QUNO joins UN and interfaith partners to examine ethical pathways, tax justice, debt relief, and value-based multilateralism for climate finance during the Human Rights Council
The need for sufficient global climate finance featured prominently at the sixty-third session of the Human Rights Council (HRC63) in Geneva. QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change programme helped organize and speak at an official HRC63 side event, stressing the moral call to provide sufficient climate finance to enable the full realization of human rights for all, and the urgent need to shift military expenditure to lifesaving efforts, including climate finance.
Discussions were informed by the thematic study of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development on climate finance, vulnerability, and responsibility, alongside the UN Secretary-General’s synthesis report examining pathways, challenges, and opportunities for mobilizing sufficient climate finance.
At the side event, QUNO’s Representative Lindsey Fielder Cook joined UN and interfaith colleagues in offering actionable and fair multilateral solutions. Reflections ranged from debt relief and debt cancellation to climate damages taxes grounded in the Polluter Pays Principle, the redirection of fossil fuel subsidies, Common Good Wealth taxes, aviation and shipping levies, financial transaction taxes, a fairer allocation of Special Drawing Rights, and shifting military spending away from destruction toward lifesaving efforts, including climate resilience.
Highlighting how political will and climate finance rebuild multilateral trust, Lindsey noted:
“In our multilateral work, we continually witness how support for sufficient climate finance is key to progress… Political will to deliver sufficient climate finance in turn builds the political trust so deeply needed to move beyond divisive superpower politics”
Lindsey encouraged participants to reimagine how climate finance is understood and communicated across society:
“I ask you to reimagine how we understand and communicate the meaning of climate finance. Where climate finance is as important to the health of your family as it is the health of the receiving family, and critical for the full realization of human rights for all people”
Further details on QUNO’s engagement at the Human Rights Council can be accessed through our Newsroom Article, and the recording of the side event can be found here.
