Category: Current Affairs

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United Nations General Assembly Declares that a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment is a Universal Human Right

silhouette photo of three person near tall trees

4 August 2022 – by Darina Kalamova

On 28 July 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that gives a clean, healthy and sustainable environment  a universal recognition with air quality, safe and sufficient water, healthy soil, climate change, and biodiversity being some of the main concerns.

The resolution received overwhelming support in the Assembly, and out of the 193 United Nations Member States, 161 voted in favour and 8 abstained. The Secretary-General, António Guterres, who welcomed the adoption of the document as well, stated that it “demonstrates that member states can come together in our collective fight against the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”.

Despite not being legally binding, the resolution is still an important tool that could bring real change in the world.

Firstly, the universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is now integrated into the United Nations framework alongside other fundamental social, economic, civic and political rights. Secondly, it underlines the need to put human rights at the center of environmental policies, and it further empowers local communities and individuals to call for positive action.

The resolution also highlights the political commitment expressed by the member states to fight environmental degradation, climate change and poverty, which are deeply interlinked. Therefore, working towards realizing this universal right can bring much needed relief to those who are disproportionately affected by environmental threats, including indigenous persons, women, marginalized communities, people with disabilities.

Everyone everywhere deserves a right to a healthy environment and the adoption of this resolution is a right step in achieving this human right. It lays the needed foundation for all concerned sides to take action and scale up their efforts.

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Once-in-a-Century Heatwaves are Now Ten Times More Likely in South Asia

Balochistan Road in Pakistan

2 August 2022 – by Subhiksha Manoj

According to a recent study on historical weather data from the World Weather Attribution group, countries in South Asia (especially India and Pakistan) are now 30 times more likely to experience prolonged heatwaves than in previous years.

What’s more, if average global temperatures increase by 2°C (3.6°F) in the following years, South Asian countries are more likely to experience these heatwaves at least once every five years.

Using computer simulations to compare data on average temperatures between March and April over the past several decades, the team of scientists concluded that these increased risks can be attributed to climate change.

“This is a sign of things to come,” said Arpita Mondal, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai who was involved in the study.

The Current Impact of Heatwaves

In recent months, some parts of India and Pakistan have seen temperatures around 45°C (113°F) – the highest levels ever recorded in the region. While governments attempt to grapple with mitigating and adapting to the widespread and unpredictable impact of climate change, the average person struggles to carry out day-to-day activities.

In India, daily wage laborers and agricultural workers bear the brunt of climate change as they, naturally, spend more time outdoors. To prepare for the undoubtable influx of people affected by heat-related illnesses, India’s state governments are advising local hospitals to stock up on ice packs, oral rehydration salts, and cooling appliances – although the availability and accessibility of this equipment is another question.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the recent flooding caused by a glacier burst has reinforced the need to establish an early warning system for natural disasters that can help to minimize infrastructural damage and deaths.

Both Pakistan and India have recorded at least a combined 90 heat-related deaths in recent weeks, however, this number is more than likely to be higher – especially considering the shortcomings of the death registration systems in the two countries.

As of now, climate change experts are continuing to urge countries in South Asia to spread further awareness on heatwaves, while also encouraging governments to work towards establishing sustainable climate mitigation and adaptation mechanisms.

Did you enjoy reading this article? Be sure to take a look at our piece on how the intensification of heatwaves in the Middle East and North Africa.

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Global Warming Threatens Historical Everest Base Camp

Hikers at a base camp at Mount Everest

28 July 2022 – by Ottoline Mary

Everest’s South Base Camp, located on the Nepalese side of the highest mountain in the world, has served as the starting point for climbers for 70 years.

Sadly, this historical landmark is due to be abandoned in years to come, as the result of safety concerns stemming from the effects of global warming. The current settlement is established on a glacier located at the foot of a 300 meter-high icefall, and the accelerated glacial melting is exacerbating the risks experienced during mountaineering expeditions. For example, climbers have been reporting an increasing number of crevasses appearing around their tents. As a result, it has been decided that Base Camp will be relocated at a lower altitude.

