Inter-American Court of Human Rights Hears from Climate Victims (The Guardian)

Globally, courts are increasingly linking climate change and human rights violations. Earlier this month, for example, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that weak Swiss government policies violated human rights. Another hearing on the opposite side of the world this week will examine states’ legal responsibilities to tackle climate change. In an inquiry instigated by Colombia and Chile, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will define states’ legal responsibilities to tackle climate change. It will be the third international court tasked with providing an advisory opinion on climate change, but the only one focusing on human rights.

UNFPA’s State of World Population 2024 Report Highlights SRHR Inequalities (UNFPA)

Over the last 30 years, the world has made immense progress in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls around the world. Since 1994, when governments agreed that SRHR was a cornerstone of international development at the Cairo International Conference on Population, rates of unintended pregnancies have fallen 20%, 162 countries have adopted anti-domestic violence laws, and maternal deaths have decreased by 34%.

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

UN Report Highlights Relationship Between Water and Peace (UN Water)

Freshwater consumption is growing at a steady rate, driven largely by agriculture, yet roughly 50% of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year. Poor water quality in low-income countries is attributable to low wastewater treatment, whereas in high-income countries, agricultural runoff does the damage. Extreme droughts or heavy rainfall, exacerbated by climate change, also have worsened in frequency and intensity, creating a deepening impact on global water security.

Este ensayo se actualizó con una traducción al español, disponible después de la versión en inglés, a continuación.

Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have committed to transitioning to a net zero economy by 2050. Will they be able to do so without leaving anyone behind? It is unlikely, if business models don’t change.

An annual investment of $700 billion will be needed to curb emissions from the energy sector and its end uses, as well as from agriculture, forestry and other land use. In the clean energy sector alone, investment must increase nearly fivefold from its 2022 level.

On April 18, 2016, I was on the train with my Friends of Nature (FON) colleagues for a work trip when a shocking piece of news erupted on social media: hundreds of students in Jiangsu Province fell ill after moving into a newly built middle school. Reported symptoms included itchy skin with rashes and lesions, coughing, and a decline in white blood cell count. Students and parents later learned that their beautiful new school was built next to a contaminated site, previously home to three chemical manufacturing facilities, the largest of which had produced pesticides for decades. After these companies closed, a company contracted by the local government to clean up the site failed to properly collect and dispose of toxins in the soil. These toxins leaked into the air and sickened the students.