Feed aggregator

The hottest May on record for the city has experts worried about the summer — and hurricane season — to come.

India is adapting to a new era of dangerous heat, even as climbing temperatures are making its transition to a cleaner economy more difficult.

Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami urges viewers to vote – because ‘there are candidates that believe in climate change’

A TV meteorologist condemned the Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s so-called “don’t say climate change” law on air and urged viewers to vote.

Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami addressed viewers on Saturday amid rising heat records across the state, saying: “On Thursday, we reported … that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate-change legislation and really important climate-change language.”

Continue reading...

In a historic development, a recent opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recognizes global warming emissions as a marine pollutant. While nonbinding, the unanimous advisory opinion offers important support for small island nations facing climate impacts and raises the bar for other nations to reduce their global warming emissions to protect the world’s oceans.

Background

Back in December, 2022, a group of small island nations, under the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, submitted a request to the tribunal (pictured above in Hamburg, Germany). They sought to clarify the obligations of state parties under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), specifically regarding their duties to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment in the context of climate change.

This week, the tribunal released its decision, which marks a significant step forward in the fight against climate change, especially for vulnerable small island countries that are disproportionately affected by rising sea levels and ocean acidification.

Five key highlights

Here are five critical features of the opinion that have potentially far-reaching implications for international environmental policy and marine protection. The opinion:

• Recognizes global warming emissions as marine pollution. The opinion unequivocally found that human-caused global warming  emissions constitute pollution of the marine environment. This aligns marine protection efforts with broader climate change mitigation strategies and reinforces the need for comprehensive policies that address the root causes of ocean degradation.

• Lays out polluting nations’ obligations. The court mandates that nations take all necessary measures to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution from global warming emissions. This sets a stringent standard of “due diligence,” acknowledging the high risks of serious and irreversible harm to marine ecosystems. The opinion also clearly explains that this obligation extends beyond national borders, emphasizing the transboundary nature of both marine and climate pollution, and the need for international cooperation.

• Brings together international climate agreements. The tribunal highlights the importance of harmonizing national policies with international climate agreements, such as the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. This directive ensures that efforts to protect the marine environment are consistent with global temperature goals and emission reduction pathways.

• Supports vulnerable nations. The decision underscores the need for developed nations to assist vulnerable developing countries, particularly small island countries, in addressing marine pollution. This includes capacity building, technology transfer, and preferential treatment in funding and technical assistance.

• Calls for comprehensive monitoring and reporting. The decision calls for continuous surveillance, monitoring, and environmental impact assessments to track the effects of global warming emissions on the marine environment. It recommends that nations publish these findings, ensuring transparency and accountability in their environmental policies.

The next challenge: implementation

While the advisory opinion by the international court provides an important legal framework for addressing the impacts of climate change on the marine environment, its nonbinding nature presents a challenge for effective implementation. To ensure that this decision can truly protect our oceans and climate, we need to consider larger global systems and opportunities for ensuring compliance.

Moving forward, nations must begin to incorporate the directives from this decision into their own national laws and regulations. This includes adopting stringent measures to reduce global warming emissions, implementing robust monitoring systems, and conducting thorough environmental impact assessments.

The tribunal’s decision lends important weight to the notion that developed nations have a moral and legal obligation to support vulnerable small island countries. This support should include financial aid, technological assistance, and capacity-building initiatives to help these nations adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. As a global community, we have fallen short on this so far and must prioritize equitable global support.

Finally, continuous scientific research is crucial for understanding the pathways, risks, and remedies of marine pollution from global warming emissions. Countries should invest in data collection, scientific research, and fostering a robust exchange of knowledge to develop effective mitigation and adaptation strategies.

While there is no doubt much to be done, this new international advisory opinion is a historic decision that reinforces the interconnectedness of climate change and marine protection. It sets a high standard of due diligence and calls for comprehensive, international efforts to safeguard our oceans. It also sets an important precedent in international law; I am looking forward to seeing how the Interamerican Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice will build upon this decision to help ensure meaningful global action to address climate change.

Right now, nations must urgently and committedly implement the directives in this opinion to protect our marine environment and climate for future generations and countries need to work together through international organizations and diplomatic conferences to establish global and regional rules, standards, and best practices. I hope to see these follow-on mandates from this advisory opinion prominently discussed at the U.N. climate change talks in Azerbaijan (COP29) later this year.

Wealthy states must cut emissions faster than their developing peers, court says, in major step for climate justice

Greenhouse gases are pollutants that are wrecking the marine environment, and states have a legal responsibility to control them, an international court has stated in a landmark moment for climate justice.

Wealthy nations must cut their emissions faster than their developing peers, the court also decided.

Continue reading...

To understand why some Olympians would go into bat for the mining magnate on a matter unrelated to the pool, one need only look at the financial hold she has over the sport

Many things have been said about Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, and not all of them positive. But in the world of Australian swimming, superlatives comes thick and fast. According to Cate Campbell, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, Rinehart “saved swimming”. Her sister, fellow Olympian Bronte Campbell, describes the billionaire as a “unique patron”. To Swimming Queensland’s chief executive, Kevin Hasemann, Rinehart is Australian sport’s greatest benefactor since “Santa Claus”.

And so the news that the Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers and his colleagues had campaigned for Rinehart in relation to portraits she disliked by the artist Vincent Namatjira was not surprising, even if its timing – when all eyes are otherwise on preparations for Paris 2024 – was unexpected. To understand why Hasemann and some of Australia’s top swimmers would go into bat for Rinehart on a matter entirely unrelated to the pool, one need only look at the financial hold the mining magnate has over the sport.

Continue reading...

Experts say the opinion, though nonbinding, is likely to lead to more claims for damages against polluting nations.

