Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on climate financing and human rights
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This paper represents a response to the call for inputs on climate financing and human rights issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It was submitted to the OHCHR on 16 January 2026. The submission highlights research from the Just Transition Finance Lab and Law & Governance research units at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and from the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre, all based at the Global School of Sustainability at LSE.
Summary messages
- The climate finance gap is a human rights gap. It undermine states’ capacity to protect economic and social rights, particularly in countries especially vulnerable to climate change.
- Debt-heavy climate finance instruments can undermine human rights and the justice dimensions of energy transitions.
- Transparency and accountability around climate finance remain inconsistent and limited, but there are increasing examples of good practice that can be replicated.
- Public participation in climate finance initiatives is important for ensuring alignment of climate finance and the realisation of human rights for all.
- International cooperation and orchestration initiatives hold promise but need to be better designed and linked to accountability mechanisms.
- Country platforms could help to integrate grant spending to support measures such as reskilling and inclusive participation. This includes country platforms that are part of Just Energy Transition Partnerships.
- Incorporating clear use-of-proceed and social performance indicators in issuances of thematic sovereign bonds can provide a replicable structure for governments seeking to attract private capital while maintaining transparency and accountability.
- The quality of finance, including its concessionality, predictability and accessibility, is as important as the quantity for ensuring the realisation of human rights.
- Ultimately, early planning, transparent reporting and participatory governance should help to align financial flows with human rights standards.