CRC/C/GC/26 often a lengthy process, and supranational bodies generally require the exhaustion of domestic remedies prior to filing a complaint. Children should have access to free legal and other appropriate assistance, including legal aid and effective legal representation, and be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting them. States should consider additional measures to lower the costs for children seeking remedies, for example, through protection from adverse cost orders, to limit the financial risk to children who bring cases in the public interest regarding environmental matters. 87. To enhance accountability and promote children’s access to justice in environmental matters, States should explore options for shifting the onerous burden of proof from child plaintiffs to establish causation in the face of numerous variables and information deficits. 88. Children may face particular difficulties in obtaining remedies in cases involving business enterprises that may be causing or contributing to abuses of their rights, especially concerning transboundary and global impacts. States have an obligation to establish nonjudicial and judicial mechanisms to provide access to effective remedies for abuses of children’s rights by business enterprises, including as a result of their extraterritorial activities and operations, provided that there is a reasonable link between the State and the conduct concerned. In line with international standards, businesses are expected to establish or participate in effective grievance mechanisms for children who have been victims of such abuses of their rights. States should also ensure the availability of regulatory agencies, monitor abuses and provide adequate remedies for violations of children’s rights related to environmental harm. 89. Appropriate reparation includes restitution, adequate compensation, satisfaction, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition, with regard to both the environment and the children affected, including access to medical and psychological assistance. Remedial mechanisms should consider the specific vulnerabilities of children to the effects of environmental degradation, including the possible irreversibility and lifelong nature of the harm. Reparation should be swift, to limit ongoing and future violations. The application of novel forms of remedy is encouraged, such as orders to establish intergenerational committees, in which children are active participants, to determine and oversee the expeditious implementation of measures to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. 90. Access to applicable international and regional human rights mechanisms should be available, including through ratification of the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure. Information about such mechanisms and how to use them should be made widely known to children, parents, caregivers and professionals working with and for children. E. International cooperation 91. States have an obligation to take action, separately and jointly, through international cooperation, to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights. Article 4 of the Convention emphasizes that the implementation of the Convention is a cooperative exercise for the States of the world,24 and the full realization of children’s rights under the Convention is in part contingent upon how States interact. Climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss clearly represent urgent examples of global threats to children’s rights that require States to work together, calling for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response. 25 The obligations of international cooperation of each State depends in part on its situation. In the context of climate change, such obligations are appropriately guided by taking into account the historical and current emissions of greenhouse gases and the concept of common but differentiated responsibilities and States’ respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, 26 while requiring the provision of technical and financial assistance from developed States to 24 25 26 GE.23-11144 General comment No. 5 (2003), para. 60. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, preamble; and Human Rights Council resolutions 26/27 and 29/15. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, preamble and art. 3 (1); Paris Agreement, art. 2 (2); and Human Rights Council resolutions 26/27 and 29/15. 15