29 July 2021 - NPWJ News Digest on Environmental Justice & Human Rights

Articles

Thousands of scientists warn climate tipping points ‘imminent’
Al Jazeera, 28 Jul 2021

Thousands of scientists have repeated calls for urgent action to tackle the climate emergency, warning that several tipping points are now imminent. The researchers, part of a group of more than 14,000 scientists who have signed on to an initiative declaring a worldwide climate emergency, said in an article published in the journal BioScience on Wednesday that governments had consistently failed to address “the overexploitation of the Earth”, which they described as the root cause of the crisis.

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Surge in environmental justice enforcement prompts intensified corporate attention to community issues
Reuters, 28 Jul 2021

It's a scenario playing out in communities throughout the United States today - neighborhood and community activists challenging the activities of industrial and manufacturing companies, citing concerns about air and water pollution, traffic, risk of catastrophic accidents, and even noise. As interests collide, local, state, and federal regulators are alert and poised to respond. Why? Because these interactions raise at their core "environmental justice".

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Food systems transformation a ‘silver lining’ in COVID crisis: UN deputy chief
UN News, 28 Jul 2021

A sustainable and prosperous planet can only be achieved through working together and in solidarity, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said on Wednesday at the end of a major global food security meeting. Amina Mohammed was speaking during her closing press conference at the Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome, Italy.

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EU implements first animal welfare-based condition in trade agreement
Euractiv, 28 Jul 2021

In an unprecedented move, the EU has included the first animal welfare-based condition in the Mercosur trade agreement, but stakeholders warned that this does not go far enough to save the controversial deal that is facing increasing opposition in Europe. The entry into force of the Mercosur deal – set to forge a trade area between the EU27 and the Mercosur countries, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – remains a controversial topic amongst agrifood stakeholders. Some EU countries have also raised environmental concerns and threatened not to ratify the deal.

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Europe’s flooding shows why the green transition must be driven by people-power
Open Democracy, 28 Jul 2021

Perhaps more shocking than the deadly floods that continue to ravage parts of Europe is that local residents were caught completely unawares, despite predictions from advanced weather-tracking systems days before. The sad reality is that many of the deaths in Germany and Belgium were surely preventable. They were not the result solely of the floods, but also of the “monumental failure of the system” to respond to them.

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Lawyer Steven Donziger found guilty of withholding evidence in Chevron case
The Guardian, 27 Jul 2021

Steven Donziger, the lawyer who has spearheaded a lengthy fight against Chevron over pollution in the Amazon rainforest, has been found guilty of criminal contempt by a US federal judge in the latest twist in his decades-long legal battle with the oil company. On Monday, US district judge Loretta Preska ruled that Donziger was guilty of six contempt charges brought against him for refusing to hand over evidence in a complex legal wrangle that has pitted the lawyer directly against Chevron.

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Should rivers have the same rights as people?
The Guardian, 25 Jul 2021

Around the world, activists are pushing to protect their rivers by giving them legal personhood. Is this just symbolism, or can it drive lasting environmental change? The burgeoning rights-of-nature movement is pushing local, national and international authorities to recognise natural features – from lakes to mountains – in law, giving them either legal personhood or an independent right to flourish.

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