It is axiomatic that the climate impacts documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are likely to undermine the realization of a range of protected human rights. Yet it is only in the recent past that an explicit human rights approach has been
brought to bear on the climate change problematic. Scholars and human rights bodies have begun to advocate a human rights?centred approach to climate change ? an approach which would place the individual at the centre of inquiry, and draw attention to the impact
that climate change could have on the realization of a range of human rights. This article focuses on the human rights claims raised in the climate negotiations, the implications these claims may have and the interests they may serve.