Amicus Curiae Brief presented by
ClientEarth
21 November 2016
a business that targets high sugar foods at children, contributing to childhood
obesity.
91. These examples demonstrate the potential scope of the Guiding Principles, and
confirm that a business may contribute to a human rights impact through the legal
sale of its products. These examples are analagous to the situation of the Carbon
Majors, many of whom legally sell fossil fuels and other products for energy use.
Despite the fact that their products are accepted and used on a wide scale, their
human rights impacts must also be acknowledged by the Carbon Majors.
92. ClientEarth does not suggest that all business enterprises, including small and
medium enterprises around the world, should be held to the same standards in the
context of the human rights implications of climate change, as should the Carbon
Majors.71 This is because the Carbon Majors, as demonstrated by the evidence of
Heede provided by the Petitioners, have, through their operations and products,
contributed to the emission of such significant quantities of greenhouse gas
emissions into the earth's atmosphere so as to impose upon them specific and
particular obligations in respect of climate change. This interpretation is consistent
with the approach taken in the Guiding Principles, particularly Principle 14. The
application of the Principle is discussed in further detail in section 7.4.
93. ClientEarth agrees with the Petitioner's assertion that the Interpretive Guidance
issued by the OHCHR may be relied upon by the Commission in deciding the
appropriate test for determining whether the activities of the Carbon Majors have
71
This is recognised in Principle 14, which states that "the means by which a business enterprise meets its responsibility to respect human rights will be
proportional to...its size".
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