World Environment Day by OHCHR, Oxford University, Global Witness, agencies   On World Environment Day, 5th of June 2025 the University of Oxford is hosting a global summit on climate change and human rights in partnership with UN Human Rights, the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, the International Universities Climate Alliance and co-host universities across the world.   The event is being live streamed for 24 hours bringing together leading thinkers and practitioners at the intersection of climate change and human rights for a 24-hour global academic plenary, which will be broadcast live across time zones.   "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host this pivotal summit with UN Human Rights, bringing together leaders in human rights and climate research from around the world, across a wide range of disciplines with the common goal of finding solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our times, climate change’, said Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford. Co-created and co-delivered by universities across the world, the plenary will follow the sun as we pass the baton between different regions:   http://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/right-here-right-now   June 2025   United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk keynote address at Oxford University Global Climate Summit (Extract from speech):   "We are still in denial about a fundamental fact: our wellbeing and survival as a species are inseparable from the health of our planet and our environment. We are part of nature, and our fate is inextricably bound up with nature. The very oxygen we breathe is constantly recycled between the land, the oceans and the atmosphere. Our food and water depend on plants and animals, birds and insects, rivers and seas.   We have a responsibility to treat our planet with respect; to protect its glaciers and forests; to support the diversity of species on land and in the sea; to keep our rivers and lakes clean; to preserve nature, including ourselves.   The widespread misconception that nature is a hierarchy, with homo sapiens at its apex, is at the root of the planetary crises wreaking havoc across our world. The evidence is everywhere.   Each year, we consume some 1.7 times more resources than our planet can regenerate. The extraction and burning of fossil fuels is trapping humanity in a furnace. Climate impacts are already hitting every country – with huge human and economic costs.   Almost half of humanity live in climate hotspots where people are 15 times more likely to die of climate-related causes. According to Oxfam, the world’s richest 1 percent are responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66 percent.   Meanwhile, our global food systems – which allow massive waste while millions go hungry – are driving an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. One million of the world’s estimated 8 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. And by 2050, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and radioactive waste are severely impacting people’s wellbeing and violating their rights.   Not only have we created a false separation from nature, we are deluded enough to believe we can make nature bend to our will. Attempts to subjugate and exploit our fragile ecosystems have resulted in unpredictable and dangerous consequences. From disrupting water cycles to remaking landscapes, from forever chemicals to the introduction of invasive species, there is a long list of attempted solutions that turned out to be problems.   And yet, there are powerful forces working to portray new, untested and risky approaches to environmental crises as logical and inevitable. They are not. The facts on the climate emergency speak for themselves. For decades, those most responsible for our overheating planet have wilfully ignored and obscured the science, blocked change, and churned out profit with subsidies in one hand, and impunity in the other.   We are already suffering the consequences. And without a radical change of course, future generations will inherit a far hotter, more polluted, more unpredictable and more dangerous world.   These same approaches of supremacy and subjugation are also causing terrible harm within human societies. White supremacy, male supremacy, racial supremacy, religious supremacy – everywhere, we see an attitude that could be summarized as: me first; my community first; my group first; and I don’t care about anyone else. We enslave; we colonize; we exploit for domination and profit.   We see this in the atrocity crimes being committed from Myanmar to Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza, with little accountability. International human rights law and humanitarian law are blatantly disregarded, while corporate interests profit from so-called Forever Wars.   As we see on our screens every day, many of the most powerful in our world are deeply invested in a hierarchy of human lives. We see this in sky-rocketing levels of inequality within and between countries, and in a lack of support for economies that are in, or at high risk of, debt distress – many of them disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.   