The objectives of this meeting were to discuss how domestic and international implementation of Canada’s commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement might implicate human rights, and to consider how CIGI’s International Law Research Program could contribute to developing guidance for government decision makers on how to integrate human rights analysis into climate-related policy making.
The meeting was organized as a round table with participants’ introductory comments identified beforehand on each of the subtopics for discussion. There were 40 participants from national, subnational and indigenous governments; Inuit, indigenous and Métis communities; and academic, private and non-governmental sectors. After an introductory session devoted to the indigenous understandings of the word “sustainability,” and the relationship among sustainability, responsibility, law and rights, the discussion proceeded on these broad topics:
- overall implications for Canada of the Paris Agreement;
- Canadian action at the international level;
- human rights and governance aspects of climate geoengineering;
- actors and activities at the domestic level; and
- next steps for further activities and research.