Feature Story /globalclimatesummit/ en Technology may prevent the worst climate scenarios, but how do we adapt now? /globalclimatesummit/learn/technology-may-prevent-worst-climate-scenarios-how-do-we-adapt-now <span>Technology may prevent the worst climate scenarios, but how do we adapt now?</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-10-24T15:14:25-06:00" title="Monday, October 24, 2022 - 15:14">Mon, 10/24/2022 - 15:14</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/2017-11-Feature-Uganda-Opener-Constance-Okollet-WB.jpeg?h=0a76dd0f&amp;itok=zSs33ZCc" width="1200" height="800" alt="Constance Okollet"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/35"> Solutions </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> </div> <span>Lisa Marshall</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=h7NcI3No" width="750" height="4" alt> </div> <p class="text-align-center lead"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淭he reality is, we have already warmed the planet a lot and we need to be thinking about a world where climate-related disruptions are the new steady state.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥擫ori Peek</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=h7NcI3No" width="750" height="4" alt> </div> </div></div><p class="lead">Ask a room full of experts for their solutions on addressing the climate crisis, and talk of promising new technologies often takes center stage.</p><p>Indeed, things like expanded solar and wind power and alternative transportation systems will play a critical role in mitigating some of the worst-case scenarios a warming planet could bring. But for those already living those scenarios, the time to adapt is now. It鈥檚 often the quieter, grass-roots strategies鈥攍ike implementing new farming practices, financially empowering women and including the most vulnerable when making plans for the future鈥攖hat can have a big impact, experts say.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/climate-change-severe-impacts-lives/" rel="nofollow">a new survey</a> by the World Economic Forum, more than half of adults on the planet believe climate change has already had a severe impact on their part of the world, and 35% fear it may force them from their homes in the next 25 years. In 2020 alone, weather-related events displaced <a href="https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2021/" rel="nofollow">30 million people</a>.</p><p>鈥淭he reality is, we have already warmed the planet a lot and we need to be thinking about a world where climate-related disruptions are the new steady state,鈥� said sociologist Lori Peek, director of the Natural Hazards Center at the 麻豆原创. 鈥淭echnical fixes are important, but they can only get us so far. We need social fixes, too.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Empowering the vulnerable</h2><p class="lead">For Constance Okollet, summit panelist and founder of the Osokura United Women Network, that means empowering women, who, as the traditional family caregivers in many areas, tend to bear the brunt of climate change impacts.</p> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-thumbnail/2017-11-Feature-Uganda-Opener-Constance-Okollet-WB.jpeg?itok=S8y-AKNw" width="750" height="469" alt="Constance Okollet"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p><span>Constance Okollet. Image credit:&nbsp;Edward Echwalu</span></p> </span> </div> <p>鈥淭he woman is the engine of the home,鈥� Okollet said via Zoom from her home in Asinget village, Uganda. 鈥淚f you want something to change, look to the woman.鈥�</p><p>Three-quarters of Uganda鈥檚 population relies on subsistence agriculture, with farmers using the money from selling surplus crops to pay for basics like children鈥檚 school fees and medicine. When crops fail, the effects ripple.</p><p>Across sub-Saharan Africa, already the world鈥檚 most food-insecure region, climate change is making things worse.</p><p>鈥淲hen I was growing up, we had good yields and times were good,鈥� recalled Okollet, a 58-year-old mother of seven.&nbsp;</p><p>Now, people must travel long distances for water, and scorching droughts are followed by floods that wash away crops. Every season is a gamble.&nbsp;</p><p>鈥淣ow, there is no food,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople go to sleep hungry. People are dying.鈥�</p><p>She helped establish the Osokura United Women Network in the late 2000s, after lethal floods washed away crops, livestock and homes in her own village. At the time, she didn鈥檛 know what climate change was. When she learned that pollution from industrialized nations was essentially killing her neighbors, she was stunned. People in her region didn鈥檛 cause the problem, but she had ideas on how to help solve it.</p><p>With about 2,000 members, the group sends participants across the region to educate their neighbors about climate change and how to adapt. They teach them how to pool and save money so they can survive when crops fail, start small businesses, and manage their farmland in ways that make it more resilient.</p><p>Meanwhile, Okollet travels the world encouraging policymakers to invest in and replicate grassroots programs like hers.</p><p>About 2,000&nbsp; miles to the south, in Johannesburg, panelist Ndivile Mokoena, project coordinator for Gender CC Southern Africa, takes a similar approach. The organization brings women from different regions and generations together to learn from one another about how to handle new pests, extended dry spells or torrential rains in their kitchen gardens or farms.</p><p>If a particular seed isn鈥檛 working in one area anymore but working in another, they trade.</p><p dir="ltr">They teach one another how to preserve and can, so if there is no harvest, they have food&nbsp; to live on. They learn how to get credit or even buy their own land, a practice once unheard of due to patriarchal traditions. And they learn how to engage in the political process.</p><p dir="ltr">鈥淲e are teaching them to be a part of the dialogue around climate change, so that no decisions are made about them without them,鈥� Mokoena said.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/Jola%20Ajibade%20photo1.jpeg?itok=SsvuFPpn" width="750" height="492" alt="Jola Ajibade"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p>Jola Ajibade</p> </span> </div> <h2>Rethinking home</h2><p class="lead">Some models project that as many as 340 million people in coastal areas could be displaced by rising sea waters by 2050.</p><p>For many of these communities, adaptation will mean picking up and permanently leaving home.</p><p>To ensure that relocation is successful and just, policymakers around the world should be making plans now, inviting communities to talk about what this migration might look like, said&nbsp;Jola Ajibade, an associate&nbsp;professor of geography at Portland State University who studies managed retreat due to climate change.</p><p>In one <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378022001145" rel="nofollow">recent analysis</a> of 138 case studies of relocations, she concluded that just 46% were successful. All of the relocations came with unintended consequences.</p><p>In one case in Lagos, where Ajibade is from, about 30,000 people were violently forced out of a coastal community with guns and teargas, with no place to go. In several instances, often in poor communities in developing countries, top-down government plans have moved people from one threat, such as sea level rise, to another, drought or landslides. Often, people are moved to new communities to find the houses poorly built, and no access to transportation or cultural touchstones, like churches or burial grounds.</p><p>In contrast, the paper points to the Blue Acres buyout program in New Jersey as, in many ways, a standout model to improve community resilience amid a changing climate. Established in 1995, it offers homeowners pre-disaster market value for their properties while extending relocation assistance to renters. Vacated land is converted into parks. And community members are largely driving the process. Blue Acres has purchased over 700 properties statewide and negotiated nearly $6 million in debt relief for people owing more than their home is worth, Ajibade reported.</p><p>鈥淎 paradigm shift in retreat policies, planning and implementation is urgently needed,鈥� she wrote, noting that such success stories are the exception, particularly in the developing world.</p><p>Ajibade鈥檚 advice to policymakers: 鈥淪tart talking to communities now, long before deciding whether relocation is the appropriate adaptation, about what that would look like. And make sure the most vulnerable people鈥檚 voices are not just heard, but taken seriously.