We see it in record numbers of people living in inadequate housing, or without shelter. We see it in new technologies that are being weaponized to oppress and marginalize. We see it in the continued efforts of fossil fuel companies to undermine solutions to the climate crisis to preserve their profits at the cost of our climate and our rights. We see it in the violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, whose lands and territories are being exploited and destroyed without their consent. And we see it in the culture wars against the fundamental principles of inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination.   Nature itself has a long-term strategy. What is ours? Let me set out four fundamental tenets. First, our strategy needs to embrace human rights as the compass for a sustainable future. Our rights call for all people, now and in the future, to live in safety, security and opportunity, on a healthy planet.   When people have enough to eat; when they have access to clean water and education; when their right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is fulfilled; when people can express their opinions without fear; when the media can hold power to account, our societies are more peaceful, stable and resilient.   Our human rights frame compassionate governance. The human rights ecosystem has roots that run in all directions, from peace and sustainable development to social cohesion, equality and justice. And in the 76 years since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was adopted, it has become clear that our rights are also deeply intertwined. Like a natural ecosystem, human rights find their own equilibrium.   I remain fascinated by the fact that trees communicate with each other. They send distress signals about drought and disease that lead other trees to alter their behaviour. And they share nutrients to keep each other healthy. Science continues to develop a deeper understanding of how natural systems connect and communicate.   We should find inspiration here for our own societies. What if humanity’s unity with nature determined our politics? And what if we recognized that nature has rights, too? The rights of certain species are already widely recognized in many legal systems; cruel treatment is illegal while there are restrictions on animal testing and laws to protect wildlife. What about an ocean? A glacier? A tree?   Authorities around the world increasingly recognise aspects of the rights of nature – even at the international level. The Kunming-Montreal agreement on biodiversity, adopted in 2022, acknowledges that the rights of nature are vital to successful implementation.   The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a series of resolutions on Harmony with Nature, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued an advisory opinion stating that environmental components are legal interests in and of themselves.   Following the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand, certain rivers have been granted legal identity and designated guardians. And they can be defended in court against environmental damage. Likewise, certain mountains and land of significance to Indigenous Peoples in various countries have been endowed with rights of their own. In South Asia too, some rivers have specific legal recognition.   Ecuador was the first country to recognize the rights of nature in its national constitution. These rights are also recognized at different levels of governance in Bolivia, India, Spain, Uganda, and the United States of America, and beyond.   It is no coincidence that countries at the forefront of recognizing the rights of nature, have strong and active Indigenous Peoples. For many Indigenous Peoples, the rights of nature are a given, part of their worldview, cultural practices, religions, and traditional laws. They understand that protecting nature necessarily reinforces human rights – particularly the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.   Rather than viewing themselves as apart from nature, many Indigenous Peoples view human beings as part of nature, as embodied in the Maori proverb: “I am the river, and the river is me.”   Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2021 that issuing mining permits that would harm the biodiversity of the Los Cedros Protected Forest violated the rights of nature. This ruling prevented continued harm against the forest while also protecting the human rights of people living in affected areas.   One of the greatest challenges we face in the world today is developing models of governance that integrate different worldviews and perspectives, including those that recognize the rights of nature.   Academics and legal scholars need to build on current laws, traditions and practices and consider what such models might look like in the future. For example, they could involve constitutional recognition of legal standing for nature and its defenders; stronger protection against environmental harm; and recognition of the crime of ecocide, including under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.   They could mean new and stronger laws, regulations and enforcement mechanisms to ensure corporations are no longer able to treat our planet as an inexhaustible resource to be exploited.   Businesses would be held accountable not only for harming people, but for harming nature, recognizing ultimately that all are part of the same web of life. Indeed, we need a society-wide conversation that reimagines the corporate sector’s goals and its responsibilities to people and planet.   