The George Institute for Global Health Kenneth Yakubu

THE GEORGE INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

KENNETH YAKUBU

PhD Candidate and Research Assistant, The George Institute for Global Health. Student rapporteur, ‘Health and Human Rights in the Climate Crisis’.

As the conference draws to a close, some of us might be asking the ‘what’s next’ question. I will admit, navigating the issues of climate change can be a daunting task. But it is not an impossible one. We have heard from Helen Clark that “it’s economically, geo-physically, and technologically possible to meet the ambition of the Paris Agreement”. We have been encouraged by V to take all we have heard from this conference and use it to “relocate meaning outward, into a shared process of rehabilitation”. You may have heard the speakers describe the dire consequences of not achieving net zero emissions, but they also shared stories of kinship and connectivity, efforts from the frontlines that are geared towards transformational change.

As academics, civil society organisations and those interested in climate justice, we must keep demanding that state actors take the right decisions in response to the climate crisis, actions that can lead us to a just and rapid transition. We will be criticised for our ideals. Rather than retreat to the safety of those who think and talk like us, we must constantly seek ways to engage the sceptics. It must be about healthy engagement, and dialogue.

In this conference, the speakers have argued brilliantly for the indivisibility of human rights, but now is the time to close ranks. It is time for coalition-building throughout the climate justice and human right movements. As Mijin Cha and Noelene Nabulivou shared, we can do without the silos, we can break out of the ivory towers, roll up our sleeves and work with community groups to “build power locally, and centre directly-impacted stakeholders”. Indeed, we can work with unions to clearly define what a transition to justice looks like – that fine balance between the reduction of emissions and having good quality jobs. We can do more to support the right to “sovereignty and selfdetermination” of indigenous communities, promoting what they already know about achieving environmental justice. Yes, there is more that we can do. We can promote cogovernance models between community groups, business owners and leaders of corporations. And there may be those who say this is not possible, but Tlaleng Mofokeng reminds us that we can look back to “centuries-long examples of sustainable, indigenous practices to model industries after”. We can encourage our governments and business owners to invest in social protection schemes to mitigate the impact of climate change. Beyond screening for vulnerability, health impact assessment tools can become instruments for promoting collective thinking and action, bringing together health professionals, community groups, and the government. Fiona Haigh has argued brilliantly for how these tools can form a template for integrating human rights principles, promoting a dimension of accountability in the language of rights and responsibilities. Those of us in the health sector may refer to our lack of legal expertise as a reason for staying out of these engagements. We may complain of the legality of rights-based approaches to change, but we cannot deny the need to protect our collective rights to a healthy and safe environment, our right to health, and to life. So, there has to be a way of interpreting, and incorporating rights-based approaches into existing health and social care services. If we still argue that this is not our responsibility, we cannot argue our way out of providing leadership for a resilient health system, or reducing the waste we produce. Climate change will increase the demand on health services, so we must lend our voice to efforts aimed at ensuring a sustainable global health workforce. A workforce that is trained, equipped, and motivated to respond to the change in disease and illness patterns that accompany global warming. We may leave this conference concerned about how much we have not achieved in the fight for climate justice. I hope we also leave inspired by V’s words, that “what seems like a depressive set of circumstances could instead be represented as a joyful assertion of purpose”.