Latest news with #environmentalactivism
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Celebrating World Ocean Week in Halifax
Celebrating World Ocean Week in Halifax Crystal Garrett speaks with the coordinators of Ocean Week about the activities they have planned ahead of World Ocean Week.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
German court rejects Peruvian farmer's landmark climate case
A court in Germany has rejected a lawsuit brought by a Peruvian farmer against German energy giant RWE in a long-awaited decision. Saúl Luciano Lliuya had argued that the firm's global emissions contributed to the melting of glaciers in Peru - threatening his hometown of Huaraz with was seeking €17,000 (£14,250) in compensation - money he said he would use to pay for a flood defence project to protect the the higher regional court in the German city of Hamm on Wednesday blocked the case from proceeding further and ruled out any appeals, putting an end to Mr Lliuya's 10-year legal battle. RWE said it was not active in Peru and questioned why it was singled out. It also pointed to its plans to phase out its coal-fired power plants and become carbon neutral by 2040. In their ruling on Wednesday, judges deemed that the flood risk to the property of Mr Lliuya was not high enough for the case to in what climate change groups have hailed as a win, they did say that energy companies could be held responsible for the costs caused by their carbon emissions. While the sum demanded by Mr Lliuya was very low, the case had become a cause celebre for climate change activists, who hoped that it could set a precedent for holding powerful firms to account. The 44-year-old mountain guide and farmer said he had brought the case because he had seen first-hand how rising temperatures were causing glaciers near Huaraz to said that as a result, Lake Palcacocha - which is located above the city - now has four times as much water than in 2003 and that residents like him were at risk of flooding, especially if blocks of ice were to break off from Palcacocha glacier and fall into the lake, causing it to overflow. He alleged that emissions caused by RWE were contributing to the increase in temperature in Peru's mountain region and demanded that the German firm pay towards building a flood Lliuya also said that he chose the company because a 2013 database tracking historic emissions from major fossil fuel producers listed the German energy giant as one of the biggest polluters in Europe. Mr Lliuya's original case was rejected by a lower court in Germany in 2015, with judges arguing that a single firm could not be held responsible for climate change. But in a surprise twist, Mr Lliuya in 2017 won his appeal with judges at the higher regional court, which accepted there was merit to his case and allowing it to lawyers previously argued that RWE was responsible for 0.5% of global CO2 emissions and demanded that the energy firm pay damages amounting to a proportional share of the cost of building a $3.5m-flood defence for Huaraz. Germanwatch, an environmental NGO which backed Mr Lliuya's case, celebrated the court's ruling saying it had "made legal history"."Although the court dismissed the specific claim - finding flood risk to Luciano Lliuya's home was not sufficiently high - it confirmed for the first time that major emitters can be held liable under German civil law for risks resulting from climate change," it said in a statement. The group said it was hopeful that the decision could positively influence similar cases in other countries.