We need bold action, based on human rights, to cool our burning planet. Full implementation of the Paris Agreement is our only hope. Without it, humanity would be headed to over 4 degrees of heating – a death sentence for most.. That figure is now 3 degrees, so we are making progress. But far more is needed.   This is why support is growing for a proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that would aim to end the expansion of new oil, coal and gas projects, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy..."   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/co-hosting-global-summit-turk-calls-new-policies-deliver-climate-action http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/hc-turk-climate-emergency-clarion-call-new-politics http://fossilfueltreaty.org/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2025/05/right-here-right-now-global-dialogue-climate-change-and-human-rights http://www.ohchr.org/en/climate-change/impact-loss-and-damage-adverse-effects-climate-change-human-rights http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a79168-report-special-rapporteur-right-development-surya-deva-climate   May 2025   Climate Change and the Escalation of Global Extreme Heat   A new report from scientists at World Weather Attribution, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Climate Central assesses the influence of human-caused climate change on dangerous heat waves over the past 12 months (May 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025).   The period of analysis spans Earth’s hottest year and hottest January ever recorded. The report found that human-caused climate change is boosting dangerous extreme heat for billions of people, and making heat events longer and more likely.   Over the 12-month period, 4 billion people — about 49% of the global population — experienced at least 30 days of extreme heat (hotter than 90% of temperatures observed in their local area over the 1991-2020 period).   In 195 countries/territories, climate change at least doubled the number of extreme heat days, as compared to a world without climate change.   All 67 extreme heat events — identified as significant based on record-setting temperatures or major impacts to people or property — were found to be influenced by climate change.   http://www.worldweatherattribution.org/heat-action-day-report-climate-change-and-the-escalation-of-global-extreme-heat-2/ http://www.climatecentral.org/report/climate-change-and-the-escalation-of-global-extreme-heat-2025 http://wmo.int/publication-series/wmo-global-annual-decadal-climate-update-2025-2029 http://www.climatecentre.org/15432/national-societies-gear-up-for-heat-action-day-2025/ http://news.climate.columbia.edu/2025/02/05/huge-areas-may-face-possibly-fatal-heat-waves-if-warming-continues/ http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/news/climate-change-doubles-frequency-concurrent-drought-and-heatwave-events-low-income-regions   May 2025   South Asian Cities faced record-breaking Heatwaves last Year, by Selomi Garnaik and G. A. Rumeshi Perera - climate and energy campaigners for Greenpeace, South Asia.   "From the blistering heat of Delhi’s streets to Colombo’s humid corners, workers in the informal economy are silently enduring the toll of labour on their bodies and livelihoods.   In 2024, South Asian cities like Delhi and Dhaka, faced relentless, record-breaking heatwaves. Meanwhile, in Nepal, the heaviest rains in decades triggered deadly floods and landslides. Sri Lanka, too, faced repeated severe storms, displacing hundreds of thousands, underscoring the vulnerability of the region to climatic chaos.   Then, why are those hit hardest by climate collapse left out of the rooms where its future is decided?   Ms. Swastika, President of the United Federation of Labour Sri Lanka, highlighted on Labour Day how temperature has affected the workers and their daily livelihoods; asking the fundamental question, ‘when do polluters take accountability?’   One of four people living today is from South Asia, yet the region is responsible for barely 8% of the cumulative CO2 emissions, while facing some of the harshest impacts of the climate crisis.   Climate Conversations cannot Ignore Workers:   According to the World Bank, over the past two decades, more than 750 million people, over half of South Asia’s population, have been affected by one or more climate-related disasters.   It’s quickly becoming clear just what this means for workers: India alone is projected to lose 34 million full-time jobs by 2030 due to heat stress. Bangladesh loses US$ 6 billion a year in labour productivity due to the effects of extreme heat.   In Nepal, where over 70% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, changing rainfall patterns and flash floods have already slashed yields and forced seasonal labourers to migrate. By 2050, climate change could displace 100-200 million people, leading to a rise in climate refugees.   Yet these impacts are reduced to mere ‘economic losses’, rarely acknowledged as human suffering and almost never compensated. This disconnect between climate damage and accountability lies at the heart of global climate injustice.   Workers, particularly in the Global South- must be central to the climate conversations. For them, climate change isn’t abstract: it’s failed crops, deadly heat, toxic air, and unsafe workplaces. These daily realities threaten their health, livelihoods, and dignity.   