CHR-NI-2016-0001 Statement of Resource Person, Katherine Lofts (i) greater risk of injury, disease, and death due to more intense heat waves and fires; (ii) increased risk of under-nutrition resulting from diminished food production in poor regions; (iii) health consequences stemming from lost work capacity and reduced labor productivity in vulnerable populations; and (iv) increased risk of food-, water- and vector-borne diseases. 80 In the Philippines, the WHO has identified several priority health issues linked to climate change, including risks from infectious and vector-borne diseases, ambient and indoor air pollution, sea-level rise, heat-related deaths, and under-nutrition.81 Climate change is also linked to increased rates of mortality. Indeed, the WHO has projected that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year in the period from 2030 to 2050 due to increased malnutrition, malaria, dengue, diarrhea, and heat stress alone,82 while a study commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum placed the figure at an additional 700,000 deaths per year by 2030.83 The same study found that climate change is currently responsible for 400,000 deaths per year. 84 In addition, climate change impacts pose significant risks to mental health. For example, climate change disasters are associated with an increase in stress-related psychiatric disorders.85 Increased psychological distress and impaired mental health has also been linked to a range of other climate impacts, including slow onset events such as drought, economic stressors, and climate-induced migration.86 (viii) Right to education87 Climate change may impact the right to education in many ways. Extreme weather events such as landslides, flooding, and tropical storms can destroy school buildings, power lines, and roads, and disrupt transportation systems. In some cases, children may be unable attend school due to climate-induced displacement and migration. Climate change impacts may also result in increased poverty, which may in turn force children out of school and into the workforce.88 In the context of the Philippines, UNICEF states that climate change poses a severe threat to children’s education, in part because “[t]he increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events lead to suspended classes which can disrupt school attendance.”89 Climate change may also have indirect impacts on the right to education. For example, physical vulnerabilities linked to climate change impacts (such as illness or malnourishment) may constrain children’s ability to obtain an education. 80 UNEP, supra note 13 at 8. UNICEF Philippines, supra note 1 at 20. 82 World Health Organization, Quantitative Risk Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change on Selected Causes of Death, 2030s and 2050s (Geneva: WTO, 2014) at 13. 83 DARA and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2nd Edition: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of a Hot Planet (Madrid: Fundación DARA Internacional, 2012) at 17. 84 Ibid. 85 See, eg: SK Padhy et al., “Mental Health Effects of Climate Change” (2015) 19:1 Indian J Occup Environ Med 3. 86 Ibid. 87 See eg: ICESCR, supra note 16 at Art 13; UDHR, supra note 29 at 26. 88 UNICEF Philippines, supra note 1 at 23. 89 Ibid at 22. 81 11