The letter to the conference president, follows a letter to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, urging him to give his backing to the involvement of Disabled people at COP.
COP29 will take place next month in Azerbaijan at the Baku Stadium, where a wide range of stakeholders: from politicians to general public and private businesses to media personnel, experts and academics, youth, indigenous communities, NGOs and civil society, , will share their perspectives on climate change and its solutions.
However, for yet another year, the impact of climate change on Disabled people will be absent from the agenda, despite the importance of the topic and growing awareness of it. DR UK has been highlighting the issues relating to disability and climate change for three years now, and we’ve received little response from both the UK government and COP.
DR UK has pushed for Disabled people to be involved through working with Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and NPC on the "Everyones Environment" programme. There is no doubt that Disabled people are disproportionately affected by climate emergencies and environmental solutions.
Research shows that Disabled people are frequently unable to leave their homes and reach safety in the event of evacuation due to environmental catastrophes, leading to the loss of many lives. Disabled people are twice as likely as any other group to die in disasters. Environmental illnesses of many kinds are on the rise. Environmental Pollution is a major cause of ill health: creating childhood disability, impairing children’s health, diminishing their capacity to learn, and reducing their life chances and of course higher temperatures affect people with disabilities or pre-existing conditions that limit the body’s ability to stay cool.
Kamran Mallick, CEO of DR UK said “"The climate crisis is not an equal-opportunity disaster. Disabled people are disproportionately impacted by its effects, yet our voices are too often absent from the conversation. From COP, we demand that the inextricable link between disability justice and climate justice be recognised, and that inclusive policies be prioritised to ensure no one is left behind in the face of this global challenge. This issue must be a standing agenda item at the next, and all future, COP meetings."
Dan white policy and campaigns officer at DR UK working on climate change policy said “The global Disabled population is estimated at 1 billion and is affected by discrimination, poverty, marginalization, and other pre-existing inequalities, making the threat to our community even greater. However, an even bigger threat is the ignorance of these inequalities on the very stages that are supposedly working to better the environment for all.”
“It is vital that the voices, ideas, and representations of Disabled people are heard and included, as world-wide solutions are developed and implemented, especially on the biggest platforms on the planet.”
“COP has a mixed history of Disability inclusive practice, some good, some terrible, but we just don’t want to see COP programmes boast about accessible venues if the vital topic we and millions are pushing for is nowhere to be seen or heard. We, as a global collective ask to be heard and to educate others, anything else is pure eco-ableism .”
DR UKs policy work on climate change can be read and shared from the website