On 6-18 November, the United Nations Climate Change Conference convened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt aiming to renew solidarity between countries to achieve the world’s collective climate goals. This 27^th session of the annual Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27), gathered delegates from nearly 200 countries, including world leaders, civil society representatives and other stakeholders. Notably, COP27 closed with the adoption of a breakthrough agreement to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries heavily impacted by floods, droughts and other climate disasters.

In attendance was Senator Gladys González (Argentina), President of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the National Senate of Argentina, who highlighted the important role of parliamentarians in addressing climate change, both domestically and regionally. In the video below, Senator Gonzàlez shares with fellow PGA Member-parliamentarians about her participation in COP27, the impact parliamentarians can have to address the climate crisis, and a renewal of her long-time commitment to addressing climate change from a human rights-based approach.

Notably, Senator Gonzaléz underscores the importance of the Escazú Agreement, the first legally-binding agreement in the world to contain specific provisions on human rights defenders of the environment, and the first regional environmental agreement of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Escazú Agreement aims to ensure the three rights of access to participation, information, and justice in environmental matters. This regional Agreement offers a path to advancing the implementation of the Development Agenda 2030 by strengthening the rule of law, bolstering participatory democracy, protecting human rights, and preventing social conflicts amid changes to economies’ production structures.

PGA invites parliamentarians to learn more about the Escazú Agreement and the role of parliamentarians in PGA’s Factsheet for Parliamentarians: The Escazú Agreement, an Environmental and Human Rights Treaty, available in English and Spanish.