This phenomenon is aggravated by the climbers themselves. The surge in human activity since the boom of commercial climbing in the 1990s (rising from an average of 180 summits per year in the 1980s to 5,561 in the 2010s) is further threatening the mountain’s fragile ecosystem. On a typical day at Base Camp, an average of 4000 litres of urine are produced, in addition to large amounts of kerosene and gas being burned for cooking and heating.

Therefore, the continued commercial exploitation of Mount Everest has ethical implications. On the one hand, it contributes to environmental destruction – which, in the long run, might undermine residents’ livelihoods. But on the other hand, the local economy has become highly dependent on the tourism industry – as shown by the crisis following the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. This type of dilemma illustrates the complex overlapping of natural phenomena and human activity, and the urgent need to reconcile them in the light of the global climate emergency.

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Heatwave-Induced Wildfires Displace Thousands Across Southern Europe

silhouette of trees during sunset

21 July 2022 – by Ottoline Mary

The ongoing European heatwave has brought about many tragedies. Among them, the media’s attention has been focusing on wildfires, which have already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of land – three times the average for this time of year. Such events do not only negatively impact biodiversity and the economies that rely on it; they also pose a direct threat to human life.

As a result of these wildfires, the authorities have carried out mass evacuations of local populations and holidaymakers, with as many as 15,000 people displaced in less than 24 hours in the French department of Gironde. The phenomenon is spreading throughout the Mediterranean, affecting parts of Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Croatia, Greece, Crete, and Turkey.

A Malaga resident says she barely had time to grab a few essentials before making a run for it. The emergency has prompted the construction of temporary shelters to house recent evacuees. However, a long-term resettlement solution is yet to be found.

When disasters such as this occur in the Global South, it is customary for Western governments and companies to dismiss the dangers of climate change. But today, extreme weather events are multiplying before their eyes. Could this finally be the wake-up call Western leaders needed to take actionable steps and save our planet from extinction?

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US Supreme Court Limits Ability of EPA to Regulate CO2 Emissions

body of water under cloudy sky during sunset

13th July 2022 – by Willy Phillips

On Thursday, June 30th, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled against the enactment of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) following a week of hallmark decisions. The CPP is a sub-section of the Clean Air Act which informs how the EPA can regulate Co2 emissions from electricity production. In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said the EPA has no grounds for the sector-wide restriction allowed under the CPP. According to Roberts, the US Congress is the only body that can enact a regulation of such high consequences. 

            Critics of the decision remain wary. In a fierce dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan addressed that “the court appoints itself – instead of Congress or the expert agency – the decision-maker on climate policy.” It’s true; taking emission-standard authority from the government’s environmental organization seems counterintuitive. Justice Roberts, however, insisted that the sweeping regulation is a clear violation of the “major-questions” doctrine. This seldom referenced stipulation refers to the power given by congress to regulating agencies. Congress must provide clear and explicit permission for an agency to implement “decisions of vast economic and political significance.” 

            This case, known as West Virginia v. EPA, first took form in 2015 when Obama-era EPA guidelines set state-wide emission goals under the Clean Air Act. In 2016, SCOTUS suspended the plan in response to several state and private legal challenges. To this day, the CPP has never been enacted, so the SCOTUS ruling refers only to future EPA regulations. While The EPA may still pass site-specific emissions goals, the ruling limits the speed and uniformity with which the EPA can issue time-sensitive goals and standards.

            Many fear the court has set a dangerous precedent for muddying the extent of agency jurisdiction. Justice Kagan leaves her dissent with an honest recognition of SCOTUS limitations, asserting that “Whatever else this court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change,” she wrote. “And let’s say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions.” 

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UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change delivers initial report

white and black ship on sea under white clouds

30 June 2021 – Ella Kiyomi Dobson

In April 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change. This position, filled by Dr. Ian Fry, is the first of its kind, looking more closely at the intersections of human rights and climate change. Dr. Fry presented his first report at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the “promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change”. This report outlines initial ideas and visions for Dr. Fry’s mandate.

