human rights

India’s Supreme Court Expands ‘Right to Life’ to Include Protection Against Climate Change

India’s Supreme Court Expands ‘Right to Life’ to Include Protection Against Climate Change

In another landmark climate decision, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that an individual’s “right to life” includes protection against the impacts of climate change. The verdict reflects fundamental rights stated in Article 21 of the country’s constitution, reported The Independent. “Without a clean environment which is stable and unimpacted by the vagaries of […]

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    How Sustainable and Ethical Is the Tuna at Your Supermarket?

    How Sustainable and Ethical Is the Tuna at Your Supermarket?

    Was the tuna at your local supermarket caught sustainably by people treated humanely and paid a living wage? Greenpeace released its second annual report Monday ranking 16 major U.S. supermarkets on the environmental and human rights bonafides of their tuna supply chains. It turns out that only one of them managed to score higher than […]

    Australia Failed to Protect Torres Strait Islanders From Climate Change, Violating Their Rights, UN Says

    Australia Failed to Protect Torres Strait Islanders From Climate Change, Violating Their Rights, UN Says

    In a landmark ruling, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee has found that the Australian government failed to take timely and adequate measures to protect Indigenous Torres Strait Islanders against the adverse impacts of climate change and, by doing so, violated their rights. The Committee found the government had “violated their rights to enjoy […]

    COP27 in Egypt Subjects LGBTQIA+ Climate Activists to Human Rights Abuses

    COP27 in Egypt Subjects LGBTQIA+ Climate Activists to Human Rights Abuses

    The annual UN Conference of Parties to negotiate international climate policy is supposed to be held in different countries and continents in order to make it easier for activists from otherwise overlooked regions (the global south) to attend. This year’s COP27 is in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and while the African placement, Yessenia Funes at […]

    The UN Just Declared a Universal Human Right to a Healthy, Sustainable Environment – Here’s Where Resolutions Like This Can Lead

    The UN Just Declared a Universal Human Right to a Healthy, Sustainable Environment – Here’s Where Resolutions Like This Can Lead

    By Joel E. Correia Climate change is already affecting much of the world’s population, with startlingly high temperatures from the Arctic to Australia. Air pollution from wildfires, vehicles and industries threatens human health. Bees and pollinators are dying in unprecedented numbers that may force changes in crop production and food availability. What do these have […]

    A Record 227 Environmental Defenders Were Killed in 2020

    A Record 227 Environmental Defenders Were Killed in 2020

    A record 227 environmental and land defenders were killed in 2020 for protecting their homes and our planet, according to the annual Global Witness report released Monday. That’s an average of more than four people a week, and more than double the number reported in 2013, the report authors wrote. Further, they connected that rise […]