E/C.12/GC/26 and development projects.68 In the context of land, many human rights defenders are also defenders of the environmental functions of land and of the sustainability of land use as a precondition for respecting human rights in the future. In accordance with the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, States shall take all measures necessary to respect human rights defenders and their work, including in relation to land issues, and to refrain from imposing criminal penalties on them or enacting new criminal offences with the aim of hindering their work. The specific measures that States should adopt to safeguard the work of human rights defenders in relation to land are dependent on national circumstances. However, the following measures are of crucial importance: (a) public recognition, by the highest level of Government, of the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders and a commitment that no violence or threats against them will be tolerated; (b) repeal of any State legislation or any measures that are intended to penalize or obstruct the work of human rights defenders; (c) strengthening of State institutions responsible for safeguarding the work of human rights defenders; (d) investigation and punishment of any form of violence or threat against human rights defenders; and (e) adoption and implementation of programmes, in consultation with potential beneficiaries, that are well resourced and have inbuilt coordination mechanisms that ensure that adequate protection measures are provided to human rights defenders at risk whenever necessary.69 55. D. Climate change 56. The impact of climate change on access to land, affecting user rights, is severe in many countries. In coastal zones, sea level rise has an impact on housing, agriculture and access to fisheries. Climate change also contributes to land degradation and desertification. Rising temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are increasingly affecting access to land.70 States shall cooperate at the international level and comply with their duty to mitigate emissions and their respective commitments made in the context of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. States have these duties also under human rights law, as the Committee has highlighted previously. 71 Moreover, States shall avoid adopting policies to mitigate climate change, such as carbon sequestration through massive reforestation or protection of existing forests, that lead to different forms of land grabbing, especially when they affect the land and territories of populations in vulnerable situations, such as peasants or Indigenous Peoples. Mitigation policies should lead to absolute emissions reductions through the phasing out of fossil fuel production and use. 57. States have an obligation to design climate change adaptation policies at the national level that take into consideration all forms of land use change induced by climate change, to register all affected persons and to use the maximum available resources to address the impact of climate change, particularly on disadvantaged groups. Climate change affects all countries, including those that may have contributed to it the least. Thus, those countries that have historically contributed most to climate change and those that are currently the main contributors to it shall assist the countries that are most affected by climate change but are least able to cope with its impact, including by supporting and financing land-related adaptation measures. Cooperation mechanisms for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures shall provide and implement a robust set of environmental and social safeguards to ensure that no project negatively affects human rights and the environment and to guarantee access to information and meaningful consultation with 58. 68 69 70 71 16 For example, E/C.12/VNM/CO/2-4, para. 11, E/C.12/1/Add.44, para. 19, E/C.12/IND/CO/5, paras. 12 and 50, E/C.12/PHIL/CO/4, para. 15, E/C.12/COD/CO/4, para. 12, E/C.12/LKA/CO/2-4, para. 10, and E/C.12/IDN/CO/1, para. 28. E/C.12/2016/2, para. 8. See Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Climate Change and Land: summary for Policymakers” (2019). See HRI/2019/1. GE.23-00043