Malay Mail
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Oil vs Eden: Iraqis fight to save fabled Mesopotamian Marshes from drilling and drought
HUWAIZAH MARSHES (Iraq), May 20 — Plans to drill for oil in the protected Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq have galvanised villagers and activists determined to save the mythical wetlands already battered by years of drought. 'We will never accept it,' marshes activist Murtada al-Janubi told a meeting, seeking to reassure anxious residents gathered in a traditional hall made of woven reeds from the wetlands, to discuss the government's plans for the Unesco-listed area that is their home. Everyone nodded in approval. If they fail to save the Huwaizah Marshes, 'a historical era... with its heritage and southern identity will vanish for ever', Janubi, 33, told AFP during a tour of the wetlands that straddle the Iraq-Iran border. The millennia-old history of the marshes — the reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden — 'would end with this oilfield', said the moustached, tanned activist. In 2023, as China became a major player across various sectors in Iraq, the oil-rich country awarded a Chinese firm the rights to explore the Huwaizah field. Several residents of Abu Khsaf, the village in Missan province where the meeting with activist Janubi was held, said that at the time they did not fully grasp the implications. Only this year, when heavy machinery was brought in to conduct seismic studies and open a new road, did the residents say they recognised a 'threat' to the swamplands that have sustained their traditional way of life. The government says that the oil and environment ministries are collaborating closely to avoid endangering the wetlands, and that any activity would occur near, not inside, the marshes. Satellite images of the area from March, which AFP obtained from Planet Labs, show tracks left by heavy vehicles. Wim Zwijnenburg of Dutch peace organisation PAX said the images point to the 'rapid' construction of 'a 1.3-kilometre-long dirt road in the vegetation of the marshes'. A fisherman shows his catch on Iraq's receding marshes of Hawizeh. — AFP pic 'All we want is water' Missan province already has several oilfields, including one just kilometres from the marshes. Its emissions fill the sky with heavy grey smoke, and its gas flares can be seen from the fishing boats that roam the depleted marshes, suffering after years of harsh drought and dwindling water supplies. Nestled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Mesopotamian Marshes depend on rivers and tributaries originating in neighbouring Turkey and Iran. Sparse rainfall and reduced water flows blamed on climate change, upstream dams and government rationing have created shortages with severe impacts on the marsh ecosystem. Residents expect the marshes to dry up in summer, hoping for a long-absent good rainy season to revive them. The current water level in many areas is less than a metre (three feet) deep. Um al-Naaj lake, once teeming with fish, is now just three metres deep, compared with at least six before the drought. Rowing his boat on the lake, fisherman Kazem Ali, 80, said that while the new project may create some jobs, 'we, the average people, will not benefit'. 'All we want is water,' he said. Rasul al-Ghurabi, a 28-year-old buffalo farmer, said he would never quit 'the marshes and the freedom that comes with them' even if the oil company offered him a job. Protected core One cool March morning, as he led his buffaloes to the marshes to graze, Ghurabi was surprised to see workers laying cables and drilling holes. A cable caused one of his animals to stumble, he said. The marshes contain a core area that serves as a habitat for numerous species, including migratory waterbirds, surrounded by a buffer zone for protection. Environmental activist Ahmed Neema uses a stick to measure the depth of the waters during a visit to Iraq's receding marshes of Hawizeh. — AFP pic Activists have accused authorities of conducting seismic studies within the core, which the state-owned Missan Oil Company denies, saying that the vehicles spotted in the area were carrying out work for a separate field nearby and had since left. The Huwaizah oilfield was discovered in the 1970s, and Iraq shares it with Iran, which has been extracting oil for a long time. The Missan Oil Company says that 300 square kilometres of the field's area overlap with the marshes' buffer zone, but that the oilfield does not encroach on the core. An environmental impact assessment concluded in 2024 would provide 'the baseline for work in the field', the company said, adding that exploration would take place 'without harming the natural habitat'. According to environment ministry official Jassem Falahi, the protected status of the marshes does not bar development projects. 'But investment is subject to specific conditions and standards that must not disturb the core area... or affect the site and its biodiversity,' he told AFP. Balance Iraqi activist Ahmed Saleh Neema, a vocal advocate for the protection of the marshes, expressed concerns that oil companies might not adhere to regulations and further drain the marshes. A Unesco spokesperson told AFP that 'concerns have been raised in recent years' over the potential impact of oil-related activities on the marshes. Across the border in Iran, local media have long warned against the environmental impact of oil projects. Gas flares at an oil refinery near Iraq's receding marshes of Hawizeh. — AFP pic In a report earlier this year, two decades into oil activities in the wetlands known in Iran as Hoor al-Azim, the Tasnim news agency said energy companies had obstructed water flows and drained areas to build infrastructure. Tasnim also said that oilfields have polluted water resources. Environmental activist Neema said authorities should strike 'a balance between two great resources: the oil and the marshes'. Iraq is one of the world's largest oil producers, and crude sales account for 90 per cent of state revenues. But while oil is financially vital, the marshes represent the livelihood of its people and 'the heritage, the folklore, and the reputation of Iraq', Neema said. Back in the village of Abu Khsaf, Janubi said: 'Our region is already teeming with oilfields. Isn't that enough?' 'Leave our marshes alone.' — AFP
