Climate Change, Business and Human Rights
On Tuesday 21 March 2023, the Business, Trade and Human Rights unit hosted an expert roundtable event on 'Climate Change, Business and Human Rights', exploring the responsibilities of businesses in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as accountability mechanisms (and barriers to accountability) for corporate failure to take adequate climate action.
Human-induced climate change has become one of the most pressing issues of our time, and businesses, such as those in the fossil fuel and transportation industries, significantly contribute to it. However, the effects of climate change are not limited to the environment; it also threatens the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the right to life, respect for private and family life, health, food and an adequate standard of living. In fulfilling their obligation to respect human rights and ensure that their operations do not lead to human rights violations, businesses therefore have an essential role to play in addressing climate change.
The event was chaired by Klara Polackova Van der Ploeg, Assistant Professor in Law at the University of Nottingham and Head of the HRLC's Business, Trade and Human Rights Unit.
Speakers included:
- Professor Robert McCorquodale, United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
- Dr Ekaterina Aristova, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford.
- Dr Monika Feigerlová, Centre for Climate Change Law and Sustainability, Czech Academy of Sciences.
- Dr Lara Bianchi, University of Nottingham Business School.