By Elisa Morgera
Climate change has growing detrimental impacts on mental health and well-being. 2 Research at the intersection of climate change and mental health already provides indications of foreseeable impacts that can be prevented. At the same time, more research and monitoring mechanisms are needed to enhance the effectiveness of proposed action3 that addresses some of the impacts of climate change while producing shared benefits for improving mental health and wellbeing.
This brief builds on a contribution submitted by the Special Rapporteur in response to OHCHR’s call for inputs on mental health and human rights, which aims at informing a mandated consultation and comprehensive report on mental health and human rights, as per HRC resolution 52/12.In particular, this brief provides:
I. A summary of current science on climate change and mental health, with recommended action for States;
II. Existing enabling normative and policy measures applied for the realization of the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services III. Challenges in the implementation of enabling normative and policy measures IV. Need for further research and disaggregated data