States are called to find common ground and significantly ramp up climate ambition for the sake of the planet and the rights of present and future generations. Photo AI
As the Bonn Climate Conference begins (June 16–26), Amnesty International has warned that the climate crisis is already causing new and devastating harms to human rights and called on states to urgently deliver ambitious climate action.
A new briefing from Amnesty urges governments to map out a just transition away from fossil fuels in all sectors to prevent further global heating and worsening human rights impacts.
Despite challenges such as the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the global rise in authoritarian practices, and the environmental devastation of armed conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Amnesty insists it is not too late.
The organization calls on states to find common ground and significantly ramp up climate ambition for the sake of the planet and the rights of present and future generations.
In 2024, the world crossed a critical threshold: for the first time, global heating exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
That year became the hottest on record.
Catastrophic events unfolded around the world—wildfires tore through Latin America, the Caribbean experienced the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, and parts of Central Europe were inundated with three months of rainfall in just five days.
“The devastating new human rights harms resulting from climate change will escalate dramatically unless global heating is kept in check,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Advisor.
“More people will be driven deeper into poverty, lose their homes, or suffer the effects of drought and food insecurity. Despite the deepening climate crisis, governments’ action to limit fossil fuel production and use has been wholly inadequate.”
Amnesty criticized the continued role of fossil fuel companies, accusing them of downplaying climate harms and discrediting science.
Many governments remain tied to these companies through subsidies and investment, effectively incentivizing the continuation of fossil fuel production.
“Governments are in thrall to fossil fuel companies,” Harrison added. “Everyone has the right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – but as the climate crisis intensifies, this right, and others, are under growing threat.”
Across the globe, unnatural disasters linked to climate change—such as worsening droughts and severe floods—are destroying harvests, worsening food scarcity, depleting water supplies, and contributing to displacement, forced migration, and conflict.
Protecting and Listening to Grassroots Voices
The impacts are especially harsh for marginalized frontline and fence-line communities, which contribute the least to fossil fuel use yet suffer the most.
These include Indigenous Peoples, subsistence farmers, and residents of low-lying island nations threatened by rising sea levels and stronger storms.
People living near fossil fuel production and transport facilities also face heightened exposure to environmental risks.
Pakistan, for example, emits less than 1% of global greenhouse gases annually but ranks among the countries most vulnerable to climate disasters.
In a report published last month, Amnesty International documented how increasingly frequent floods and heatwaves in Pakistan are causing preventable deaths, especially among young children and older adults.
Even as the crisis worsens, individuals calling for action often face repression.
Around the world, environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are being harassed, stigmatized, attacked, and criminalized for defending their lands and advocating for a healthy environment.
Amnesty cited the example of the Warriors for the Amazon in Ecuador, who are risking their lives in the fight for environmental justice.
The Bonn Conference also presents an opportunity to highlight human rights concerns in upcoming COP hosts.
In Azerbaijan, host of COP29, environmental human rights defender Anar Mammadli and journalist Nargiz Absalamova, who reported on environmental issues, remain imprisoned.
Other journalists who reported on the human rights situation during COP29 were later arrested, in what appear to be retaliatory actions.
Amnesty also raised concerns about Brazil, host of COP30, where environmental defenders face a dangerous climate of violence, intimidation, and killings.
Despite Brazil’s intention to present itself as a leader in global environmental protection, some of its institutions are simultaneously pursuing policies that contradict this goal.
Such policies include loosening licensing for destructive projects and expanding fossil fuel production.
“The voices, views, knowledge, and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples, frontline and fence line communities, and human rights defenders must be incorporated into climate policies, plans, and action,” said Harrison.
Amnesty also criticized barriers to participation at the Bonn conference.
Reports continue to surface about limited badge allocations and visa challenges for participants from the Global South.
Furthermore, the COP Host Country Agreements—which are critical to safeguarding freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for participants—are still not routinely made available to the public.
Climate Finance Must Be Addressed
Another key concern highlighted by Amnesty is the failure of high-income countries to meet their obligations on climate finance.
Many lower-income countries, already reeling from climate impacts, are spending more on debt repayments than they receive in climate finance.
Amnesty emphasized that historically high-emitting countries have a responsibility to provide grants, not loans.
This especially should be directed towards supporting lower-income nations in cutting emissions, adapting to climate change, and compensating for loss and damage.
“Taxing fossil fuel companies, corporate windfall profits and high net worth individuals, as well as ending subsidies and investments in fossil fuels and ending global tax abuses, could raise over USD 3 trillion per year, which could go a huge way towards the cost of tackling climate change,” said Harrison.
Huge Changes Needed Before COP30
The Bonn Climate Conference is a pivotal moment ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
Amnesty insists that keeping global warming below 1.5°C requires concrete progress with clear timelines toward scaled-up, needs-based climate finance, particularly for adaptation and loss and damage.
The organization calls for a just energy transition that does not rely on risky or unproven technologies or offsets that fail to deliver genuine emissions reductions.
Amnesty also stresses the need for inclusive climate negotiations, ensuring that those most affected by the crisis—especially from the majority world—can meaningfully participate in decision-making spaces without discrimination or repression.
“If climate change is to be taken seriously, we need to see action, not just words,” said Harrison. “The time to act decisively, inclusively, and equitably is now.”
About Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global non-governmental organization (NGO) that works to protect and promote human rights.
Founded in 1961, it has a presence in over 150 countries and territories, driven by a worldwide movement of more than 10 million members and supporters.
Amnesty investigates and exposes human rights abuses, supports victims, and mobilizes people to hold authorities accountable.
Its work spans a wide range of issues, including freedom of expression, refugee rights, protection of human rights defenders, and climate justice.