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/lori_peek-web.jpg?itok=70DBUHLv" width="750" height="751" alt="Lori Peek"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p>Lori Peek</p> </span> </div> <h2>Building community resilience</h2><p class="lead">Relocation plans aside, nearly every community must face the fact that natural disasters are now a norm, not an exception, Peek said.</p><p>鈥淭he single most important thing we can do is invest in our community before the next disaster comes,鈥� she said.</p><p>That means, in addition to making buildings and infrastructure stronger, making our social fabric stronger.</p><p>鈥淭here is growing recognition that these events are not 鈥榞reat equalizers,鈥欌€� Peek said. 鈥淧eople at the margins suffer first and worst.鈥�</p><p>Peek encourages communities to develop communication strategies to ensure that everyone,&nbsp;including the elderly, children and people with&nbsp; disabilities, knows how to get out when disaster comes, and plans to be sure schoolchildren can continue to learn (and ideally stay connected with one another) if evacuated.</p><p>Peek&nbsp;also said she hopes to see policy changes that support people, both socially and financially, if they can鈥檛 return home.</p><p>鈥淥ur whole structure of recovery has been predicated on people recovering in the places where they were, but what if those places are no longer safe?鈥� Peek said. 鈥淭hose are the kinds of discussions we need to be having鈥攓uestioning the whole basis of disaster recovery.鈥�</p><p>Another way to become more resilient to climate change: Get to know your neighbors. You may need their help someday.</p><p>鈥淚f we are ever going to come up with real solutions, it鈥檚 going to be through mutual connections and investments in this one great planet that we call home,鈥� Peek said.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Ask a room full of experts for their solutions on addressing the climate crisis, and talk of promising new technologies often takes center stage.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 21:14:25 +0000 Anonymous 224 at /globalclimatesummit Top 4 promising solutions by sector to fight rising emissions /globalclimatesummit/learn/top-4-promising-solutions-sector-fight-rising-emissions <span>Top 4 promising solutions by sector to fight rising emissions</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-10-20T09:20:53-06:00" title="Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 09:20">Thu, 10/20/2022 - 09:20</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/manny-becerra-NgdhrwAx0J8-unsplash-web.jpg?h=7b426be3&amp;itok=zto02d1g" width="1200" height="800" alt="Solar panels"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/35"> Solutions </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> </div> <span>Kelsey Simpkins</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=h7NcI3No" width="750" height="4" alt> </div> <p class="text-align-center lead"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淣ew technology can not only be a tremendous opportunity for rural communities and underserved communities here in the US, but for many other countries this can be a new way for them to build out their opportunities.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/martin-keller" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="d864434c-7fd1-495c-987f-daab1cf30d66" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Martin Keller">Martin Keller鈥�</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=h7NcI3No" width="750" height="4" alt> </div> </div></div><p class="lead">Mitigating climate change by significantly reducing carbon emissions this decade will require big transitions in all sectors, from energy and transportation to construction and industry. But significant reductions in global emissions are possible, and the payoffs will be far-reaching, experts say.</p><p>Affordable electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind could provide 65% of the world鈥檚 total electricity supply by 2030 and remove 90% of carbon emissions from the power sector by 2050,<a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/raising-ambition/renewable-energy" rel="nofollow"> according to the United Nations</a>.</p><p>With the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2022/04/04/ipcc-ar6-wgiii-pressrelease/" rel="nofollow">according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC), greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by up to 70% globally by 2050鈥攁nd in the process improve the health of the planet and its people.</p><p>鈥淚t won鈥檛 be easy, but we have done this before, when we first built out the grid,鈥� said Martin Keller, <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/about/director.html" rel="nofollow">director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> (NREL) and president of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, the company that operates NREL for the US Department of Energy.</p><p>The global transition to clean energy will require a new level of collaboration by many diverse sectors, creating both challenges and win-wins, he said. Meanwhile, meeting increased demand for clean energy would kick-start economies and improve equality and equity around the world.</p><p>鈥淣ew technology can not only be a tremendous opportunity for rural communities and underserved communities here in the US, but for many other countries this can be a new way for them to build out their opportunities,鈥� said Keller, who will join the <a href="/globalclimatesummit/node/95" rel="nofollow">Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit at 麻豆原创 as a panelist on Day 3: Solutions</a>. 鈥淲e have to make sure that in the energy transition, we bring everybody along.鈥�</p><h2>Here's a snapshot of shifts underway, and the promise they hold:</h2></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/manny-becerra-NgdhrwAx0J8-unsplash-web.jpg?itok=QOJuer9n" width="750" height="500" alt="Solar panels"> </div> </div> <h2>Electricity</h2><p class="lead"><strong>The most promising solutions in the electrical sector are something we already have: renewable energy technologies, mainly wind and solar power.&nbsp;</strong>Between 2010 and 2020 alone, the cost of solar-powered energy fell 85%, and the cost of wind energy fell by about half, according to the UN.</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=aiGlpzkH" width="1500" height="7" alt> </div> <p>Wind and solar power use also increased tenfold during this time, accounting for 1% of total electricity production globally a decade ago, compared with 10% in 2021.</p><p>Increasing capacity to meet higher demand will be a big lift, Keller said. But it鈥檚 already underway in the US, thanks to declining costs and the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which heavily funds the acceleration of clean energy and the decarbonization of energy systems.</p><p>There are suddenly many tax incentives to drive the market toward this, and experts like Keller expect to see a huge increase on the employment side for wind, solar and renewables.</p><p>Switching to renewables can also build resilience in communities hurt by climate change. For instance, when Babcock Ranch in southwest Florida鈥攚hich bills itself as America鈥檚 first sustainable solar powered town鈥攚as hit by Hurricane Ian in September, residents鈥� lights stayed on, thanks to their 700,000-panel grid and underground utility lines.</p><p>Emerging countries can also benefit. In regions just beginning to build their electricity infrastructure, planners can move straight to renewables rather than having to adapt a system based on fossil fuels.</p><p>These countries can also capitalize on their natural resources and evolve into energy-exporting countries. Keller noted that the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) has a lot of sun, and Chile and Patagonia have an abundance of wind. As about 6 billion people depend on importing fossil fuels from other countries, according to the UN, this diversification of global energy exporters can not only help meet demand but also stabilize economies and relations between nations.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/pexels-mike-b-110844-web.jpg?itok=wHqsec8W" width="750" height="422" alt="Electric car charging"> </div> </div> <h2>Transportation</h2><p class="lead">In car-dependent countries, reducing carbon emissions from commuter traffic represents a key challenge.&nbsp;According to the US Department of Transportation, transportation is the second largest source of total US greenhouse gas emissions, with gasoline and diesel-fueled vehicles accounting for about two-thirds of those emissions.