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News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
World's major courts take growing role in climate fight
The world's top court is poised to tell governments what their legal obligations are to tackle global warming, and possibly outline consequences for polluters that cause climate harm to vulnerable countries. Wednesday's highly anticipated advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice comes in the wake of landmark international decisions that experts say together have the potential to significantly shape climate action. - How has climate litigation evolved? - Andrew Raine, deputy director of the UN Environment Programme's law division, said frustration over the pace of climate action had spurred people, organisations and countries to turn to the courts. "When political systems fall short, the law is increasingly seen as a tool for driving ambition and enforcing commitments that have been made," he told AFP. These have been bolstered by increasingly precise and detailed climate science, including from the UN's IPCC climate expert panel. Almost 3,000 climate cases have been filed up to the end of 2024, in nearly 60 countries, according to the Grantham Research Institute, using data compiled by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. While not all have been successful -- and some have tried to slow climate progress -- there have been notable cases in recent years that have pushed states to do more. Urgenda, an environmental organisation in the Netherlands, notched a win at the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019, with justices ordering the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by the end of the following year. And in 2021, the German Constitutional Court found that the government's failure to sufficiently cut planet-heating pollution placed an unacceptable burden on future generations. Raine said that litigation was increasingly crossing borders, with 24 cases brought before international or regional courts, tribunals or other bodies. "This marks a turning point and it reflects the transboundary and shared nature of the climate crisis," he said. - Why have recent cases been deemed historic? - Two in particular have been hailed as watershed moments that will help shape how courts, governments and businesses understand and act on their climate responsibilities. Last year, an advisory opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea said carbon emissions can be considered a marine pollutant and that countries have a legal duty to take measures to reduce their effects on oceans. The tribunal made clear that the work of defining countries' obligations is not limited to the Paris climate agreement or the UN body that runs climate change negotiations. Major polluters have argued that the UN framework is sufficient and against courts taking climate decisions. Another major advisory opinion was issued this month, with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights reaffirming the right to a healthy climate system and acknowledging the rights of nature. But perhaps the court's most profound statement was to place protection against irreversible climate harms on the same level as international prohibitions on genocide and torture, said Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Professor of Law and Director of the Climate Law Accelerator at New York University. The court said "massive and serious harm to the climate system through emissions, through deforestation and so on, is absolutely forbidden by international law," he said. In his view this made it the strongest statement yet by any international court on states' duty to avoid causing severe ecological destruction. All eyes are now on the ICJ. - What could be the impact? - Vanuatu, one of many low-lying islands threatened by sea level rise, has asked the ICJ to give its opinion on states' obligations to reduce emissions. But the potentially more controversial request is what -- if any -- legal consequences there might be for major polluters who cause severe climate damages. "These are questions of global justice," said Rodriguez-Garavito, potentially touching on contentious issues of "reparations for climate harms" to those least responsible for emissions. While advisory opinions like the ICJ are not legally enforceable, Raine said they carry significant weight. "They clarify how international law applies to the climate crisis, and that has ripple effects across national courts, legislative processes and public debates," he said. klm/np/djt/tc
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
World's major courts take growing role in climate fight
The world's top court is poised to tell governments what their legal obligations are to tackle global warming, and possibly outline consequences for polluters that cause climate harm to vulnerable countries. Wednesday's highly anticipated advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice comes in the wake of landmark international decisions that experts say together have the potential to significantly shape climate action. - How has climate litigation evolved? - Andrew Raine, deputy director of the UN Environment Programme's law division, said frustration over the pace of climate action had spurred people, organisations and countries to turn to the courts. "When political systems fall short, the law is increasingly seen as a tool for driving ambition and enforcing commitments that have been made," he told AFP. These have been bolstered by increasingly precise and detailed climate science, including from the UN's IPCC climate expert panel. Almost 3,000 climate cases have been filed up to the end of 2024, in nearly 60 countries, according to the Grantham Research Institute, using data compiled by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. While not all have been successful -- and some have tried to slow climate progress -- there have been notable cases in recent years that have pushed states to do more. Urgenda, an environmental organisation in the Netherlands, notched a win at the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019, with justices ordering the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by the end of the following year. And in 2021, the German Constitutional Court found that the government's failure to sufficiently cut planet-heating pollution placed an unacceptable burden on future generations. Raine said that litigation was increasingly crossing borders, with 24 cases brought before international or regional courts, tribunals or other bodies. "This marks a turning point and it reflects the transboundary and shared nature of the climate crisis," he said. - Why have recent cases been deemed historic? - Two in particular have been hailed as watershed moments that will help shape how courts, governments and businesses understand and act on their climate responsibilities. Last year, an advisory opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea said carbon emissions can be considered a marine pollutant and that