The human rights costs of false 'green' choices Taking advantage of the justified alarm generated by climate change, some economic sectors have been promoting certain renewable energies and energy strategies as 'green', ignoring and hiding the serious impacts on human rights and the environment that they generate. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and large hydroelectric dams are examples in this regard, insofar as they offer renewable energies that do not generate greenhouse gases, but also present threats to the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. It is crucial to integrate human rights into plans for climate change mitigation. Mitigation measures to address climate change must be equitable, must ensure that human rights are protected, and must avoid generating new challenges or exacerbating existing ones for populations in vulnerable situations. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) First, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is a method of obtaining fuels that can be used for electricity and heat generation and transport from biomass capturing and storing carbon and then closing the cycle when the fuel is used. Its massive use could make a significant contribution to reducing emissions and keeping global warming to below 2°C. However, at the large-scale required, biomass production is likely to have an extremely large water consumption. Studies project that BECCS could entail water demands of the same magnitude as those of all current agricultural water withdrawals, translating into nearly one-quarter of global annual runoff. Most notably, the water demands of BECCS are predicted to increase the number of people experiencing water stress from 2.28 billion people currently to 4.58 billion. This increase in populations experiencing water stress larger increase than that predicted as a result of climate change, which is to 4.15 billion people. BECCS operations might also degrade the quality of water bodies, with implications for safe drinking water. While these impacts do not negate the ‘green’ potential of BECCS, they do speak to the need to understand the ‘blue’ impacts of strategies and technologies being considered in the effort to mitigate climate change. In situations of large-scale projects such as the cultivation of biomass for BECCS, the human rights to safe drinking water of the populations living in situations of most vulnerability can be threatened. It is therefore crucial to establish clear priorities for water uses, and to safeguard human rights against the potential impacts of climate mitigation strategies. Dams Dams are an important global source of energy with little to no emissions. However, despite being labelled as a 'green' source of energy, they have widespread impacts on human rights. In November 2000, the World Commission on Dams presented the findings of its landmark report stating that dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development, but often with heavy, contradictory socio-economic and environmental impacts. According to that report, between 40 and 80 million people, whose homes were flooded, were forcibly displaced, and more than 470 million had their livelihoods severely affected downstream. These populations mostly fell into extreme poverty and saw their human rights violated, including in many cases their rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. The former Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller, outlined the impacts of megaprojects on human rights throughout their lifecycle. He identified the threats to the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation from the start of construction of megaprojects such as, to their management, including occasional disasters as a result of their degradation. 6