CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS This section briefly summarizes the findings of the IPCC AR5, specifically the contribution of Working Group II on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. For each impact area, the effect on specific human rights is also noted.8 A more detailed summary of what these rights entail is provided in Appendix A. The discussion focuses on impacts that are projected to occur under the intermediate emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP6.0), corresponding with a global mean temperature increase between 1.1 and 3.1C. The severity of these impacts will be significantly worse in a high emissions scenario (RCP8.5), which would correspond with a temperature increase between 2.6 and 4.8°C. (a) Impacts on Ecosystems and Natural Resources (i) Freshwater Resources According to IPCC projections, climate change will significantly reduce surface water and groundwater resources in most dry subtropical regions, thus intensifying competition for water among agriculture, ecosystems, settlements, industry, and energy production, and affecting regional water, energy, and food security.9 Climate change will also increase the frequency of droughts in presently dry areas. The primary drivers of these projected water shortages and droughts include: (i) reduced rainfall, (ii) reduced snowpack, resulting in less snowmelt supplying rivers and streams; (iii) higher temperatures, which increase evaporation from surface water and soils; and (iv) sea level rise, which contributes to saltwater inundation of freshwater resources. In addition, variations in the timing, magnitude, and type of precipitation, as well as temperature increases and sea level rise, can harm freshwater ecosystems by changing stream flow and water quality. This can also lead to the degradation of water supplies for human consumption, agriculture, and other uses. Marisol Grandon / UK Department for International Development (2011) Affected rights: right to water and sanitation, right to health, right to life, right to food, right to an adequate standard of living. Climate change will reduce freshwater availability in arid regions that are already suffering from severe water shortages and drought, such as the remote Turkana region of Northern Kenya, where residents had to collect water from dry riverbeds during a period of prolonged drought. 8 9 The rights identified in this report are based on the core international human rights treaties. For the full text of these treaties and protocols, see UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), The Core International Human Rights Treaties (2014), available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ Publications/CoreInternationalHumanRightsTreaties_en.pdf. For an explanation of treaty implementation, see OHCHR, The United Nations Human Rights Treaty System, Fact Sheet No. 30, Rev. 1 (2012), available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet30Rev1.pdf. For a more detailed overview of specific rights, such as the rights to water, food, health, and housing, see OHCHR, Publications and Resources: Fact Sheets, http://www.ohchr. org/EN/PublicationsResources/Pages/FactSheets.aspx (last visited Nov. 12, 2015) IPCC (2014), supra note 4, at 232. T H E H U M A N R I G H T S I M P L I C AT I O N S O F C L I M AT E C H A N G E 3