The thematic priorities in the preliminary report outline the areas of focus for the Special Rapporteur. The overarching priorities stated in the report are as follows:

  1. The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of mitigation, adaption, and financial actions to address climate change with a particular emphasis on loss and damages
  2. Addressing the human rights implications of climate change displacement including legal protection of people displaced across international borders
  3. Exploring approaches to enhance climate change legislation, supporting climate change mitigation, and advancing the principle of intergenerational justice
  4. Corporate accountability in the context of human rights and climate change
  5. The protection of human rights through just transitions for workers in industries that contribute to climate change
  6. Exploring the human rights impacts of new technologies associated with climate change mitigation.

As time progresses, these priorities will shift to better reflect the rapidly changing circumstances that the global community faces with respect to climate change.

This report is a significant step as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and frontline communities have called for the creation of this particular mandate for over a decade. Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Human Rights Council have insisted on a global rights-based approach to mitigate harms caused by climate change since 2019. Earlier this year, Working Group II’s contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report was released which showed that 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. These vulnerabilities are driven by many intersecting socio-economic factors such as inequity, marginalisation, the historical and ongoing violence of colonialism, and governance. The Special Rapporteur’s report has the ability to create much-needed attention and action to alleviate climate change-induced human rights implications, and to lay the groundwork for creating legal protections for affected peoples.

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For Persons With Disabilities, Migration and Evacuation Following Calamity Have Seldom Been Possible 

blue and white exit signage mounted on brown brick wall

14 June 2022 – by Willy Phillips

Globally, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are two to four times more likely to experience injury or death during natural disasters and war than non-disabled individuals. This silent reality has long accompanied the aftermath of calamity. Places like Ukraine, struck by war, and the Philippines, under the barrage of natural disasters, share the often overlooked necessity of aiding PWDs amidst the chaos.

In response to disasters, many individuals must migrate from their homes. For PWDs, however, the options are limited. Without specialized equipment or proper training, those aiding cannot evacuate this group of individuals safely.

In Ukraine, the Russian invasion has left 2.7 million PWDs in dire situations. The UN Committee on the Rights of PWDs has said in the wake of this conflict, disabled individuals have faced the worst of the war. The reports mention that “many people with disabilities, including children, are trapped or abandoned in their homes, residential care institutions and orphanages, with no access to life-sustaining medications, oxygen supplies, food, water, sanitation, support for daily living and other basic facilities.” Most of the 4.8 million who have fled the country are reportedly able-bodied.

In the Philippines, natural disasters like super typhoon Rai in December 2021 impacted nearly 12 million individuals. As of April 2022, 12,000 individuals are still displaced, and roughly half are housed in temporary evacuation centers. While the damage was immense and the recovery has been grueling, this storm has had a better ending for PWDs. A humanitarian organization called Community and Family Services International (CFSI) has set out to change the statistics for PWDs, especially children. Following the storm, CFSI provided 1,800 families with documented assistance. Each of these families had at least one elderly or disabled household member.

While much work is still required, CFSI sets the example for ensuring that these memebers of our society are accounted for. A paradigm shift toward equality emerges using a UN-backed framework called ‘disability inclusive disaster risk reduction’, or DiDRR. An essential component in the fight for the human rights of all persons, this guideline aims to change the attitudes of states and individuals towards a future of more comprehensive disaster readiness.

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Climate Change Creates Optimal Grounds for Human Trafficking

people riding boat on body of water during daytime

27 May 2022- by Willy Phillips

At the age of 12, Anjali thought she had been given a chance to advance her passion for dance. Her dance teacher approached her in West Bengal after cyclone Aila hit in 2009 with the opportunity to practice in Kolkata. Instead, she was whisked away to Delhi, where, for three consecutive months, she was tortured and raped. Anjali’s story is powerful, but it is not unique. 

Since recording began, the number of global climate migrants has been steadily rising. According to the World Migration Report, over 30 million people were displaced due to climate events in 2020 alone. These events are most commonly severe storms, flooding, drought, and extreme temperatures, which cause individuals, families, and even entire communities to relocate. This rise in displacements juxtaposes the 60% decline in voluntary international travel due to Covid restrictions throughout the year. 

