Commons debate on 19th November, maintaining human rights at the heart of our work to tackle the climate crisis will be essential.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to reiterate the need for the UK Government to:

·         Support a commitment to phase out fossil fuels and phase in 100% renewable energy by 2050 - at the latest. This is a key demand of more vulnerable countries, where climate change threatens to undo decades of development progress, for example on health, clean water or food security. The UK should recognise this and back the 1.5°C goal - through action at home, not just words.

·         Push for a strong ratchet mechanism to ensure that INDCs are rapidly and significantly strengthened.  As an early step, the UK should accept the CCC’s recommendation to cut our own carbon emissions by 60% 2030, delivered domestically, and push for the EU-wide target to be strengthened to match. Ultimately, the UK needs to deliver our equitable share of carbon cuts, which is closer to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. This means the Government must ramp-up renewable energy and energy saving policies and investment, as well as pursuing a strategy to keep the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground and shift finance away from high carbon infrastructure – starting by abandoning the legal duty to maximise the economic recovery of oil and gas, which takes us in precisely the wrong direction.

·         Pledge our fair share of climate finance, including by: ensuring funds are additional to rather than diverted from the aid budget; making contributions through grants not loans; ensuring climate finance is subject to higher standards of public scrutiny and transparency; and supporting the need to operationalise and scale up the Loss and Damage Mechanism.  Innovative sources of funding can provide substantial amounts, such as a financial transition tax, aviation levies, and the redirection of fossil fuel subsidies.   

I’m copying this letter to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth at DECC and Baroness Anelay of St John's at the FCO.  Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,