Mizoram, one of India’s least populous states, has been losing its forest cover due to the age-old slash-and-burn farming method known as Jhum cultivation.
US children sue President Obama over climate change
Una ventina di ragazzi ha denunciato le politiche ambientali del governo Usa: «Non fa abbastanza per il clima e dunque non ci protegge».
“President Obama must do more to tackle climate change. We turn to judges for our future to be protected”. Twenty children and teenagers, aged 8 to 19, have decided to take the United States of America to court, asking for more actions to protect the environment. Among them, there’s the daughter of James Hansen, former NASA climate scientist, renowned environmental activist, and author of numerous studies.
[vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/67776236″]
The group is led by the association Our Children’s Trust. The charge, filed at the court of the US state of Oregon, calls for the adoption of policies to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, in order to protect the Earth and future generations. “US government acknowledges, at least since 1965, the risks linked to increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere,” said the kids. “Yet it hasn’t done enough to curb such problem. In this way, it has violated youngsters’ constitutional rights, and failed to protect essential public goods, putting resources, such as air, see, coasts, water, flora, and fauna, at risk”.
Judges are asked to order the government to adopt a strategy able to reduce CO2 concentration to 350 parts per million by 2100 (current levels are around 400). It is a request similar to that filed by the Dutch organisation Urgenda, in June, which convinced a Netherlands’ court to “condemn” the government to reduce harmful emissions on its territory.
In a similar way, US kids’ initiative is not only symbolic. Indeed, the US oil industry asked the court to participate in the lawsuit in order to be able to oppose to the case of Our Children’s Trust. “The oil industry doesn’t want further pressures on the federal government over climate change. The fact that oil companies paid attention to the issue demonstrates that they consider the legal action to be big deal,” said Gerald Torres, legal expert at the Cornell University.
According to Alex Loznak, 18, one of the children who denounced the White House, is clear that “oil tycoons are scared. As Mahatma Ghandi said, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win’. Our fight has just begun. And we are going to win”.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
A group of more than 120 leading lawyers have pledged not to work for new fossil fuel projects or prosecute the members of environmental organizations.
Illegal logging in Uganda has caused massive forest cover loss. Activist Mourine Asiimwe is fighting back against this deforestation by planting trees.
Deep-sea mining (DSM) could lead to irreversible damage to marine biodiversity and exacerbate the climate crisis, a new report has revealed.
The world’s forests are precious and delicate ecosystems that give humanity so much. We should work together to protect and treasure our forests.
It has taken 15 years of negotiations but the world’s governments have finally reached an agreement to protect the oceans and the high seas.
The extent of sea ice in Antarctica reached a new record low on 21st February 2023.
Communities in Kwa-Zulu Natal have been at loggerheads with Tendele Coal Mine over land destruction, water pollution and the killing of activists.
BNP Paribas has been sued by three French NGOs. This lawsuit marks the first time ever that a commercial bank is sued over its fossil fuel financing.