</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=aiGlpzkH" width="1500" height="7" alt> </div> <p>Public transportation like buses and trains moves people through cities more efficiently, reducing greenhouse gas emissions even when not at full capacity. Compared with private car use, public transit contributes only about half as much carbon to the atmosphere, and US estimates show that it saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.</p><p>Besides investing more in public transportation, electric vehicles鈥攚hether electric cars or e-bikes鈥攚ill be key to cutting emissions. Cost, however, soon won鈥檛 be as much of a problem.</p><p>Upwards of 130 million electric bicycles are expected to be sold worldwide between 2020 and 2023, with countries around the world now offering generous subsidies for residents to purchase them.&nbsp;</p><p>The technology is advancing at such a rapid speed that electric cars are expected to&nbsp; become cheaper than vehicles with combustion engines.</p><p>The Inflation Reduction Act also aims to entice battery manufacturers back to the US and increase domestic vehicle production鈥攁ll moves that could bring costs down and speed up development worldwide. For diesel engines and long-distance transportation, researchers at universities, companies and labs across the country (like NREL) are working to turn them from fossil fuel machines into hydrogen engines.</p><p>But how will alternative fuels be transported? And how will the materials for creating all these batteries be sustainably sourced? There are still many details to figure out.</p><p>Answers to these questions and many more are being researched at NREL, as well as other national and international labs, institutes and academic collaborations.&nbsp;</p><p>The <a href="/center/aspire/" rel="nofollow">ASPIRE Engineering Research Center</a> (Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification) is one of them.&nbsp;</p><p>Led by Utah State University (with partner institutions including 麻豆原创, and researchers from Colorado State University, University of Colorado Colorado Springs and NREL), ASPIRE is exploring a diverse range of transportation questions. These include: How to electrify highways that can charge vehicles on the go; data security of and best placement for charging stations; and how to build the necessary workforce of engineers, policymakers, teachers, lawyers and collaborators in related fields.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/block/CUBoulder_Srubar_lab5GA-web.jpg?itok=oGHKD22H" width="1500" height="1125" alt="Wil Srubar"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p>Wil Srubar III鈥� holding a limestone algae concrete block</p> </span> <h2>Buildings</h2><p class="lead">The great indoors鈥攐r rather, where people around the world spend most of their modern lives鈥攁ccounts for 230 billion square meters of building space globally, and billions more square meters could be added this decade.&nbsp;So what about all the carbon-intensive materials and emissions involved in construction?</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=aiGlpzkH" width="1500" height="7" alt> </div> <p>Wil Srubar III, associate professor in<a href="/ceae/" rel="nofollow"> Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering</a> and 麻豆原创鈥檚<a href="/mse/" rel="nofollow"> Materials Science and Engineering Program</a>, is working to transform a notoriously polluting construction staple into a carbon-neutral and carbon-negative material: He鈥檚 developed concrete made out of<a href="/today/2022/06/23/cities-future-may-be-built-algae-grown-limestone" rel="nofollow"> limestone grown by algae</a> and bricks that are<a href="/coloradan/2020/11/10/living-buildings" rel="nofollow"> part bacteria themselves</a>.</p><p>鈥淲e see a world in which using concrete as we know it is a mechanism to heal the planet,鈥� Srubar said. 鈥淲e have the tools and the technology to do this today.鈥�&nbsp;</p><p>Buildings are also, in general, becoming more efficient, with some state-of-the-art homes run completely on renewable energy.</p><p>A key question is whether innovation can keep up with increasing demand.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/tobias-kleeb-rpP7zWy-Uxc-unsplash-web.jpg?itok=YoC7-Puy" width="750" height="563" alt="an excavator digging"> </div> </div> <h2>Industry</h2><p class="lead">Mining, steel production and chemical manufacturing are some of the trickier sectors in which to reduce carbon emissions. Industry is directly responsible for more than 20% of all heat-trapping emissions, according to the IPCC. Heavy industry, including mining, shipbuilding and the aircraft industry, presents some of the biggest challenges. But a few companies are leading the way.</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/colors-thin-line-blue.png?itok=aiGlpzkH" width="1500" height="7" alt> </div> <p>For example, mining giant Fortescue Metals announced plans in September to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from its iron ore operations by 2030, saying it will invest more than $9 billion building batteries and greening its fleet of machinery, vehicles and trains. And last year, Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto proposed a $7.5 billion plan to cut its carbon emissions by half by 2030.</p><p>Alternative materials with lower emissions could also soon come to replace plastics and some metals, while waste could be reclaimed to help <a href="/today/2022/09/26/plastics-future-will-live-many-past-lives-thanks-chemical-recycling" rel="nofollow">create a circular economy</a>. Refrigerants鈥攑otent greenhouse gases that often leak during use or disposal鈥攃an also be better managed and disposed of. Machines can be electrified, and energy efficiency can be increased.</p><p>鈥淥ur lives are built around using energy,鈥� said Lisa Dilling, professor of environmental studies at 麻豆原创 and fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), after the release of the IPCC report on climate change mitigation in April 2022. 鈥淏ut we have all these other options now that are cost effective. We don鈥檛 have to get it out of the ground anymore.鈥�&nbsp;</p><p>While the dirty, carbon-producing energy source of coal still accounts for almost one-third of energy use鈥攖he single largest share of global capacity鈥攁nd new coal plants are still being built in some parts of the world, the speed at which new coal is being added to the grid is slowing down.</p><p>鈥淭here is still a lot of work ahead of us,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淏ut there is a new kind of excitement in this decarbonization effort which I have never seen before.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Mitigating climate change by significantly reducing carbon emissions this decade will require big transitions in all sectors, from energy and transportation to construction and industry.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Thu, 20 Oct 2022 15:20:53 +0000 Anonymous 223 at /globalclimatesummit How courts can help protect human rights amid climate change /globalclimatesummit/learn/how-courts-can-help-protect-human-rights-amid-climate-change <span>How courts can help protect human rights amid climate change </span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-09-28T13:27:05-06:00" title="Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - 13:27">Wed, 09/28/2022 - 13:27</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/JRRNFD-web.jpg?h=e9403ca4&amp;itok=-bsuMTj-" width="1200" height="800" alt="Aerial view of Warraber (Sue) Island, Torres Strait"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/30"> Obligations </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> </div> <span>Clay Bonnyman Evans</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-hidden ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">&nbsp;</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><strong>Among the more notable cases in recent years:</strong></p><ul><li>In 2015, <a href="https://leap.unep.org/countries/pk/national-case-law/asghar-leghari-vs-federation-pakistan" rel="nofollow">Asghar Leghari successfully sued</a> the Pakistani government for violating its official climate change policy, catalyzing the creation of the country鈥檚 Climate Change Commission.</li><li>In 2019, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld a 2015 decision in favor of the <a href="https://climate-laws.org/geographies/netherlands/litigation_cases/urgenda-foundation-v-state-of-the-netherlands" rel="nofollow">Urgenda Foundation</a>, which required the government to reduce carbon emissions by 25%.