Need for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation With Reference to the State of Uttarakhand in India

Abstract

This chapter analyzes whether a human rights approach can serve as a model for addressing climate change issues in India. It discusses the debate between the compatibility of aims in addressing climate change and realizing human rights, focusing on climate change issues in Uttarakhand in India. It further discusses the absence of sound adaptation policies, pointing to the violations of the social and economic rights of the populations residing in the affected regions and suggests a tangible legal framework for analyzing state action on adaptation policy in response to climate change by referring to the successful case study of early warning system in the Netherlands. The authors conclude that any strategy to deal with climate change concerning adaptation or mitigation must foresee the consequences for humans, as part of communities and individually, for which the human rights framework assumes significance.

Citation

Upadhyay, A. and Mehrotra, A. (2024), "Need for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation With Reference to the State of Uttarakhand in India", Açikalin, Ş.N. and Erçetin, Ş.Ş. (Ed.) The Social Consequences of Climate Change, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 67-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-677-520241006