November 29, 2022
COP27 in Egypt: Putting Human Rights on the Climate Agenda
Cairo hoped that COP27 would focus on its stated agenda: climate change adaptation. Yet it was human rights concerns—such as jailed pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah’s hunger strike and rumors of restricted internet access to human rights platforms—that often stole headlines from climate policy or funding pledges. The persistence of human rights coverage demonstrated that Egypt and many other governments fail to recognize that strong governance, human rights protections, and climate change adaptation are mutually reinforcing and have overlapping policy actions.
Climate change discussions have increasingly shifted to climate security, encompassing areas of the world that are vulnerable to political instability, turmoil, and exploitation.
International climate change discussions and actions often are not inclusive of all aspects of human security, such as reliable access to food, water, and shelter. Instead, international attention is geared toward mitigation and the promises of green energy technologies. While mitigation is a critical component of addressing climate change, overlooking human security and climate adaptation needs can result in a fraying social contract, weak governance, and insecurity. Poor and vulnerable populations are most exposed to the dire effects of climate change globally, including loss of life and livelihoods. What happened at COP27 holds lessons not only for Egypt, but for the rest of the planet.
Read the full article from New Security Beat.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Sharper: Chips and Export ControlsAs competition between the United States and China has intensified, advanced technology has become the latest battlefield. After years of restricting China’s access to advance...
By Charles Horn
-
Podcast
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Export Controls: Janet Egan, Sam Levy, and Peter Harrell on the White House's Semiconductor DecisionJanet Egan, a senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, discussed the Trump administration’s recent decision t...
By Janet Egan
-
Commentary
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Can India Survive the Trade War?India has little choice but to try to soothe simmering trade tensions with the U.S. without abandoning its redlines, while carefully managing the implications of increased coo...
By Eleanor Hume & Kyle Rutter
-
Bloomberg Scoop: Trump’s Team Said to Be Exploring Stake in Intel
Video
Geoffrey Gertz of the Center for a New American Security joins to discuss his takeaways as the administration demonstrates willingness to intervene in the economy much more di...
By Geoffrey Gertz
