Submission in Support of Petitioners Case No. CHR-NI-2016-0001 The higher incidence of drought is a major concern for the Philippines. Previous droughts have caused massive crop failures and water shortages.83 In April 2016, it was reported that 42% of the country was experiencing drought or dry spells and 39 provinces, cities, municipalities and villages had declared a state of emergency as a result.84 As noted above, scientists have linked climate change to decreases in rainfall during the dry season and an increased incidence of droughts in the Philippines and elsewhere. Going forward, the Philippines and many other countries will almost certainly experience further decreases in dry season rainfall and increases in drought conditions.85 4. Right to Food The right to adequate food is enshrined in both the UDHR and the ICESCR.86 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has described the right to adequate food as being realized when every person, “alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement.”87 The existence of this right “places legal obligations on States to overcome hunger and malnutrition and realize food security for all.”88 OHCHR has recognized that climate change is affecting food production,89 and that States must “make efforts to enable sustainable production of food to ensure the availability of food for future generations, considering factors such as population growth, impact of possible climate change, and the available of natural resources.”90 Indeed, climate change has profound implications for food production and food security. According to the IPCC, the effects of climate change on crop and terrestrial food production are already evident. Changes in temperature and rainfall precipitation have negatively affected wheat and maize production in lower latitudes.91 There is also evidence that extreme weather events (storms and 83 World Bank (2013), supra note 41, at 12. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Philippines: Drought and Dry Spells, Information Bulletin no. 1 (April 29, 2016). 85 PAGASA (2011), supra note 10. 86 UDHR Art. 25; ICESCR Art. 11. 87 UN Economic and Social Council, Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Substantive Issues Arising in the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, UN Doc. E/C.12/1999/5 (May 12, 1999) at ¶ 6. 88 OHCHR, The Right to Adequate Food, Fact Sheet No. 34 (2010) at 5. 89 Id. at 22. 90 Id. 91 IPCC WGII (2014), supra note 8, at 491. 84 Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School 18