Latest news with #Hague
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
UN's top court finds countries can be liable for emissions
climate politics 34 minutes ago Vanuatu's Climate Change Minister has said the Pacific now has more leverage in climate negotiations after the UN's top court found that countries can be held legally responsible for their greenhouse gas emissions. The president of the International Court of Justice, Yuji Iwasawa, said climate change is an urgent and existential threat. From the Hague, Jamie Tahana reports.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pedal power for Parkinson's awareness
Tim Hague vividly remembers the day his doctor delivered the life-changing news: he had Parkinson's disease. 'He said, 'You can plan on 10 to 15 good years,' the 60-year-old Winnipegger recalled in an interview with the Free Press on Wednesday. 'Well, I'm 14 years and five months into this thing, and I don't feel like I'm at the end of my good years yet. And I attribute that to exercise.' Hague, a retired nurse, has built an impressive physical regimen — one that once helped him and his son, Tim Jr., win the inaugural season of The Amazing Race Canada in 2013. Staying fit has also become the cornerstone of his fundraising efforts for U-Turn Parkinson's, the Winnipeg-based wellness centre he founded to help others living with the disease. 'It is the fastest growing neurological disease in the world,' said Hague. 'There's over 11 million people now with it worldwide — including more than 7,000 in Manitoba — and that's expected to double by 2040.' Hague really put his plans in motion last summer with the first-ever Team 81 Ride for Parkinson's, which teamed up with Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor. Unfortunately, the two men share a common bond — Connor's late grandfather and father both had the disease. 'You sometimes think people who are of a certain stature — and he's a big stature — don't have time for this sort of thing. But he's been 100 per cent present,' said Hague. 'He is engaged with Parkinson's, and it's very clear. Because this is close to his heart, and he wants to make a lasting impression.' The inaugural ride featured 24 cyclists, 13 of whom completed a gruelling five-day, 550-kilometre trek from Russell to Falcon Lake. Ten of those riders are living with Parkinson's. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES The second annual Team 81 Ride For Parkinson's at Assiniboine Park will be held on Aug. 1 — or 8/1, matching Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor's jersey number. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES The second annual Team 81 Ride For Parkinson's at Assiniboine Park will be held on Aug. 1 — or 8/1, matching Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor's jersey number. 'To see their determination, their smiles of accomplishment at the end of every day, to know their needs firsthand — we were stopping so they could take their medication and rest to ensure they were physically capable — it was incredible to witness and be a part of,' said Kevin Donnelly, senior vice-president of True North Sports & Entertainment. Donnelly has a personal connection to the cause. He's known Hague for years, and the two are about to become family — Hague's daughter, Jordana, is marrying Donnelly's son, Chris, in September. He also played a key role in getting Connor involved after the death of Connor's father, Joe, in 2021, 'Kyle came to Mark (Chipman, co-owner of the Jets) and said, 'I'm ready to reach out, how do I get connected, what's the right organization?'' said Donnelly. 'And this really began to accelerate fast.' Last year's debut event raised more than $141,000 for U-Turn Parkinson's, which uses exercise and wellness programs to support those living with the disease. 'It was absolutely fantastic,' Hague said. And, admittedly, a bit too ambitious. In response, organizers have scaled things back this year, with the goal of making an even bigger impact. Next Friday, Aug. 1 — or 8/1, matching Connor's jersey number — has been officially designated Ride for Parkinson's Day in Manitoba. The second annual Team 81 Ride for Parkinson's will feature a single-day, 50-kilometre route beginning and ending at Assiniboine Park. 'A more manageable ride,' said Hague. Participants will be welcomed at the finish line with a family-friendly celebration, including a bike parade, decorating station, DJ, face painting, mascots and more. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is sponsoring the bike parade, which aims to 'turn heads and show powerful support for those living with Parkinson's.' Canadian Tire is sponsoring the ride. Hague emphasized that people of all ages and abilities are welcome — even those who don't want to hop on a bike. Parkinson's is a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement, often beginning gradually before worsening over time. It impairs co-ordination, balance and strength, and is the world's leading cause of permanent disability. Frank Franklin II / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor's late grandfather and father both had Parkinson's disease. Frank Franklin II / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor's late grandfather and father both had Parkinson's disease. Connor issued a statement encouraging the public to consider sponsoring a rider or making a donation of '$81, $810, $8,100 or any other amount you can donate.' 'Every dollar helps,' said Connor. 'Currently, there is no cure, however exercise has been proven to slow the progression of the disease and an event like the Team 81 Ride For Parkinson's can bring awareness to the benefits of exercise.' All proceeds go towards U-Turn Parkinson's, which had been operating out of a church basement but recently moved into Southdale Community Centre. Hague's hope is to one day find a permanent facility of their own. 'We're moving along,' he said. 'We're not even quite a month in, but it's a brand new addition to the community centre and it's absolutely beautiful. It's way more space for us, a way more welcoming space and more suited to what we do.' For more information about the organization and/or the event, visit call 204-510-4869, or email info@ 'There's nobody else in Manitoba that's doing Parkinson's-focused therapy,' said Donnelly. 'When you think about other ailments like heart and stroke and cancer and all these things that are so deserving, there is such a huge infrastructure that exists that isn't there for Parkinson's-afflicted people. So there's a real catch-up that has to happen with this diagnosis and with this community.' X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