</li><li>In 2020, the <a href="http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/neubauer-et-al-v-germany/?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" rel="nofollow">German Constitutional Court ordered</a> the German legislature to strengthen and enforce existing climate legislation and widen pathways to future mitigation.</li><li>In February, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-climate-climate-change-paris-france-108722d3e8bc587d9300ec189b99a07d?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" rel="nofollow">four nongovernmental organizations prevailed</a> in a case that found the French government failed to live up to its own carbon emissions target reductions.</li><li>In May, a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/court-orders-shell-to-slash-emissions-in-historic-ruling/?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template" rel="nofollow">court ordered Royal Dutch Shell</a> to cut its greenhouse emissions by 45% by 2030, the first time courts have levied such a requirement on a private company.</li></ul></div></div></div><p>鈥�</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淭hese efforts are not just piecemeal anymore. In Europe, this has really grown to be a widespread phenomenon.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/freerk-varmeulen" rel="nofollow">Freerk Vermuelen</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center"><br>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/louis-velazquez-XWW746i6WoM-unsplash-web.jpg?itok=Z454CWOY" width="750" height="500" alt="United States Capitol"> </div> <p><br>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淚n the United States, especially with the current (Supreme Court), you might suspect they鈥檒l find a way to shut down all types of climate cases from activist individuals rather than those from industry.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=897" rel="nofollow">Jonathan Skinner-Thompson</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> </div></div><p>On Sept. 23, the United Nations <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/ccpr" rel="nofollow">Human Rights Committee</a> found that the Australian government had <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-23/un-finds-australia-violated-torres-strait-islanders-rights/101470524" rel="nofollow">violated the human rights</a> of a group of Indigenous island residents known as 鈥渢he Torres Strait 8鈥� when it failed to adequately protect them from the impacts of climate change.</p><p><strong>It was a potentially ground-breaking decision that many expect to pave the way for future cases.</strong></p><p>鈥淭his decision marks a significant development, as the committee has created a pathway for individuals to assert claims where national systems have failed to take appropriate measures to protect those most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change,鈥� UNHRC committee member <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-23/un-finds-australia-violated-torres-strait-islanders-rights/101470524" rel="nofollow">H茅l猫ne Tigroudja told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.</a></p><p>The ruling is just the latest in a growing ledger of victories for people who are leveraging the power of litigation to force action on climate change around the world.</p><p>鈥淭here are lots and lots of examples nowadays that have been successful in pushing government to increase climate action,鈥� said&nbsp;<a href="https://climate.law.columbia.edu/directory/dr-maria-antonia-tigre" rel="nofollow">Maria Antonia Tigre</a>, Global Climate Litigation fellow at the <a href="https://climate.law.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow">Sabin Center</a> for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. 鈥淭his really has been growing exponentially over the past few years. There are now over 500 cases around the world in over 50 jurisdictions. This is really becoming a tool for climate activism.鈥�</p><p>鈥淭hese efforts are not just piecemeal anymore,鈥� said&nbsp;<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/freerk-varmeulen" rel="nofollow">Freerk Vermuelen</a>, who represents Urgenda and will be a panelist at the upcoming&nbsp;<a href="/globalclimatesummit/program" rel="nofollow">Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit</a>&nbsp;at the 麻豆原创 on Dec. 1-4. 鈥淚n Europe, this has really grown to be a widespread phenomenon.鈥�</p><h2>U.S. history and 鈥榝ossil law鈥�</h2><p>In the United States, the situation is more complex. Climate cases have had a harder time gaining purchase in a legal system complicated by federalism, precedent and a history of what&nbsp;<a href="https://climatedefenseproject.org/profile/ted-hamilton/" rel="nofollow">Ted Hamilton</a>, co-founder of the Climate Defense Project, called 鈥渇ossil law.鈥�</p><p>鈥淛udges and prosecutors tend to deploy their powers against climate justice advocates rather than against those degrading the climate,鈥� he wrote in <a href="https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/beyond-fossil-law/" rel="nofollow"><em>Beyond Fossil Law: Climate, Courts, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future</em></a>. 鈥淏y and large, our legal institutions have proven ill-equipped to seriously address climate change.鈥�</p><p>In some cases, victories have proved Pyrrhic or been swallowed up by subsequent rulings and changes in enforcement priorities after a change in presidential administrations. Often, U.S. cases run aground on the shoals of jurisdictional interpretations (whether cases are matters for federal or state courts), the refusal of Congress to ratify emissions targets and climate agreements, and what Hamilton calls 鈥渋ndustry capture,鈥� a system in which the deck is stacked in favor of fossil fuel interests.</p><p>鈥淚n the United States, especially with the current (Supreme Court), you might suspect they鈥檒l find a way to shut down all types of climate cases from activist individuals rather than those from industry,鈥� said <a href="https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=897" rel="nofollow">Jonathan Skinner-Thompson</a>, associate professor of law at 麻豆原创 and a former attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency.</p><p>In 2007鈥檚 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/enrd/massachusetts-v-epa" rel="nofollow">Massachusetts v. EPA</a> (鈥渢he preeminent U.S. climate change case,鈥� according to Hamilton),&nbsp;the U.S. Supreme Court found that human-caused global warming was real and that carbon dioxide qualified as an 鈥渁ir pollutant.鈥� But in 2016, the court halted a clean-power plan developed by the EPA, and the incoming Trump administration swiftly de-emphasized climate action. This year, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA had gone too far in trying to regulate emissions in<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/20-1530" rel="nofollow"> West Virginia v. EPA</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>In <a href="https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/juliana-v-us" rel="nofollow">Juliana v. United States</a>, another case that initially encouraged climate activists, 21 youth plaintiffs represented by Oregon nonprofit <a href="https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/" rel="nofollow">Our Children鈥檚 Trust</a> argued that their due-process rights of life, liberty and property were being violated by the government鈥檚 continued inaction on reducing fossil-fuel emissions.</p><p>Ruling against a government motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken accepted many of the plaintiffs鈥� claims and found that the government was culpable.</p><p>鈥淚 have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society,鈥� Aiken wrote. 鈥淭o hold otherwise would be to say that the Constitution affords no protection against a government鈥檚 knowing decision to poison the air its citizens breathe or the water its citizens drink.鈥�</p><p>But U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay in 2018 before the case could go to trial, and in 2020 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the issue was a matter for the executive and legislative branches, not the courts.</p><p>For Skinner-Thompson, Juliana 鈥渨as a pretty small win at the end of the day; I don鈥檛 think the plaintiffs saw it as a massive victory.鈥� And he remains skeptical that litigation to force climate action will gain much traction in the United States in the foreseeable future.</p><p>鈥淚n the U.S., to the extent that people are trying to use state laws or federal laws, to use the courts themselves to implement change, I don鈥檛 think it will be successful,鈥� Skinner-Thompson said. 