Environmentalists celebrated after Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul approved this week a two-year moratorium on permits for fossil fuel plants that power cryptocurrency mining operations.
Brazil President-Elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared last week that “the devastation [of the Amazon] will be a thing of the past.” He has his work cut out for him. Outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro presided over the destruction of an unprecedented proportion of the precious rainforest, crucial to human survival, during his four years in office.
In the global environmental conference COP27, which is set to conclude today, much of the debate has been focused on whether or not wealthier countries should pay climate reparations to more vulnerable nations.
In a historic decision by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Australian government has been found to have violated the rights of its indigenous Torres Strait Islands populations by failing to protect them against climate change. This ruling could become a template for other indigenous groups around the world to secure their rights.
The proliferation of basement housing in Seoul, South Korea, has proven in recent years to make the city particularly vulnerable to flooding which results in loss of life and extensive property damage. The metropolitan government has pledged to act.
The South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu promoted a proposal for a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty to COP27, the United Nations’ annual climate change conference.
Nigerian officials revealed this weekend that catastrophic flooding has killed more than 600 people and displaced at least 1.3 million as a heavier-than-usual rain season—likely made more intense by the climate crisis—has been pummeling the nation for weeks.
The near-disappearance of China’s vital Yangtze River, the mouth of which opens next to the major port of Shanghai, is creating a great deal of consternation, prompting government promises to address the environmental crisis.
Although the government is introducing plans to address the climate crisis, concrete measures are proving slow to appear as a consequence of corporate lobbying, according to some nongovernmental organizations.
During his wide-ranging plea for fundamental change delivered this week at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced public relations and advertising firms for enabling the fossil fuel pollution currently destroying the planet.
