Barry joined speakers including Professor John Knox, former UN Special Rappoteur on the Right to a Healthy Environment and Delchen Palmo from the Tibet Policy Institute. A 2019 IPCC report found that the ‘Third Pole’ region was warming at a rate three times that of the rest of the world, predicting that 2/3rds of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau will be gone in the next 80 years unless global temperature rises are curbed. Coupled with China’s destructive tactics, including as highlighted in the discussion the use of dams to prevent water flows and contributing to major droughts in South East Asia, the crisis in the region is upon us.
Barry focused his closing remarks on three areas. Firstly, he stressed the importance of not divorcing climate and environmental struggles from human rights struggles, citing the need to secure land rights frameworks at national and local level and working in consultation with local communities on environmental solutions. Secondly, Barry argued for transparency from companies and Governments not only on their climate risks but also wider environmental risks and impact in their supply chains, highlighting the need for mandatory sustainability reporting as a driver of change. Finally, Barry touched on the importance of this year’s COP15 and COP26 conferences on Biodiversity and Climate respectively, highlighting the importance of cooperation between China and the international community to secure our common future.