鈥淭he courts are not going to be the savior as they have been with civil rights. . . . It would be more efficient if the international community would come together with binding and meaningful (emissions) targets and act to address the problem.鈥�</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/pexels-pixabay-39553-web.jpg?itok=cSd8pp2_" width="750" height="383" alt="Factory emissions"> </div> <div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淟itigation is a slow tool, but it can be very effective. Every time there is a new decision from one country that really reaches the media and everyone is talking about it, it proves to be an effective tool to push countries. And I think everyone starts asking whether that case can be replicated in other jurisdictions.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="https://climate.law.columbia.edu/directory/dr-maria-antonia-tigre" rel="nofollow">Maria Antonia Tigre</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> </div></div><h2>Using the courts to force political change</h2><p>However, given the global nature of the problem, legal successes in other countries and regions are almost certain to have a positive impact in the United States.</p><p>鈥淔ollowing these cases, the major emitters may have to change their practices to respond to cases like (Urgenda), even though there is not a comprehensive regulatory scheme established by treaty,鈥� Skinner-Thompson said. 鈥淎nd with carbon emissions . . . spread pretty evenly across the globe, it really doesn鈥檛 matter where we get reductions. We鈥檙e still getting reductions, and that鈥檚 meaningful.鈥�&nbsp;</p><p>Vermuelen agreed that courts are not where the climate fight will be won. But he said litigation remains a potent tool to catalyze political change.</p><p>鈥淚t belongs in the political arena, not the courtroom,鈥� Vermuelen said. 鈥淏ut this type of litigation may be necessary to bring the politics onto the right track. . . . There is a role for the judiciary to complement democratic practices.鈥�</p><p><strong>And each legal victory can affect the way people around the world see the issue, Tigre said.</strong></p><p>鈥淟itigation is a slow tool, but it can be very effective,鈥� Tigre said. 鈥淓very time there is a new decision from one country that really reaches the media and everyone is talking about it, it proves to be an effective tool to push countries. And I think everyone starts asking whether that case can be replicated in other jurisdictions.鈥�</p><p>Though U.S. efforts to leverage litigation to force climate action have produced minimal fruit to date, Hamilton still believes that 鈥渃ourts are one of the best avenues we have to make climate justice a policy of the state.鈥�</p><p>And, as international victories accumulate, Hamilton wrote, 鈥渋t seems likely that in the coming years international bodies and some domestic courts will turn more and more to international agreements and national human rights instruments to hold governments鈥� feet to the fire.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>A growing number of legal cases around the world have proved successful in getting governments to commit to climate action, but in the U.S. barriers to this strategy remain.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/JRRNFD-webcrop.jpg?itok=zvE2bCuT" width="1500" height="898" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Wed, 28 Sep 2022 19:27:05 +0000 Anonymous 205 at /globalclimatesummit When it comes to addressing global climate impacts, who should pay? /globalclimatesummit/learn/when-it-comes-addressing-global-climate-impacts-who-should-pay <span>When it comes to addressing global climate impacts, who should pay?</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-09-13T16:05:14-06:00" title="Tuesday, September 13, 2022 - 16:05">Tue, 09/13/2022 - 16:05</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/winston.a2016052.0215.1km-webcrop.jpg?h=aaae32fd&amp;itok=HpUdzJTK" width="1200" height="800" alt="Tropical Cyclone Winston hits Fiji"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/30"> Obligations </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> </div> <span>Audrea Lim</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div><p>Above image: Tropical Cyclone Winston in the South Pacific Ocean, west of Fiji.&nbsp;<em>Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team/Jeff Schmaltz</em></p></div><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/Boyd%20UN%20photo%202-Enhanced_0.jpg?itok=7P45s_Ah" width="750" height="750" alt="David Boyd"> </div> <p>David Boyd</p></div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淭his is a human rights crisis of the greatest magnitude.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/david-boyd" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="0de71a6a-5054-4dec-9187-5f819846c30b" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="David Boyd">David Boyd</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> </div></div><p class="lead">In 2016, Tropical Storm Winston hit the Pacific island of Fiji as the strongest recorded storm ever to make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere. It left $1.4 billion in damage, 131,000 people homeless and 44 dead.&nbsp;</p><p>鈥淲e lost everything,鈥� a former village headman, Raivolita 鈥淩ai鈥� Tabusoro, told the World Bank. 鈥淚t was as if a bomb was dropped in the village.鈥�</p><p>鈥淔iji is one of those countries that's really on the frontlines of the climate crisis,鈥� said <a href="/globalclimatesummit/node/79" rel="nofollow">David Boyd</a>, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, and a panelist in the inaugural Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit to be held Dec. 1鈥�4 at the 麻豆原创.</p><p>Two years after the storm, Boyd visited the Fijian village of Vunidogoloa, one of the world鈥檚 first communities to relocate because of climate change鈥攔ising sea levels were contaminating drinking water and crops with saltwater. The decision had come from the villagers, not an edict from above. So had the decisions on where, when and how the relocation would transpire.</p><p><strong>Boyd was impressed.</strong></p><p>Fiji had done an 鈥渁bsolutely fantastic鈥� job addressing the climate crisis through a human rights framework: accepting that all its people have a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, along with a right to participate in any decisions surrounding it, Boyd said.&nbsp;</p><p>鈥淣ow, the $64,000 question is, 鈥榃ho鈥檚 going to pay for that relocation?鈥欌€� Boyd said. 鈥淩ight now, it's the government of Fiji.鈥�&nbsp;</p><p>With more than 50 of the nation鈥檚 communities awaiting relocation, Boyd said 鈥渢hat is an absolutely unjust and unsustainable outcome.鈥�</p><p>鈥淭here absolutely should be funds flowing from the Global North to Fiji to finance those relocation efforts,鈥� Boyd said. (鈥淕lobal North鈥� usually describes the wealthy and powerful nations of North America, Europe and Australia, and 鈥淕lobal South鈥� signifies the less-developed countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania).</p><p>Devastating floods, droughts and wildfires on virtually every continent are highlighting the grave human consequences of climate change: lost homes, lost lives, collapsed economies, entire countries submerged.&nbsp;</p><p>鈥淭his is a human rights crisis of the greatest magnitude,鈥� Boyd added.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Yet the nations of the world are not equally responsible for the crisis.</strong></p><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/Vunidogoloa_Village1-web-crop.jpg?itok=jKJWp1Xa" width="1500" height="921" alt="A view of the inland relocated site of Vunidogoloa Village, Fiji."> </div> <p>A view of the inland relocated site of Vunidogoloa Village, Fiji.</p></div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/Chen%20Photo%20copy-Enhanced_0.jpg?itok=PtNXeQ53" width="750" height="750" alt="Ying Chen"> </div> <p>Ying Chen</p></div><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/S%C3%A1nchez-Rodriguez%20Photo-EnhancedBWcrooppedjpg.jpg?itok=DDskU7Ui" width="750" height="750" alt="Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez"> </div> <p>Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez</p></div></div></div><h2>Impacts on vulnerable populations</h2><p>Poor communities and developing countries are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme weather and changing environments. As the costs of global climate action add up, there is growing consensus that the world鈥檚 polluters should foot most of the bill, and also growing debate about how that money can help to address climate disparities.