countries have a legal duty to take measures to reduce their effects on oceans. The tribunal made clear that the work of defining countries' obligations is not limited to the Paris climate agreement or the UN body that runs climate change negotiations. Major polluters have argued that the UN framework is sufficient and against courts taking climate decisions. Another major advisory opinion was issued this month, with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights reaffirming the right to a healthy climate system and acknowledging the rights of nature. But perhaps the court's most profound statement was to place protection against irreversible climate harms on the same level as international prohibitions on genocide and torture, said Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Professor of Law and Director of the Climate Law Accelerator at New York University. The court said "massive and serious harm to the climate system through emissions, through deforestation and so on, is absolutely forbidden by international law," he said. In his view this made it the strongest statement yet by any international court on states' duty to avoid causing severe ecological destruction. All eyes are now on the ICJ. - What could be the impact? - Vanuatu, one of many low-lying islands threatened by sea level rise, has asked the ICJ to give its opinion on states' obligations to reduce emissions. But the potentially more controversial request is what -- if any -- legal consequences there might be for major polluters who cause severe climate damages. "These are questions of global justice," said Rodriguez-Garavito, potentially touching on contentious issues of "reparations for climate harms" to those least responsible for emissions. While advisory opinions like the ICJ are not legally enforceable, Raine said they carry significant weight. "They clarify how international law applies to the climate crisis, and that has ripple effects across national courts, legislative processes and public debates," he said. "It doesn't force states to act, but it shows them where the law stands and where they should be headed." klm/np/djt/tc Solve the daily Crossword
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Climate
- Business Recorder
Pakistan's scorching summer: a nation in the front line of climate breakdown — I
Pakistan is experiencing its hottest and most extreme summer of the decade. This crisis is not a natural occurrence, but the result of years of unchecked environmental degradation that have pushed the climate system to a breaking point. What was once considered an anomaly is now becoming an alarming new norm. In the first half of 2025 alone, Pakistan has been struck by two major climate-related disasters: an extreme heatwave in Sindh and a devastating glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Gilgit-Baltistan. The heatwave pushed temperatures in Jacobabad beyond 52°C, while the GLOF wiped out entire communities in Hunza Valley, displacing thousands. Since April 2025, a series of intense heatwaves have struck Pakistan, with June bringing the most brutal temperatures. Dera Ghazi Khan recorded highs of 50°C, while Lahore, Sargodha, and other urban centers soared around 47°C to 49°C. Even regions like Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, historically known cooler zones, have reported unseasonably high temperatures. Countless factors contribute to the single, predominant challenge of climate change. While Pakistan battles record-breaking heatwaves and growing climate instability, it's important to acknowledge a harsh truth: the country is suffering the consequences of a crisis it did not create. Despite contributing less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan faces some of the most devastating impacts of climate change. Pakistan's climate change vulnerability is deeply linked to its geography. Pakistan lies at the crossroads of melting glaciers, arid zones, and low-lying coastal areas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021) places Pakistan among the ten most climate-vulnerable countries. Global warming, which is driven largely by industrialized nations, has raised baseline temperatures around the world, setting the stage for more frequent and intense heat events. Shifts in atmospheric patterns, including high-pressure systems that trap heat, further exacerbate the problem. In Pakistan's rapidly expanding cities, heat is magnified by the urban heat island effect, as concrete structures and reduced green cover retain and radiate warmth. Meanwhile, widespread deforestation and soil degradation leave the land dry and unable to cool naturally. Faiza Riasat (A student of NUST, Environmental Engineering IESE) Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Daily News Egypt
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi
Egypt's Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, has arrived in Nairobi to participate in the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), taking place from 14 to 18 July under the theme 'Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future,' marking the conference's 40th anniversary. This high-level gathering brings together ministers from across the continent, alongside senior figures including the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the President of the African Development Bank, and the African Union Commissioner for Environment, as well as prominent environmental experts. Fouad highlighted the importance of AMCEN in shaping unified African positions ahead of major international events, including the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), ongoing negotiations towards a global treaty on plastic pollution, and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP30). She noted that the conference will also review progress on previous resolutions and set Africa's environmental priorities for the period 2025–2027. During the opening session, which included the ceremonial handover of the AMCEN presidency to Libya, Fouad took part in several high-level ministerial dialogues. These included discussions on 'Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Budgeting and Finance' as a means to address climate change, natural disasters, and environmental degradation. She also engaged in a dialogue titled 'Leveraging the G20 to Address Environmental Challenges,' and participated in the official launch of the African Union's Continental Circular Economy Action Plan (2024–2034), designed to support sustainable economic growth and reduce environmental waste across Africa. On the sidelines of AMCEN-20, Minister Fouad is holding a series of bilateral meetings, including with Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention, to discuss preparations for COP15; Elizabeth Maruma, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP; and Jim Skea, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to follow up on preparations for the IPCC's 63rd session scheduled for October 2025. She is also set to meet with Jessica Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy.
