Robinson draws link between climate change and human rights abuse
Jessica LiClimate change is having an intensifying impact on human rights in developing countries,former President of the Republic of Ireland Mary Robinson said in a lecture on Tuesday. Noting the rapid deterioration of natural environments in Africa and numerous multinational conferences on combating climate change in the past two decades, Robinson said the audience, especially University students, should take immediate and personal responsibility for protecting the environment. Robinson served as the first female President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997 and is currently the Chair of the International Institute for Environment and Development. Robinson said the year 2015 was critical to mitigating climate change because the United Nations will replace the current “millennium development goals” with a new set of “sustainable development goals,” which will be a blueprint that will guide every country. “There are extraordinary years of human history, and 2014 and 2015 are two years with the same magnitude in changing our lives as 1914 and 1945,” she said.
