Responding to extreme heat related weather events around the globe, including widespread wildfires, drought and floods, Marta Schaaf, Programme Director for Climate, ESJ and Corporate Accountability at Amnesty International said:
“Extreme heat is not just a weather event. This heat is political. It is where climate change driven by corporate greed and political failure collides with people’s rights, lives and livelihoods. It is a human rights emergency that threatens the rights to life, health, housing, water and sanitation, food, education, and a healthy environment. Extreme heat is not a stand-alone disaster. It’s a multiplier of human rights harm. While many governments and corporate actors roll back their climate action, an increasing number of people worldwide experience life altering – and in too many cases, life ending – climate change driven extreme events.
“Heatwaves can kill directly, and they also fuel wildfires, worsen air pollution, dry out land and disrupt rainfall patterns, deepening drought in some places and making floods more dangerous elsewhere. These harms are being made worse by authoritarian tactics that attack climate science, restrict protest, spread climate disinformation and shield powerful fossil fuel interests from accountability.