Observer
7 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Use clarity to fight fakery
I was catching up on the news when a headline from Brazil caught my eye. COP30's presidency has initiated a global call to address what they are identifying as climate disinformation. Not soft miscommunication. Not public confusion. Disinformation. The kind that spreads fast, wears the voice of someone familiar and takes root before facts can catch up. Proposals are now open for groups around the world, especially from the Global South, to build tools that defend truth in the climate fight. It felt overdue. Just days earlier, a friend had sent me one of those familiar, long WhatsApp messages claiming that Oman's newly announced wind farms will 'vacuum the clouds", blaming recent shifts in rainfall on clean energy. There was no evidence cited, no meteorological data, just a concerned tone and sweeping conclusions. The message sounded scientific, but it wasn't. It had already moved through three different WhatsApp groups before anyone asked if it was even true. This is the thing about climate disinformation. It doesn't always come in shouting. It slides into chats, dressed like a question or a worry, and before long it shapes how people vote, what policies they resist, and what solutions they no longer believe in. These stories reshape trust, rewire public emotion and wear down resolve. The issue extends beyond merely fake news; it revolves around narrative warfare. Sometimes these narratives deny the science altogether. Sometimes they delay action by saying the transition is too expensive or too fast. Sometimes they distort a single event, like a cold spell in winter, to argue the planet is not warming. Sometimes they distract, pointing at litter or plastic waste and insisting we focus on that instead. And more often than not, they greenwash. They make emissions look cleaner than they are. They make fossil fuel companies sound like climate champions. This is not theory. This is everyday life. This is watching your neighbours grow sceptical of wind farms. This is hearing someone on the radio say climate change is just part of a cycle. This is seeing an ad that calls petrol clean because the font is green and the background has a leaf. Disinformation spreads fast, wears the voice of someone familiar, and takes root before facts can catch up. Researchers have mapped how to respond: detect, deconstruct, debunk and then deploy the truth in ways that travel just as fast. But most of us are not researchers. So what do we do? We pause. We ask where the story came from. We verify the date. We compare it to trusted reports, like those from our Meteorology Officer and international bodies like the IPCC. We ask who benefits if we believe it. And we respond gently, clearly and early, before the story hardens into belief. That is called pre-bunking, and it matters more than we realise. This work cannot take place on the periphery. The mayors of London and Paris have warned about how disinformation campaigns, some even funded by fossil fuel interests, have undermined clean air zones and delayed much-needed reforms. The same is true here, though the disguise may look more local, more familiar. It is not always loud, but it is always strategic. And the longer it goes unchecked, the harder it becomes to move forward. Oman has no time for this. Our fisheries are exposed, our coasts are shifting and our cities are already contending with more extreme weather. The farmers of Al Batinah do not need myths about solar farms. They need facts that help them adapt to drier seasons. Every minute we spend chasing rumours is a minute we lose preparing the systems that will carry us through what is coming. Climate disinformation is not just frustrating. It is dangerous. It erodes trust. It slows response. And it isolates people from the truth at the moment they most need to act on it. If you have encountered this information, whether it landed in your inbox or appeared on your screen, understand that you are not imagining it. Recognise that it carries weight and is not without consequences. We also know there are effective ways to counteract it. This can be achieved not through argument or confrontation, but through clarity, context and care. The message from Belém serves as a reminder that the fight for climate action extends beyond boardrooms and summit halls; it unfolds in family chats, group messages and during our morning scrolls. And in that space, each of us has a role. Truth travels slowly. But it still arrives if we make room for it and protect it.
