Cholera in Southern Africa Linked to Climate Threats (The New Humanitarian)

In Southern Africa, climate change is encouraging rural-to-urban migration that is also creating a public health crisis. Cholera outbreaks have infected 188,000 Southern Africans since 2022, with 4,100 deaths. Zambia currently faces the harshest impacts, with 705 reported deaths and 21,000 infections since October. Its president, Hakainde Hichilema, even called for citizens to move out of cities to prevent the spread of cholera in January—largely due to increasing concern of the diseases’ spread in informal settlements.

Despite the clear public health impacts of living in cities, particularly in these settlements, the crippling shared impact of El Niño and climate change have made maintaining a rural livelihood in this region increasingly difficult. An estimated 24 million people in Southern Africa are estimated to go hungry in the wake of El Niño, which has caused a devastating climate impacts. Droughts, floods, storms, and extreme heat are the biggest causes of climate-induced migration, and 70% of climate migrants settle in cities due to a perceived availability of employment opportunities. To add to the challenges, Zambia also faced a devastating crop failure this year.

This increasing migration and lack of urban planning has also created a sharp decline in basic sanitation in cities. Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have attempted a community-based approach to fighting the cholera epidemic with a “Community-Led Total Sanitation” plan. Yet while effective and sustainable in theory, these solutions are not being practiced on a wide enough scale to effectively fight the spread of the disease and will require increased subsidies and financial support. 

READ | Urban Risk or Resilience? Opportunities for Improving Informal Settlements in Urban Africa

Landmark Climate Ruling Faults Switzerland for Lack of Action (New York Times)

In a recent case brought by KlimaSeniorinnen (Senior Women for Climate Protection), to the European Court of Human Rights, the group argued that Switzerland had violated their human rights by failing to meet its target CO2 emissions reduction. The plaintiffs said their health was at risk during global-warming induced heat waves. A landmark ruling has now come down in their favor: Switzerland had not acted “in good time and in an appropriate and consistent manner” to the health challenges. Thus, it failed to protect its citizens’ rights. 

While Switzerland had vowed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20% in 2020 from its 1990 levels, the present reduction is only 11% from 2013 levels. The litigants who brought the suit noted they experienced heart and respiratory illnesses that put them at risk of death on hot days. Even in milder cases, they felt fatigue and lightheadedness during heat waves. The court ordered Switzerland’s government to put measures in place to address the shortfall, and its officials are expected to comply.

This court’s ruling is a significant milestone in international environmental law: it is the first time that an international court ruled that a government is legally obligated to meet climate targets under human rights law. The fact that many other countries are also failing to meet their emissions targets leads experts to predict a series of similar lawsuits in European countries. And while it is unlikely this ruling will have an impact on American courts, the Swiss court’s message of the ruling is clear, and it will certainly shape future rulings.

READ | U.S. Backing for the UN Resolution for Healthy Environment Would be a Game Changer

Ahead of World Bank Conference, UN Expert Urges Immediate Action (The Guardian)

In a  recent speech in London, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), highlighted the importance of taking immediate action at upcoming climate conferences—and laid out the possible steps to do so. Stiell argued that the world has only two years to draw up a meaningful plan to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. He also sees increased levels of climate finance as one of the necessary measures to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Next week’s World Bank meetings-–which will bring together leading governmental development organizations, as well as the International Monetary Fund—offer an opportunity to focus on this issue. Stiell called for development bank reforms to enable governments to provide more climate finance to developing countries. He also argued innovative sources of finance, such as a frequent flier levy or taxes on CO2 emissions from shipping, should be addressed.

The call made by Stiell and others to increase climate finance comes in the context of two major events. First, the last 10 months were the hottest on record. This clear signal has placed some pressure on the international community to reduce the rate of climate change before it is too late. Another factor is that the UNFCCC is gearing up for this year’s COP29, which will take place in Azerbaijan. Current levels of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are clearly inadequate to cut emissions to the extent necessary to mitigate the impacts. Since new NDCs are expected to be adopted this year at COP29, Stiell’s call to action is a clear representation of the urgency felt by the UNFCCC and international community.

READ | Climate Finance: Taking Stock of Investments and Opportunities to Sustain Peace