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13 April 2023 - NPWJ News Digest on Environmental Justice and Human Rights
Articles
How Chiang Mai became the world’s most polluted city
Al Jazeera, 12 Apr 2023
On Tuesday Chiang Mai, the region’s cultural and tourist hub and home to about 128,000 people in Thailand, ranked as the world’s most polluted city ahead of hotspots such as Lahore, Tehran and Beijing. Thousands of people suffer from respiratory issues in the city. Weenarin Lulitanonda, the co-founder of the NGO Thailand Clean Air Network and a former World Bank economist, is trying to rally the Thai public and force the government to address what has become one of the region’s most acute environmental disasters. Every year between February and April – now simply referred to as the “haze season” – northern Thailand battles hazardous levels of smog.
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How Bauxite Mining Destroys Nature and Communities
CMSWire, 12 Apr 2023
Aluminium is material that constitutes the largest proportion of many smartphones and laptops, and it is also a key material for electric vehicles and wind turbines. Even if tech industry wants us to believe its magical “clean” and “green” characteristics, aluminium production wreaks havoc on fragile ecosystems and biodiversity. Bauxite mining, where it is found and extracted, threatens water resources, exacerbating global water scarcity and it is particularly devastating and concerning for the environment. Embracing reduction, reuse and repair can counter the environmental impact of tech manufacturing.
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Oil-spill devastation in Nigeria — and how the EU can fix it
EU Observer, 12 Apr 2023
The province of Niger Delta called Rivers States has been experiencing constant oil spills since the 1950s, when oil was first discovered there. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than 6,800 spills were recorded between 1976 and 2001, with a loss of approximately three million barrels of oil. The numbers could be even higher, as many incidents went under-reported. Based on data from the Nigerian Oil Spill Detector and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian governmental agency monitoring oil spills, in 2022 alone, TotalEnergies was responsible for four recorded incidents, leading to 28 barrels of spilled crude oil.
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MOROCCO: Kingdom promotes the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
Afrik21, 12 Apr 2023
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has adopted a resolution on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The text, sponsored by five countries including Morocco, aims to commit states to adopt an effective legal framework and policies at the national and local levels to ensure the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The Kingdom of Morocco deploys its green diplomacy in international forums. This is the case of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), where the North African country has given its sponsorship to a text on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
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Road-building spree will derail UK’s net zero targets, warn campaigners
The Guardian, 12 Apr 2023
The UK’s net zero targets will be missed because of a planned “road-building spree” by the Department for Transport, campaigners have said. Officials had to edit the department’s “transport decarbonisation plan” to add 26 megatonnes of carbon emissions because of an oversight regarding polluting hybrid vehicles, and projections for an increase in van traffic. Campaigners also criticised a new policy by the DfT which requires decision-makers to ignore the negative climate impact of road-building and traffic but to give weight to tree planting around schemes as a nature-based solution to climate change.
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Some states want to give you a constitutional right to a clean environment
Phys.org, 11 Apr 2023
Green amendments establish in state constitutions the fundamental right to clean air, water and soil and other environmental priorities – including a stable climate. At the moment they are making slow but steady progress around the country. New Mexico is among 15 states where such measures have been considered this year, and although the green amendment didn't advance out of a legislative committee, Sedillo Lopez said she'll reintroduce it in the future.
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Holding Russia Accountable for the Crime of Ecocide in Ukraine
Wilson Center, 11 Apr 2023
Discussions of Russian reparations for its aggressive invasion of Ukraine have become louder, even though the war appears far from ending. The World Bank has just announced its new minimal estimate of $411 billion over the next ten years for Ukraine to recover and rebuild. Most such estimates focus on restoring a damaged economy and infrastructure, but that is far from the overall cost Ukraine has borne. One frequently omitted arena when costs are tallied is damage to the environment, more widely known as ecocide.
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