Bloc’s member states warned in opposition to utilization of fossil fuels in response to hovering power costs amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United Nations has known as on European Union nations to not resort to extra fossil fuels as they face hovering power costs amid fears of winter shortages.
International locations within the bloc are in the midst of an escalating standoff with Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine greater than six months in the past. Moscow has since decreased provides of fuel to EU members, sending costs for the gas hovering and throwing nationwide economies into deep uncertainty.
“Within the face of hovering power costs which threaten to influence probably the most susceptible as winter approaches, some EU member states are turning to investments in fossil fuels infrastructure and provides,” Nada al-Nashif, deputy UN rights chief, instructed the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday.
“There is no such thing as a room for backtracking within the face of the continuing local weather disaster,” al-Nashif mentioned, warning of the long-term penalties of boosting the usage of fossil fuels that contribute to world warming and calling for quicker improvement of energy-efficiency initiatives and renewables.
She pointed to the devastating floods affecting greater than 33 million folks in Pakistan for example of what occurs when the world fails to behave on local weather change.
“What number of extra tragedies of this type do we want earlier than the urgency of the second jolts us into motion,” she mentioned.
Talking on the opening of the council’s 51st session in Geneva, al-Nashif acknowledged that the hovering power costs in Europe “threaten to influence probably the most susceptible as winter approaches”.
‘Lengthy-term penalties’
Final week, Russia brought about a significant scare when it halted fuel deliveries to Germany through the important thing Nord Stream 1 pipeline for an indefinite interval.
European nations accuse Russia of weaponising power provides in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on it over its invasion of Ukraine.
However Moscow continues to insist that the sanctions are inflicting provide points.
Earlier than the battle, about 40 p.c of the EU’s fuel imports got here from Russia. Now Germany and others are scrambling to give you new methods to warmth properties and energy factories.
Al-Nashif, who's at the moment serving as appearing excessive commissioner for human rights till new chief Volker Turk replaces Michelle Bachelet, known as for the event of energy-saving initiatives and renewable power sources to be urgently accelerated.
“I urge the EU and its member states to think about the long-term penalties of locking in additional fossil gas infrastructure,” she mentioned.
“It's important to speed up the event of power effectivity initiatives and renewables.”
Al-Nashif additionally urged all nations “to hunt an formidable final result” on the subsequent UN local weather convention in Egypt in November.
They need to search to “deal with loss and harm and meet and enhance local weather finance commitments”, she mentioned.
In her remarks, al-Nashif additionally touched on rights violations in lots of nations because the 51st common session of the Human Rights Council received beneath approach, together with the persecution of battle opponents and journalists in Russia.
“Within the Russian Federation, the intimidation, restrictive measures and sanctions in opposition to folks voicing opposition to the battle in Ukraine undermine the train of constitutionally assured elementary freedoms, together with the rights to free meeting, expression and affiliation,” al-Nashif mentioned.
She additionally mentioned Moscow was violating the precise to entry info by pressuring journalists, blocking the web and thru different types of censorship.
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