The connection between disasters and migration feels obvious. If an area becomes uninhabitable, people must go somewhere. However, an issue that’s much less obvious and lurks in the unchecked aftermath of a disaster is human trafficking. Trafficking runs rampant in post-disaster states. Social and systemic factors contribute to this sharp increase as social institutions collapse. Specifically, a lack of accountability from law enforcement and difficulty securing aid or resources creates a vacuum quickly filled by crime syndicates. Offering stable employment or promises of resources like food and water, these groups prey on the vulnerable and exploit necessity.

In post-disaster situations and times of high migration, rates of trafficking rise sharply by 30%. Moreover, as climate change exacerbates the impact of natural disasters, more individuals, mainly women and children, will fall victim to the chaos.

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Climate Change and Resource Use Threaten the Habitability of Jakarta, Indonesia

park with fountain near buildings

24 May, 2022 – By Willy Phillips

Cities around the world are sinking. 

Climate change and the ever-growing need for freshwater have taken their toll on metropolitan areas from Lagos, Nigeria, to Houston, Texas.

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is no exception. The densely populated capital city is sinking at about 17 cm a year, the fastest globally. With 10 million city inhabitants and over 32 million in the greater metropolitan area, the most populated archipelago city has trouble on the horizon. By 2050, one-third of the city will be uninhabitable due to flooding.

In Jakarta, the sinking results from climate change and groundwater pumping. Climate change contributes to higher average temperatures and sea levels, while the need for freshwater drives underground extraction, causing the land to sink. As the city continues to grow, demands for drinking water will rise. Sea levels show no sign of halting their vertical march, leaving many wondering what solutions are to come. 

The current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, has unveiled plans to address the sinking city by moving the capital to the neighboring island of Borneo. While this solution may solve the immediate crisis, the required 1,000 sq miles (256k hectares) of land and $34 billion of foreign investment in Eastern Borneo raise significant social, ecological, and geopolitical problems. Dwi Sawung, of the Indonesian NGO WALHI, notes three fundamental areas for concern with the plan: “threats to water systems and risks of climate change, threats to flora and fauna, and threats of pollution and environmental damage.” 

Opponents have called it proof of “the government’s inability to solve the complex problems of Jakarta.” Many have shown their dissent, including 95% of the government officials required to move, and several local communities of eastern Borneo that will be displaced to accommodate the influx of 9,000 new government workers and infrastructure. Transplanting the capital appears to create more problems than it solves and may exist as a temporary solution to much larger and persistent problems like resource insecurity and social injustice.

Jakarta is not alone in the context of land insecurity and instability. Regions worldwide are learning to mitigate the myriad new challenges posed by climate change. However, as situations like this become more commonplace, we hope that Jakarta will serve as a lighthouse model for climate change mitigation from which the world can learn. 

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Five Tropical Cyclones Have Already Devastated Mozambique in 2022

white clouds and blue sky

24 May 2022 – by Ella Kiyomi Dobson

In the first five months of 2022, Mozambique was hit by five tropical storms and cyclones that devastated many regions of the country. In March, the most recent storm – tropical cyclone Gombe – impacted at least 700,000 people. Moreover, it fully or partially destroyed homes, health centers, electricity systems, water systems, and almost 100,000 hectares of arable land and crops. Gombe is just one example of many extreme weather events that have shattered communities across Mozambique this past year. 

While scientists still cannot say with high levels of confidence that there are specific long-term trends in the frequency of tropical cyclones, the IPCC report released in August 2021 suggests that the incidence of stronger cyclones is likely over the next few years. Due to Mozambique’s coastal geography, the country is at heightened risk of these intensified cyclones and floods, and droughts due to the extensive coastline on which over half the population lives. In addition, the short recovery time experienced by communities across Mozambique between one extreme weather event to the next heightens the socio-economic impacts experienced and furthers issues of food insecurity, access to healthcare, housing security, and education. 

These climate risks have amplified effects in specific regions due to the ongoing violence and instability due to the insurgency that began in 2017. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in 2020, there were over 650,000 people displaced by violence in northern Mozambique. In 2022, the UN notes that 6000 people were recorded as newly displaced due to a resurgence in violence. Vulnerability to displacement will only increase with the growing incidences of compounding effects, and with a lack of resources, more and more populations will become affected.