The United Nations World Economic and Social Survey 2016 focuses on the challenge of building resilience to climate change and on how population groups and communities that are disproportionately affected by climate hazards. It also argues that, in the absence of transformative policies which coherently address the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development, building climate resilience will remain elusive and poverty and inequalities will worsen.
The Survey asserts that the rights of access to information, participation and justice are key to tackle inequalities and build climate change resilience strategies. These rights not only ensure that the environmental problems affecting disadvantaged groups and vulnerable communities are adequately addressed but also that policy decisions take into consideration the needs of those groups.
The Principle 10 regional process in Latin America and the Caribbean is highlighted along with the Aarhus Convention and the Bali Guidelines as key tools to implement access rights enshrined in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