Companies were enjoying record profits. But the president’s decision to pause permits for gas export terminals has whipped up industry support, and donations, for Donald Trump.

Revealed: Four gas utilities have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build ‘zero-net energy homes’, investigation shows

US gas utilities are partnering with one of the nation’s most trusted non-profits as part of a “cynical PR stunt” to combat efforts to curb fossil fuel usage, a Guardian investigation has found.

Local Habitat for Humanity affiliates have teamed up with at least four utilities across 10 states to build “zero-net energy homes”, which are meant to produce more energy than they use.

Continue reading...

Case alleges French company’s exploitation of fossil fuel contributed to deaths of victims in extreme weather disasters

A criminal case has been filed against the CEO and directors of the French oil company TotalEnergies, alleging its fossil fuel exploitation has contributed to the deaths of victims of climate-fuelled extreme weather disasters.

The case was filed in Paris by eight people harmed by extreme weather, and three NGOs. The plaintiffs believe it to be the first such criminal case filed against the individuals running a major oil company. The public prosecutor who received the file has three months to decide whether to open a judicial investigation or dismiss the complaint.

Continue reading...

Inverbervie, on the north-east coast of Scotland, faces an existential threat, with storms carving away metres of shoreline. Can anything be done to save what is left?

A decade ago, on my friend’s birthday, we took a huge tent and stayed the night at our local campsite. We laughed as we put the tent up where the grass met the shingle beach, the sunshine glistening on the water, the sound of the waves scraping the stones. I remember a night of ghost stories, teenage gossip and chasing each other with seaweed.

But the land where we pitched our tent is no longer there. It’s somewhere in the North Sea.

Continue reading...

Authorities cut short school term as weather bureau warns of severe heatwave conditions this week

Authorities in the Indian capital, have ordered schools to shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures in Delhi hit 47.4C (117F).

City officials told schools to shut with “immediate effect” due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times on Tuesday, cutting the term by a few days.

Continue reading...

Experts call for conservation action as the features on Rapa Nui’s famous monoliths are eroded by fire and rain

The Ahu Tahai moai, on the east side of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is an impressive 4.5 metres high. Carved from a soft volcanic rock, the statue looks out solemnly over the island, with its back to the bay.

The Tahai (“where the sun sets”) and the island’s other thousand or so moai were erected roughly between 1100 and 1700 as a representation of Rapa Nui’s ancestors.

Continue reading...

‘Critical slowing down’ of recovery raises concern over forest’s resilience to ecosystem collapse

More than a third of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from drought, according to a new study that warns of a “critical slowing down” of this globally important ecosystem.

The signs of weakening resilience raise concerns that the world’s greatest tropical forest – and biggest terrestrial carbon sink – is degrading towards a point of no return.

Continue reading...

Los científicos afirman que tormentas como las que azotaron Houston podrían volverse más intensas a medida que el planeta se calienta, aunque precisar las tendencias sigue siendo difícil.

• Read more from the DIY Climate Changers, a new series on everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisis

Jim Gregory, 59, loves to cycle. More than a decade before the work-from-home revolution, the Iowa business owner was grappling with a conundrum now faced by many: how to stay active while spending so much of his day at the computer.

Jim wondered if he could combine the joy of cycling with a desire to reduce his energy consumption. Thus was born the PedalPC, a machine built from a repurposed bicycle trailer that generates enough electricity to run his computer, printer, phone chargers and home wifi.

Continue reading...

Sensing election-year traction, coalition of 20 environmental groups also demand entrenchment of pause in gas-export licences

Joe Biden’s administration is coming under renewed pressure to escalate its curbs on the US’s booming trade in fossil fuels by halting new deepwater oil-export facilities, as well as entrenching its pause in gas-export licences.

A coalition of 20 environmental groups, sensing election-year traction with Biden as he seeks a second term as US president, has written to officials demanding a freeze on deepwater oil-export facilities, similar to the move announced by the Biden administration earlier this year when it paused new licenses for liquified natural gas (or LNG) exports.

Continue reading...

These spaces are crucial for our wellbeing, but cash-strapped councils are being forced to treat them as revenue earners

My local green space, Brockwell Park in Brixton and Herne Hill, south London, is an oasis of calm in the busy city. Friends catch up in the walled garden, where wisteria trails over pillars and roses and bluebells explode from the earth. In the community garden, local people work together to grow vegetables and run sessions to connect nature-deprived children to the land.

In the centre of the sometimes crushing metropolis, this park means everything to me – it keeps me sane, and it gives me hope. But this green lifeline is, every summer, taken away, as I await the arrival of the park’s music festival season with dread. As huge metal walls go up, dividing us from the green, and HGVs begin flattening the grass and soil, I feel a genuine sense of horror. A large part of the park is cut off for weeks, and our community’s heart is pulled out as people stream into events whose expensive tickets most people living round here could never afford. And the same is happening in shared green spaces all over the UK.

Rebecca Tamás is a writer of environmental nonfiction and a poet. Her most recent book is Strangers: Essays on the Human and Nonhuman

Continue reading...

Technically, it exists. But here’s what to think about when shopping.

Jeff Bezos’s $10bn climate and biodiversity fund has garnered glittering prizes, but concerns have been voiced over the influence it can buy – and its interest in carbon offsets

Late last month, the coronation of Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez as environmental royalty was complete. At Conservation International’s glitzy annual gala in New York, with Harrison Ford, Jacinda Ardern and Shailene Woodley looking on, the couple were given the global visionary award for the financial contribution of the Bezos Earth Fund to the natural world.

“Jeff and Lauren are making history, not just with the sum of their investment in nature but also the speed of it,” said the Conservation International CEO, Dr M Sanjayan, whose organisation received a $20m grant from Bezos in 2021 for its work in the tropical Andes.

Continue reading...