Fossil fuel phase out essential to avert human rights catastrophe, warns UN expert

 

By A Representative 

In a new report presented at the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera has issued an urgent call for the complete defossilization of the global economy within this decade. The report, titled “The Imperative of Defossilizing Our Economies”, argues that continued fossil fuel dependence is not only accelerating climate catastrophe but constitutes a profound violation of international human rights obligations—especially to present and future generations.

The 94-page document underscores the stark reality of climate breakdown. With 2024 declared the warmest year on record and climate-induced disasters escalating in frequency and intensity, the Special Rapporteur frames the fossil fuel crisis as “intergenerational, severe and widespread” in its human rights impacts. Citing evidence that fossil fuel combustion is responsible for 81–91% of historical carbon emissions, the report says the planet’s remaining carbon budget for staying within 1.5°C of warming has already been exceeded by existing fossil infrastructure.

Despite mounting evidence, the report notes that fossil fuel production is projected to grow by 110% by 2030—completely at odds with climate goals and scientific warnings. Morgera calls this disconnect a result of “six decades of climate obstruction,” citing deliberate misinformation, political interference, and legal protections granted to fossil fuel companies that have delayed meaningful action.

The report is deeply critical of the fossil fuel industry’s “playbook” of climate obstruction, including suppression of science, judicial harassment of environmental defenders, and massive advertising campaigns downplaying harm. Morgera notes that many companies knew the damaging effects of their products as early as the 1960s but chose denial and manipulation instead of action.

Citing scientific consensus, the report calls for halting all new fossil fuel exploration and infrastructure development, decommissioning existing facilities before their end of life, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies—estimated to be at least $1.4 trillion globally in 2023. The Special Rapporteur asserts that such subsidies violate international obligations to use maximum available resources for fulfilling human rights. She adds that the richest 20% of households in many developing countries receive six times the subsidy benefits compared to the poorest.

In addition to being the dominant source of climate change, the report paints fossil fuels as a driver of a range of systemic crises—biodiversity loss, toxic pollution, global inequality, and even armed conflict. Fossil fuels are blamed for over 8 million premature deaths annually, contamination of land and water, destruction of cultural heritage, and the creation of “sacrifice zones” where marginalized communities face disproportionate harm.

Morgera also highlights the growing threat of plastics and petrochemicals, noting that these products are embedding fossil fuel dependence across sectors beyond energy. Petrochemicals used in agriculture, especially synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, are said to drive fossil expansion and release nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO₂. The report warns that plastic production could account for 50% of global oil demand by 2050.

The report criticizes the protection fossil fuel companies enjoy under investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, where they have been awarded over $82 billion for climate policies that allegedly hurt profits. Over 60% of such claims could arise in low- and middle-income countries, effectively penalizing those least responsible for climate change.

The report draws strong connections between fossil fuels and systemic racial, gender, and generational injustices. It notes disproportionate harm to Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent, peasants, and children. It asserts that the continued expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure violates the rights to life, health, food, water, and a healthy environment—especially for those living in vulnerable and marginalized conditions.

Calling defossilization the “single most impactful contribution to the protection of human health,” the report insists that a just transition to renewable energy must be human rights-based and equity-focused. This means prioritizing energy access for the poor, empowering affected communities, and ensuring fossil fuel workers are protected through job guarantees, social security, and meaningful participation in decision-making.

Morgera recommends that all States immediately develop defossilization plans through inclusive, participatory processes. These should include bans on new fossil exploration, fracking, offshore drilling, and fossil fuel projects in biodiversity hotspots. High-emitting nations are urged to complete the fossil fuel phaseout by 2030 and stop exporting fossil-based technologies. Developed nations are further called upon to provide financial and technological support to the Global South without locking them into fossil dependency.

The Special Rapporteur warns that failure to phase out fossil fuels violates peremptory norms of international law, including the rights to life, self-determination, and non-discrimination. Inaction, she concludes, "not only risks catastrophic and irreversible harm but fundamentally undermines the possibility of a just, equitable, and liveable future for all."