</p><p><strong>Who, for one, are the biggest polluters?&nbsp;</strong></p><p>The most popular answer: the countries and regions emitting the most carbon today, a list topped by China, the US, the European Union and India.&nbsp;</p><p>But summit panelist <a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/ying-chen" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="d11562de-52dc-425e-b5ff-6e6cfe0c4b28" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Ying Chen">Ying Chen</a>, a professor of economics at The New School in New York City, sees this answer as too simplistic and ahistorical. Because carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, emissions from the Industrial Revolution are as harmful to the world today as the carbon emitted two years ago, Chen argued.&nbsp;</p><p>Taking into account this cumulative pollution, the early colonizers and countries in the Global North, like the nations of the G-7 in particular, are most responsible鈥攖hey have generated at least 59% of historical emissions, Chen said. (The G-7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, US and EU.)</p><p>These wealthy nations have failed to meet a 2009 pledge to mobilize $100 billion annually in climate funding. But Chen believes they could afford it if they wanted to: The US would need to contribute 2% of its GDP to cover its share, compared with the 3.7% it spends on its military. It鈥檚 a political question and an issue of priorities, she said.</p><p><strong>There is also debate about how the money should be spent.</strong></p><p>Some Global North countries have begun to fund climate efforts in the Global South, but they invest according to their own agendas rather than the needs of the country, said summit panelist <a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/roberto-sanchez-rodriguez" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="bdb10a4d-653d-471c-bc18-7028d2f12a11" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez">Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez</a>, an urban and environmental studies scholar in Mexico and the lead author of the latest report on climate impacts, adaptation and vulnerability for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).</p><p>Most of this money is dedicated to climate mitigation鈥攔educing carbon emissions by, for instance, shifting to renewable energy鈥攁n important task for developing countries with fast-growing economies and energy consumption, like Brazil, Chile and China. But many developing countries, like Fiji, contribute a minuscule share of global carbon emissions, while just a single extreme weather event could have devastating consequences for decades, he said.</p><p>鈥淭hese countries desperately need assistance for adaptation, more than mitigation,鈥�&nbsp; S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez said.</p><p>This was apparent to S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez during the floods and heatwaves that recently battered Pakistan and India. Water infrastructure was inadequate, and improvements are desperately needed to prevent water shutoffs, improve sewage drainage and ensure that farms have adequate irrigation to maintain food supplies.</p><p>鈥淥ne of the big problems is that climate change is still being addressed as an environmental challenge, when in reality it is a development problem,鈥� he said.</p><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/Vunidogoloa_Village2-webcrop.jpg?itok=7iRwGzfH" width="1500" height="828" alt="Local residents fish in front of the abandoned site of the old Vunidogoloa Village, Fiji"> </div> <p>Local residents fish in front of the abandoned site of the old Vunidogoloa Village, Fiji.</p></div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淲e are looking at a world that is very fragmented and have a very small window of opportunity (to make a difference).鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/roberto-sanchez-rodriguez" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="bdb10a4d-653d-471c-bc18-7028d2f12a11" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez">Roberto S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/color-thin-line-green_23.png?itok=Dp2_gKo8" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> </div></div><h2>Money alone is not enough</h2><p>Yet direct funding alone is not enough to meet the challenges. Countries also need help鈥攁nd additional funding鈥攖o build stronger institutions that are capable of preventing and responding to future disasters. Many lack even the basic ability to identify who is vulnerable, why they're vulnerable and where they're located, he said.</p><p><strong>Without this data, climate investment could exacerbate inequalities within countries, and between them.</strong>&nbsp;</p><p>Chen has seen this in her research on China鈥檚 own climate investments鈥攖he nation is already a global leader in renewable energy, and the finance part is not a problem. Chinese companies installing solar panels and electricity grids, for instance, often employ migrant or temporary workers who are heavily exploited, Chen said.</p><p>Meanwhile, renewable energy manufacturing involves working with plastics and chemicals that can harm the health of workers. Without stronger labor and environmental protections across the globe, climate investment could benefit private companies and wealthier consumers at the expense of poor laborers. In funding climate actions, 鈥渨e need to be very proactive in addressing inequalities and inequities,鈥� Chen said, a task that requires global collaboration to enforce environmental regulations strictly everywhere possible.&nbsp;</p><p>For S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez, international coordination is also sorely needed to ensure that climate funds are addressing the real needs of developing countries.&nbsp;</p><p>鈥淲e are looking at a world that is very fragmented and have a very small window of opportunity (to make a difference),鈥� S谩nchez-Rodr铆guez said.&nbsp;</p><p>Boyd said he sees some hope in one international agreement: a newly passed <a href="https://www.undp.org/blog/historic-un-resolution-recognizes-healthy-environment-human-right" rel="nofollow">UN resolution</a> recognizing a healthy environment as a basic human right, like clean water and shelter. This approach to the climate crisis not only focuses our attention on the people who are suffering,it requires states to reduce emissions, increase adaptation, and pay poorer nations for loss and damages.</p><p>With floods, droughts, fires and superstorms battering every continent, the Global South is going to use every tool at its disposal to hold the Global North accountable, Boyd said. Hopefully, Boyd said, 鈥渢he resolution is a catalyst for change.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>In 2016, Tropical Storm Winston hit the Pacific island of Fiji as the strongest recorded storm ever to make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/winston.a2016052.0215.1km-web.jpg?itok=rz49BIQl" width="1500" height="1958" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 13 Sep 2022 22:05:14 +0000 Anonymous 179 at /globalclimatesummit By the numbers: The effect of climate change on human rights /globalclimatesummit/learn/numbers-effect-climate-change-human-rights <span>By the numbers: The effect of climate change on human rights</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-08-08T08:01:35-06:00" title="Monday, August 8, 2022 - 08:01">Mon, 08/08/2022 - 08:01</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/mika-baumeister-jXPQY1em3Ew-unsplash-web.jpg?h=7fdf4c9b&amp;itok=XbmWrfME" width="1200" height="800" alt="Climate protest"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/40"> Learn </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/25" hreflang="en">Human Rights</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 2"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-left col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-thumbnail/mika-baumeister-jXPQY1em3Ew-unsplash-web.jpg?itok=GNh90J45" width="1500" height="977" alt="Climate protest"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Health</h2><p>Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths each year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress, according to the<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health" rel="nofollow"> World Health Organization</a>.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Home</h2><p>In 2020, 30 million people were displaced because of weather-related disasters, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. By 2050, as many as 216 million people could move within their own countries due to slow-onset climate change, according to the World Bank.