Climate change, buildings and human rights: what’s the deal?

That climate change poses a severe threat to human rights worldwide is well known, but where do buildings come in? This link is coming into the spotlight as UN human rights monitors turn their scrutiny towards the UK’s record on economic, social and cultural rights.

The relationship between climate and human rights is by now well recognised in international law. Extreme weather events will significantly impact all aspects of society, if they aren’t doing so already. We will all feel these effects, but they will invariably exacerbate poverty and inequality leaving those already socially marginalised bearing the brunt, and most, if not all, human rights in the lurch. The result is that to meet their human rights obligations, states must take action to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.

A much-overlooked sector lying uniquely at the crossroads between climate and human rights, and a great contributor to the crisis, is buildings. Its climate impacts are clear, with the buildings sector standing as one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG) globally. Where human rights fit in might be less obvious.

The UK illustrates this dynamic well, since it has one of the least energy efficient housing stocks in Europe. This means that people in the UK use more energy, pay more money, release more emissions and receive less heat.

As a result, millions of households around the UK live in fuel poverty. The upshot of this is that UK residents may find their human rights at risk. Specifically, the rights that come into play here are economic, social and cultural rights.

What are Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?

Economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights, sometimes described as the ‘rights of everyday life’, include the rights to food, housing, health, education, and work. They are enshrined in international law in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, one of the foundational pillars of international human rights law, which is agreed to by over 170 countries.

The Covenant obliges countries to effectively take progressive steps to realise ESC rights with the maximum of their available resources. Every few years, the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) carries out a ‘periodic review’ of all states party to the treaty to make sure they are indeed taking these steps to realise ESC rights.

Now it’s the UK’s turn to be examined with its seventh periodic review, and the issue of housing insulation cannot go ignored. That’s why OG teamed up with The Shift to file a submission to the CESCR underscoring the crucial and overlooked relationship between ESC rights, fuel poverty and the climate crisis, and highlighting the urgent need to reform the UK buildings sector.

What is the connection between ESC rights and fuel poverty in the UK?

Fuel poverty means being unable to afford adequate energy within one’s home. Poor insulation in homes drives up energy costs, and as a result, an estimated 5.6 million households in the UK live in fuel poverty.

Such conditions do not affect everyone in the same way. Evidence shows that marginalised communities, including low-income families, ethnic minorities, and elderly and disabled people, are significantly more likely to be affected by fuel poverty. The state of UK housing is therefore further entrenching existing social inequities.

Meanwhile, the cold and damp conditions that result from poor insulation are shown to seriously affect physical and mental health, make pre-existing health issues worse, and even lead to deaths in the worst of cases.

These adverse effects resulting from an insufficiently insulated housing stock are cause for human rights concerns. The Covenant guarantees the right to adequate housing (Article 11.1), the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (Article 12), and non-discrimination (Article 2.2). By not doing enough to improve UK buildings’ energy efficiency, the government may be falling short of its obligation to progressively ensure the full realisation of ESC rights.

Housing between climate change and human rights

As much as they stimy the fulfilment of human rights, inefficient buildings’ climate toll is just as concerning. UK home heating alone accounts for a staggering 18% of all GHG emissions. Indeed, the UK Climate Change Committee recently concluded that inadequate energy efficiency measures are at least partially to blame for the country lagging behind its national and international obligations to reduce emissions.

To make matters worse, the UK is still considering the use of hydrogen to heat buildings. Not only would this be an ineffective climate solution and a counterproductive misuse of green hydrogen, but the cumbersome deliberation process puts real climate action on ice. The final decision on whether hydrogen will be used for heating has been reserved for 2026, despite the repeated failure of trials and the National Infrastructure Commission finding deeming it a dead end over a year ago.

Every moment this uncertainty endures is one that could have been spent driving genuine decarbonisation efforts. Addressing climate change requires prioritising proven, effective solutions: international human rights law says that decarbonisation measures must be consistent with the best scientific evidence. Existing evidence suggests that hydrogen is less efficient and less scalable than using electricity for heating, a message we conveyed in our submission.

As one of the world’s largest economies, the UK is required to use its maximum available resources to address these challenges. Current spending to decarbonise buildings including by improving energy efficiency is not aligned with its obligations under international human rights law.

What should the UK do to improve the situation?

To address these challenges, we submitted that the UK should:

• Improve the energy efficiency of new buildings, especially for the most vulnerable households.

• Decarbonise home heating in a manner that aligns with the best available scientific evidence.

• Ensure that any decarbonisation plans are aligned with human rights, including housing rights and non-discrimination.

Considering the extent of the housing and climate crises, and the vital role of decarbonising buildings in solving them, we hope that the UK takes note.

To learn more read OG and The Shift’s CESCR submission.