‘We shouldn’t give up on universal human rights and climate change’

Bonn, Germany - At a period of increasing challenges to the observance of human rights, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, German federal government commissioner for human rights and humanitarian aid, is calling everyone to remain steadfast to the universal declaration of human rights.

Kofler was in Bonn to attend COP 23, a United Nations sponsored conference on climate change where the creation of the rulebook for the implementation of the Paris Agreement is at stake.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark global climate accord that seeks to limit the rise of temperatures well below 2˚C by dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Kofler said that a rights-based approach to climate policy is difficult to advance but necessary. In a global context, respect for human rights also means taking responsibility for the harms caused by unabated carbon emissions by developed countries, she said.

“Those who suffer the most from the adverse effects of climate change did not cause the problem in the first place,” she added.

Just Transition

A key human rights issue in Germany is the transition of workers into the renewable energy sector. It is imperative to lead the transition through a human rights framework, Kofler said.

“Any transition or transformation creates victims who are not guilty,” she said.

While the coal debate in Germany has not ended, she said that the German government has encouraged the discussion on how to compensate workers whose livelihood will be affected by the dwindling coal industry.

Finding social compensation is of paramount importance, she added. For Kofler, it is important that the decision-making process does not just come from above but also includes the inputs of civic society and other stakeholders.

In this light, Germany can support in the creation of more civic spaces in the developing world, which are being threatened by a spur of nationalism, she said.

Germany must support developing nations

“The one thing we can do is to support capacity building wherever it is possible because industrialized countries don’t know all the solutions to climate change,” she said.

Kofler said that developing countries must find their own solutions while industrialized nations could provide financial as well as technical support. Moreover, it is necessary for developed nations to go back to the causes of climate change, she said.

“We have to evaluate our industrialization and carbon dioxide. How do we produce emissions?”

Reducing emissions is a way to promote human rights as it questions the patterns of production of industrialized countries, Kofler added.

Industrialized countries can also lead the way in promoting the transition to renewable energy by encouraging investments and imposing stricter evaluation of how German products are made. This way, she said, consumer patterns and behavior can be changed.

Germany has a national action plan for evaluating the production chain of German goods. The mechanism is meant to promote equitable production systems and fair supply chains.

 “We have homework to do on that but we are on our way,” Kofler said.

‘We can do more for emissions reduction, adaptation, loss and damage’

Kofler said that Germany could do more to reduce emissions, adaptation and loss and damage.

Loss and damage, a contentious issue in climate negotiations, has stalled in bringing financial discussions for a global fund to address the irreversible effects of climate change during COP 23.

“Ecological problems must be solved. We cannot negotiate with the planet. If we wait too long, it will have impacts,” she said.

Text: Alanah Torralba

To strengthen climate journalism around the globe, the FES Media Fellowship COP23 this year cooperates with Climate Tracker and supports two young journalists, Alanah Torralba from the Philippines and Alo Lemou from Togo, who participate in this program. They receive a climate media training, report from COP23 and take part in FES events as well.