ABC News
a day ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Top court rules on legal obligation to fight climate change
Sabra Lane: The United Nations top court has found countries that fail to take measures to prevent climate change could be in violation of international law. The International Court of Justice's landmark ruling has paved the way for countries to sue each other over the impacts of climate change. It's been welcomed by environmental groups and legal experts who say it's a victory for small islands in countries suffering from the impacts of high polluting nations. Europe correspondent Bridget Rollason reports. Protesters: What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now! Bridget Rollason: Outside the Hague's World Court, protesters gathered to witness a historic moment in international law. Samira Ben Ali travelled to the Netherlands from Africa for the hearing, which could change the course of future climate action across the world. Samira Ben Ali: If we don't take action now, if we don't reduce our emissions, then this is going to keep on going and it's going to become bigger and bigger. Bridget Rollason: The landmark case before the International Court of Justice has been hailed a David and Goliath battle. A group of Pacific students were able to bring the world's biggest problem to the world's highest court through a global campaign led by Vanuatu and backed by 130 countries, including Australia. For the first time, its 15 judges were asked to decide what obligations states have to prevent climate change and what are the consequences if they fail. President of the court, Yuji Iwasawa, said if countries fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change, they could be in violation of international law, even if they're not signed up to the Paris Agreement or want to leave, like the US. Yuji Iwasawa: The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching. They affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. Bridget Rollason: Nearly 100 countries gave evidence over two weeks of hearings in the court's biggest ever case. President Iwasawa ruled countries harmed by climate change could be entitled to compensation and sue other countries for damage they've suffered from rising global temperatures. Yuji Iwasawa: The court considers that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a precondition for the enjoyment of many human rights, such as the right to life, right to health and the right to an adequate standard of living. Bridget Rollason: The landmark 500-page ruling is non-binding, but it's seen as a potential turning point in international climate law. It's been welcomed by environmental groups and legal experts, who say it's a victory for small islands and countries taking legal action against big polluting nations for failing to reduce their emissions. Senior Attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law, Joie Chowdhry, said the ruling is more than just a powerful symbol. Joie Chowdhury: It could be one of the most consequential legal rulings of our times because of the scope of the issues that it touched, which run to the very heart of climate justice, and could secure a lifeline for climate-affected communities and nations all over the world. Sabra Lane: That's Joie Chowdhury from the Centre for International Environmental Law, ending that report from Bridget Rollason.
The Australian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Australian
World's top court paves way for climate reparations
The world's highest court Wednesday declared that states are obligated under international law to tackle climate change and warned that failing to do so could open the door to reparations. In a historic ruling, the International Court of Justice said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat" and states had a legal duty to prevent harm from their planet-warming pollution. Countries breaching their climate obligations were committing a "wrongful act", the court said in its advisory opinion, which is not legally binding but carries significant moral, political and legal weight. "The legal consequences resulting from the commission of an internationally wrongful act may include... full reparations to injured states in the form of restitution, compensation and satisfaction," said ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa on behalf of the 15-judge panel. This would be on a case-by-case basis where a "sufficient direct and certain causal nexus" had been shown "between the wrongful act and the injury", the court added. Campaigners and countries on the climate frontlines hailed a milestone moment in the fight for accountability from big polluters most responsible for global warming. Ralph Regenvanu, the climate change minister for Vanuatu, the small Pacific island nation which spearheaded the case at the Hague, was jubilant. Speaking to AFP outside the court, Regenvanu said it was "a very strong opinion at the end" and better than hoped. "We can use these arguments when we talk with our partners, some of the high-emitting states. We can say you have a legal obligation to help us," he said. "This helps us in our arguments. It's going to give us a lot more leverage... in all negotiations." - Catalyst for change - This was the biggest case in ICJ history, and seen as the most consequential in a recent string of landmark climate rulings. The United Nations had tasked the 15 judges at the ICJ, a UN court in the Hague that adjudicates disputes between nations, to answer two fundamental questions. First: what must states do under international law to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions for the future? Second: what are the consequences for states whose emissions have caused environmental harm, especially to vulnerable low-lying island states? In a detailed summary of the opinion, Iwasawa said the climate "must be protected for present and future generations". The adverse effect of a warming planet "may significantly impair the enjoyment of certain human rights, including the right to life", he added. Legal and climate experts said the opinion, while not legally binding, could have far-reaching consequences for national courts, legislation and public debate. "The court's clear and detailed articulation of state obligations will be a catalyst for accelerated climate action and unprecedented accountability," David Boyd, a former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, told AFP. Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said the ruling bound all nations by international law to prevent harm from emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. The court was "pointing the direction for the entire world and making clear that every nation is legally obliged to solve the climate crisis", he told AFP. - Classroom to court - Courts have become a key battleground for climate action as frustration has grown over sluggish progress toward curbing planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement, struck through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has rallied a global response to the crisis, but not at the speed necessary to protect the world from dangerous overheating. The journey to the Hague began six years ago with students from the climate-imperilled Pacific region fed up with the lack of accountability for the damage afflicting their homelands. The fight pitted major wealthy economies against the smaller, less developed states which are most at the mercy of a warming planet. More than 100 nations and groups made submissions in the Hague, many from the Pacific who gave impassioned appeals in colourful traditional dress. "It's such a perfect ending to a campaign that started in a classroom," said Vishal Prasad, director of the student-led campaign that kicked off the case. "We have now a very, very strong tool to hold power accountable, and we must do that now. The ICJ has given everything possible," he told AFP in the Hague. John Kerry, the former US special envoy for climate change, said "it should not take the stamp of international law to motivate countries to do what is already profoundly in their economic interests". "We shouldn't need another reason to act and accelerate action," he told AFP. ric-np-bur/klm/sbk
Sky News
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News
'A new era:' World court issues landmark ruling in biggest ever climate court case
The failure of countries to protect the planet from climate change may be a violation of international law, the UN's top court has said in a landmark ruling likely to shape climate litigation for years to come. In the world's biggest ever climate court case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday also said countries damaged by climate change-fuelled extreme weather could be entitled to reparations in some cases. "Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system... may constitute an internationally wrongful act," Judge Yuji Iwasawa, the court president, said during the hearing. It wraps up the largest ever case heard by the ICJ in the Hague, which involved 96 countries, 10,000 pages of documents, 15 judges and two weeks of hearings in December. Mr Iwasawa added a "clean, healthy and sustainable environment" is a human right - a verdict that may pave the way for countries to take each other to court for breaching that duty. Wednesday's findings have been claimed as a "tremendous victory" by campaigners and vulnerable nations like the Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Tuvalu, which are rapidly disappearing underwater, while footing the bill for climate damages caused by bigger, richer, more polluting countries. It will likely disappoint Global North countries - like the UK, Australia and Canada - who had told the judges in December that their climate responsibilities are limited to those set out in the Paris climate agreement. The 500-page long advisory opinion is non-binding, and it will take time to assess its true impact on climate action around the world. But observers say it sets a precedent for future court cases and opens the door for new types of lawsuits. Joana Setzer, climate litigation expert at the London School of Economics, said: "For the first time, the world's highest court has made clear that states have a legal duty not only to prevent climate harm - but to fully repair it." She added: "It adds decisive weight to calls for fair and effective climate reparations." Existing treaties like the Paris Agreement are widely perceived to not go far enough to tackle climate change, and progress on tackling emissions has gone at a snail's pace in comparison with the pace that scientists say is needed. Island nations, not content to "go silently to our watery graves", took the matter to the world's top court, asking for an advisory opinion on two things. Firstly, what countries are legally bound to do under international law to protect people and the planet from climate change, and secondly, what the penalties might be if they fail. The case started out as a campaign by 27 students studying law in Vanuatu in 2019. Eventually, the government there agreed to lobby the United Nations for the case, and in 2023 the UN General Assembly formally requested the ICJ to hear the case, backed by 132 countries. One of the students who initiated the campaign, Cynthia Houniuhi from the Solomon Islands, called it the "start of a new chapter". "In five years or 10 years time, small islands like ours will cease to exist," she told Sky News. "Imagine that for a young person, with hopes for the future, with hopes to have children... Will they get to see the islands that I lived on... or will I have to show pictures and say: 'This is where we used to be?' - I do not accept that." Danilo Garrido, legal counsel at Greenpeace International, said: "This is the start of a new era of climate accountability at a global level." He said it will "open the door for new cases, and hopefully bring justice to those, who despite having contributed the least to climate change, are already suffering its most severe consequences".
