An academic at the ANU has been appointed as the world's first special representative for the United Nations on how climate change might affect human rights.
As the UN's first Special Rapporteur for human rights and climate change, Ian Fry's role will be to monitor the effects of climate change particularly on poorer countries, many of which are forecast to feel its affects badly.
He is an internationally recognised expert on environmental law and policy. In his new role, he is expected to visit two countries a year for the three years of his tenure and report back to the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Dr Fry is a part-time lecturer at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society. He is a dual citizen of the Pacific island state of Tuvalu and of Australia. He was Tuvalu's Ambassador for Climate Change and Environment between 2015 and 2019.
"I am truly honoured and feel a deep sense of responsibility in taking on this position. It is an enormous challenge," Dr Fry said.
"Being a Special Rapporteur is a challenging position. I hope I can do it justice. There is so much at stake.
"We already know that thousands of people are being displaced each day as a consequence of climate change-related weather events. We know that Indigenous peoples are at the forefront of climate change impacts.
"From my personal experience in working in a coral atoll nation like Tuvalu, I know that the high rights of the inhabitants are being affected by the impacts of climate change."
Part of his role is to assess how climate change might affect women and children.
"Women and children are invariably at the forefront of the impacts of climate change particularly those that are so closely connected to natural resources in their daily lives," he said.
"In taking up this position, I have had to hit the road running. I have already been invited to an online meeting next week between indigenous peoples of the Amazon and members of the European Parliament.
"I am also speaking at an online workshop on migration in the Pacific and will be attending a workshop in Geneva in early May."