</p></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/pexels-kelly-4170428web.jpg?itok=oekKxXVm" width="1500" height="843" alt="Neighborhood destruction after hurricane"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 2"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-left col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/pexels-ahmed-akacha-5280636-web.jpg?itok=oPeao_Qz" width="1500" height="1001" alt="Boys at refugee camp"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Peace</h2><p>Of the 25 countries deemed most vulnerable to climate change, 14 are already mired in conflict. Climate change can increase risk of conflict by depleting resources, including water for people and livestock, and exacerbating social and economic tensions. Meanwhile, those already fleeing conflict often end up in countries where natural disasters are common, worsening their hardship. Highly climate vulnerable countries host 40% of refugees and are home to 70% of people internally displaced by conflict or violence.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Self-determination</h2><p>According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), climate change is causing extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, depriving millions of people around the world of a livelihood. The nearly 78% of the world鈥檚 poor鈥� 800 million people鈥攚ho live in rural areas, many of whom rely on agriculture, forestry and fisheries for their survival, are particularly affected. Without urgent action, climate change could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank.</p></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.24.55-AM-web_0.jpg?itok=MJde0G9D" width="1500" height="842" alt="People affected by flooding"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 2"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-left col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/pexels-mikhail-nilov-6965307-web.jpg?itok=RvgZAtAl" width="1500" height="999" alt="People planting crops"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Food</h2><p>Climate change not only hampers productivity of crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, it also influences the frequency of extreme weather events and natural hazards, which can wipe out food sources and impair supply chains. According to the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca9692en/online/ca9692en.html" rel="nofollow">State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report</a>, nearly 750 million people experienced severe food insecurity in 2019, and the number of undernourished or food-insecure people is rising, with climate shocks a major contributor.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Culture</h2><p>For the 4 million inhabitants of the Arctic, and the 680 million people who live in low-lying coastal areas, climate change poses not only an immediate and direct threat to their survival, but to the survival of their cultures.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/drew-farwell-MgWYcTe3ci0-unsplash-web.jpg?itok=-Vyz5Can" width="1500" height="1001" alt="Home on Alaskan coast"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 2"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-left col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/callout/pexels-this-is-zun-1329453-web.jpg?itok=gVyu5zpf" width="1500" height="1001" alt="Person kneeling on dry cracked ground"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h2>Water</h2><p>More than 2 billion people live in countries with 鈥渉igh water stress鈥� or lack of access to fresh water. Almost twice as many could be affected by 2050. The United Nations Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF) estimates that, by 2040, one in four children鈥攁round 600 million鈥攚ill live in areas of extremely high-water stress.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Source:<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FSheet38_FAQ_HR_CC_EN.pdf" rel="nofollow"> https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FSheet38_FAQ_HR_CC_EN.pdf</a></p></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Climate change is affecting human rights around the world in significant ways. From health to food and self-determination, here are a few statistics and facts about these impacts that further demonstrate the need for coordinated action. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 08 Aug 2022 14:01:35 +0000 Anonymous 150 at /globalclimatesummit How a human rights approach to climate change can spark real change /globalclimatesummit/learn/human-rights-approach-climate-change <span>How a human rights approach to climate change can spark real change</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-08-05T13:45:45-06:00" title="Friday, August 5, 2022 - 13:45">Fri, 08/05/2022 - 13:45</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/sheila-watt-cloutier-image.jpg?h=9f8198c6&amp;itok=6gTxW2hL" width="1200" height="800" alt="Sheila Watt-Cloutier"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/49"> Human Rights &amp; Climate Change </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/29" hreflang="en">Climate Change &amp; Environment</a> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/45" hreflang="en">Feature Story</a> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/25" hreflang="en">Human Rights</a> <a href="/globalclimatesummit/taxonomy/term/38" hreflang="en">Keynote</a> </div> <span>Lisa Marshall</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/CEMRDDATWBH3XNWHRB55AWMWZAweb-crop.jpg?itok=nhl_NlJQ" width="750" height="374" alt="Sheila Watt-Cloutier"> </div> <p>Sheila Watt-Cloutier</p></div><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jim_anaya29ga_1-web-crop.jpg?itok=rNWhVPeA" width="750" height="373" alt="James Anaya"> </div> <p>James Anaya</p></div><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/Mary-Robinson_0.jpeg?itok=sgl80GjP" width="750" height="373" alt="President Mary Robinson"> </div> <p>Mary Robinson</p></div></div></div><p class="lead">On Dec. 7, 2005, Canadian-born mother and grandmother <a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/sheila-watt-cloutier" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="704ac3e5-5f86-4f72-8c00-56b0ab02cd53" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Sheila Watt-Cloutier">Sheila Watt-Cloutier</a> filed a 163-page petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arguing that the impacts of climate change violated the 鈥渇undamental human rights鈥� of Indigenous Inuit people like her across the Arctic.</p><p>鈥淚t is the responsibility of the United States, as the largest source of greenhouse gases, to take immediate and effective action to protect the human rights of the Inuit,鈥� the petition read.&nbsp;The commission ultimately declined to hear the case.</p><p>But Watt-Cloutier鈥檚 bold move helped kick-start what many describe as a sea change in how the international community thinks about climate change. Rather than center conversations around the science behind it or the economics and politics of addressing it, as had been the norm for decades, Watt-Cloutier and a new brand of climate justice advocates took a different approach.&nbsp;They framed climate change not as a distant, abstract concern but as a current human rights crisis that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Thus, they made the case that government and industry are duty-bound to respect and protect those rights in the face of climate change.</p><p>鈥淏efore that time, at nearly every meeting I attended, they were talking about polar bears and ice,鈥� said Cloutier, who will present a keynote speech at the upcoming <a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit-2022" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="bb57fb57-8d85-468d-9851-c96778f53f79" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Summit 2022">Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit</a> on the 麻豆原创 campus. 鈥淭o put a human face to the issue was really important.鈥�</p><p>Two years later, a small group of island states led by the Maldives joined forces to adopt the&nbsp;Mal茅 Declaration, the first intergovernmental statement that 鈥渃limate change has clear and immediate implications for the full enjoyment of human rights.鈥� The next year, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the first of what became a series of resolutions linking climate change to human rights.