A/77/549 and pragmatic urgency of engaging racism, racial discrimination and racial injustice explicitly and directly. The Special Rapporteur has warned of the dominance of “colour-blind” approaches to global governance and political economy, including human rights analyses and responses. A colour-blind analysis of legal, social, economic and political conditions professes a commitment to an even -handedness that entails avoiding explicit racial analysis in favour of treating all individuals and groups the same, even if these individuals and groups are differently situated, including because of historical projects of racial subordination. 12 Even when colourblind approaches are well-intentioned, their ultimate effect is failure to challenge and dismantle persisting structures of entrenched racial discrimination. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that, in order to address the racially and ethnically disparate impacts of ecological crises, United Nations Member States, officials and other stakeholders must explicitly account for these impacts. 10. The General Assembly and Human Rights Council have recognized the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, 13 and the Council has noted the human rights impacts of climate change in a number of resolutions. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and various special procedures of the Council have produced vital human rights knowledge, upon w hich this report builds. 14 They have highlighted equality and non-discrimination concerns, especially in relation to gender, 15 age, 16 disability, 17 sexual orientation and gender identity, 18 Indigenous people 19 and people of African descent. 20 11. The Special Rapporteur benefited from valuable input from expert group meetings and additional submissions from targeted calls, interviews with representatives of United Nations agencies and submissions from a range of stakeholders in response to a public call. She thanks all stakeholders for their submissions. Non-confidential submissions will be available on the website of the Special Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the expertise of directly affected communities was invaluable in the preparation of her report. II. Why ongoing climate and environmental crises require racial equality and justice lenses A. Racist colonial foundations of ecological crisis 12. Systemic racism served as a foundational organizing principle for the global systems and processes at the heart of the climate and environmental crises. Understanding and addressing contemporary climate and environmental injustice alongside the racially discriminatory landscape requires a historicized approach to how “race” and racism have shaped the political economy of climate and __________________ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22-24043 A/HRC/41/54, para. 14. See General Assembly resolution 76/300; and Human Rights Council resolution 48/13. See www.ohchr.org/en/climate-change/reports-human-rights-and-climate-change. See also A/74/161; A/HRC/31/52; A/HRC/49/53; A/HRC/41/39; A/71/281; A/66/285; A/75/207; A/67/299; A/HRC/44/44; A/76/222; A/HRC/48/56; A/HRC/40/53; A/74/164; A/70/287; and A/HRC/47/43. See A/77/136. See A/HRC/37/58; and A/HRC/42/43. See A/71/314. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), special procedures, “Forcibly displaced LGBT persons face major challenges in search of safe haven”, joint statement by human rights experts on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, May 2022. See A/77/238. See A/HRC/48/78. 5/24