Introduction
We are in a global water crisis, and climate change exacerbates this crisis. We all know that climate change
arises as a consequence of the massive emission of greenhouse gases, and therefore no one doubts that
mitigation strategies must be led by the energy transition. However, it is rarely explained that the main
socio-economic impacts are generated around water. Adaptation strategies must be based on a
hydrological transition that strengthens environmental and social resilience in the face of climate change.
It is urgent to recover the good state of wetlands and underground aquifers, true natural lungs of the
water cycle, which can and should be strategic reserves for these increasingly severe droughts.
It is equally urgent to strengthen social resilience in the face of the impacts of climate change. The causes
of scarcity of safe drinking water are rarely purely physical. Most people without access to safe drinking
water are not living in waterless (arid) environments, but are either impoverished people who lack access
to drinking water for their basic needs while the available drinking water is served to those who can afford
it. People living at the intersection of multiple sources of vulnerability and marginalization are more likely
to lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation and to be disproportionately impacted by climate
change. In addition, inadequate access to safe water and sanitation, among other impacts of climate
change, exacerbates an additional layer of vulnerability the people face, especially their health.
The current report is part of three special thematic reports issued by the Special Rapporteur on the
human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. The first special report aims to outline how climate
change will impact the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and to describe the main
trends in those impacts by region. The second and current special report explores the impacts of climate
change on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of specific groups, and the third outlines
a human rights approach to climate adaptation, mitigation, financing and cooperation.
Introduction
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Groups and populations facing disproportionate impact
2
Climate change and the human rights of persons living in situations of vulnerability
2
Climate change as a multiplier of existing inequalities
3
Participation
3
Impact of climate change on groups and population in
situations of vulnerability
4
Persons living in poverty
4
Indigenous peoples
5
Women and Girls
6
Children
7
Persons with disabilities
8
Migrants and displaced persons
8
Older persons
9
Ethnic minorities
9
1