</p><p>In February 2020, UN Secretary General Ant贸nio Guterres proclaimed unequivocally:&nbsp;鈥淭he climate crisis is the biggest threat to our survival as a species and is already threatening human rights around the world.鈥�</p><p>In framing it this way, climate justice advocates say they gain more leverage in both the court of public opinion and the court of law, and better assure that as policymakers set out to craft solutions, those most affected by climate change (but often least responsible for it) have a seat at the table.</p><p>鈥淰iewing climate change through a human rights lens brings to the fore the urgency of the problem and helps us to focus on what it is really about鈥攈uman beings and our survival,鈥� said <a href="/globalclimatesummit/thought-leadership/james-anaya" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="41a18e05-80fe-4ac4-84a5-01be6c8dd7cc" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="James Anaya鈥擣ive Questions on the Global Climate Summit">James Anaya</a>, a university Distinguished Professor and professor of international law at 麻豆原创, and the lead of three co-chairs for the climate summit.</p><h2>The toll on human rights</h2><p>In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees that all human beings are entitled to a social and international order in which their rights and freedoms can be fully realized.</p><p>Those rights include the right to health, food, housing, life and culture.</p><p>Climate change threatens all of them, and the Indigenous people of the Arctic, which has warmed much faster than any other region of the globe, were among the first to feel it, Watt-Cloutier explained.</p><p>In the village of Shishmaref, Alaska, where people have been living, hunting and fishing for 2,000 years, melting sea ice is swallowing homes. Roads built on once-sturdy permafrost are sinking as it thaws. Hunters who have traveled across the ice for centuries now face the danger of breaking through it. Seals and polar bears that depend on the ice are moving farther out, threatening food supplies. Thinning ozone and increased ultraviolet exposure have boosted reports of skin cancer and cataracts.</p><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/Alaska1-webcrop.jpg?itok=AjB0eIzG" width="1500" height="828" alt="Erosion next to houses in Shishmaref, Alaska"> </div> <p>Erosion next to houses in Shishmaref, Alaska</p></div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/Alaska2-web.jpg?itok=tMng9dgP" width="750" height="562" alt="Aerial view of Shishmaref, Alaska"> </div> <p>Aerial view of Shishmaref, Alaska</p></div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/colors-thin-line-dk-blue_2.png?itok=PGeSgzM-" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left fa-lg ucb-icon-color-gold">&nbsp;</i></p><p class="text-align-center lead"><strong>鈥淲e are the most adaptable people in the world. We invented the kayak. We can build a home made of snow that is warm enough for a mother to birth in. We are teachers, not victims. I believe Indigenous wisdom is the medicine the world seeks.鈥�</strong></p><p class="text-align-center lead">鈥�<a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/sheila-watt-cloutier" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="704ac3e5-5f86-4f72-8c00-56b0ab02cd53" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="Sheila Watt-Cloutier">Sheila Watt-Cloutier</a></p> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/block/colors-thin-line-dk-blue_2.png?itok=PGeSgzM-" width="750" height="4" alt=" "> </div> </div></div><p>Inuit culture is also under threat, said Watt-Cloutier, as hunting traditions in the Arctic come with key lessons about resiliency, coping, patience and boldness.</p><p>鈥淥ur culture is based on the ice, the snow and the cold. That's who we are,鈥� said Watt -Cloutier, author of <em>The Right to Be Cold: One Woman鈥檚 Fight to Protect the Arctic and Save the Planet from Climate Change</em>.</p><p>Elsewhere around the globe, the human toll of climate change became apparent to <a href="/globalclimatesummit/summit/keynotes-panelists/president-mary-robinson" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="bb28d1f2-7b23-4712-a5dd-faa67f2b98ab" data-entity-substitution="canonical" rel="nofollow" title="President Mary Robinson">Mary Robinson</a>, then the UN high commissioner for human rights in the early 2000s.&nbsp;鈥淣o matter where I went, I kept hearing variations on the same phrase: 鈥楤ut things are so much worse now,鈥欌€� she wrote in her 2019 bestseller, <em>Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience and the Fight for a Sustainable Future</em>.</p><p>Robinson, the former president of Ireland, who will deliver a keynote speech at the climate summit in Boulder, recalls farmers in Africa whose harvests failed to arrive or whose crops and villages were washed away by floods.</p><p>鈥淚n the past, I had seen images of stranded polar bears and the disappearance of ancient glaciers, but these stories from the frontlines of climate change suddenly began to match the scientific findings I was reading about,鈥� Robinson wrote.</p><p>Anaya is quick to note that while the ravages of climate change are now being felt globally鈥攊ncluding in Boulder, which has been hit by devastating floods and fires in recent years鈥攚omen, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, children and other marginalized groups tend to feel the brunt.</p><p>鈥淎 human rights approach pays attention to those groups that are particularly in vulnerable situations and makes sure to include their voices in the discussions about solutions,鈥� Anaya said.&nbsp;</p><h2>Obligations and solutions</h2><p>Under international human rights law, governments have the primary obligation to protect human rights, Anaya said.</p><p>Increasingly, climate justice advocates are seizing upon this legal obligation and taking governments to court for failure to protect human rights.</p><p>For instance, in 2013, the Urgenda Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government demanding that it take steps to address the toll climate change was taking on human rights. In a groundbreaking 2019 decision, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ordered the government to cut the nation鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 1990 levels.</p><p>Since then, hundreds of plaintiffs have filed suit against governments and businesses for failing to protect human rights from the impacts of climate change.</p><p>Meanwhile, a human rights approach has given a new voice to vulnerable communities, aiming to ensure that when solutions are discussed, their interests are top of mind.</p><p>鈥淭hese solutions have to be equitable, and certain groups should not bear the cost more than others,鈥� Anaya said.</p><p>For instance, if wind power is a solution, how will the construction of those wind farms affect the lives, livelihoods and traditions of people in local communities? When it comes to costly mitigation and adaptation strategies, who will pay?</p><p>鈥淭he human rights framing emphasizes equity and fairness. Those who are most responsible for climate change have the greatest responsibility to address it,鈥� Anaya said.</p><p>Watt-Cloutier is quick to note that those who are most vulnerable to climate change鈥攚hile often portrayed as victims and left unheard鈥攖end to have unique and valuable perspectives on solutions.</p><p>鈥淲e are the most adaptable people in the world. We invented the kayak. We can build a home made of snow that is warm enough for a mother to birth in. We are teachers, not victims,鈥� she said of the Inuit. 鈥淚 believe Indigenous wisdom is the medicine the world seeks.鈥�</p><p>As the world increasingly seeks an answer to what is now broadly viewed as an existential threat to human rights and the future of humanity, she said she has renewed hope.</p><p>鈥淚 believe the campaigns that link climate change to human rights protection efforts, that acknowledge our shared humanity and our shared future, are the most effective way to bring about lasting change.鈥�</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>On Dec. 7, 2005, Canadian-born mother and grandmother Sheila Watt-Cloutier filed a 163-page petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arguing that the impacts of climate change violated the 鈥渇undamental human rights鈥� of Indigenous Inuit people like her across the Arctic.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>7</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/globalclimatesummit/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/john-salvino-xXA2-Cp9yvo-unsplash-webcrop.jpg?itok=tH1pwl2t" width="1500" height="899" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 05 Aug 2022 19:45:45 +0000 Anonymous 149 at /globalclimatesummit