Despite this, climate planning and response mechanisms are designed by ministries and consultants isolated from the ground realities of workers. Labour ministries, welfare boards or labour unions are rarely included in national climate adaptation frameworks or climate budgeting. Heat Action Plans often overlook worker-centric measures like paid rest breaks, hydration stations, or medical preparedness for outdoor labourers.   This is not just a gap. It is a governance failure.   When national or global climate plans ignore labour protections they deepen existing injustices. Outdoor workers, gig workers, migrant workers, and women in informal employment must be seen not as “vulnerable groups” but as central stakeholders, whose inclusion is essential for a just and durable climate response.   The Unpaid Bill: Who Owes Whom?   For over a century, profits were extracted from the earth and the pain outsourced to its most exploited workers. Now, those frontline workers are leading the call for climate accountability. Polluters Pay Pact, an international movement supported by trade unions, climate justice groups, and frontline communities that calls on the world’s largest fossil fuel and gas corporations to compensate those who are living with the fallout of their actions.   Just five oil and gas companies made over $100 billion in profits in 2024 alone, while informal workers are breathing toxic air, suffering heat extremes and losing workdays- without compensation or insurance. This isn’t aid, its owed justice.   The Polluters Pay Pact must result in binding commitments: climate-linked funding, worker led adaptation, and a global recognition of labour as central to climate action.   Most importantly, the pact is not waiting for international summits to act. Across the region, grassroots campaigns are gaining momentum- taking legal action, seeking compensation for heat-related losses, and pushing for fossil fuel taxes to fund worker protections.   This marks the beginning of a new phase in climate accountability: one that is worker-led, justice-driven, and grounded in the principle that those who suffer should not be left to shoulder the costs alone.   The Polluters Pay Pact is beyond compensation. It’s about correcting a system that treats labour as disposable and emissions as externalities. To make climate justice real and tangible, governments must move beyond symbolic acknowledgments of “climate vulnerability’’ to institutional reforms that protect the people that hold up our economies.   It is inspiring to see countries like Sri Lanka take the fight to the International Court of Justice, highlighting how vulnerable nations are bearing the brunt of a crisis they did little to cause. By co-sponsoring the resolution and emphasizing intergenerational equity and human rights, Sri Lanka is underscoring that climate inaction by high-emitting states is a violation of basic rights like access to water and food. There is growing momentum from South Asian countries demanding climate justice.   Here is what ‘labour justice is climate justice’ would mean:   Classify climate risks as workplace hazards– National labour laws across South Asia must classify climate-induced hazards as occupational risks. This would entitle workers to compensation, paid rest, and workplace safety standards during extreme weather events.   Investment in localised worker centered infrastructure– Governments must prioritise tangible, community-level infrastructure like citizen-led early warning systems, much of which should be financed by new taxes on the oil and gas industry. Shade, hydration points and cooling infrastructure at high-risk sites, must become standard in heat-prone districts. The health care system needs to be strengthened to treat heat-related illness.   Embed Worker Voices in Climate Governance– Worker Unions of street vendors, construction workers, gig workers, waste pickers and migrant workers must be formally represented in local and national climate adaptation planning. Policies made without them are policies bound to fail.   We must move from damage to repair, from exploitation to protection. Climate action will only succeed by including those who face its worst impacts. Polluters must pay- investing in worker resilience across South Asia would save life and uphold climate justice".   http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/06/south-asian-cities-faced-relentless-record-breaking-heatwaves-last-year/ http://sdinet.org/2025/05/cba19/ http://tinyurl.com/3dy3p39f   May 2025   2024 was the hottest year ever recorded. In the same year, both ExxonMobil and Chevron hit new highs in oil production, exacerbating the crisis they publicly claim to be addressing.   Global Witness analysis on the occasion of the US majors' annual general meeting today:   ExxonMobil produced 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024 – the highest output from the major in over a decade. Chevron posted 3.3 million bpd equivalent in 2024, the highest in company history   Exxon plans to double Permian Basin output to 2.3 million bpd by 2030. Last year Chevron boosted production in the Permian Basin to 921,000 bpd – up 18% from 2023 – with plans to hit 1 million bpd in 2025   2024 marked the 42nd consecutive year that Exxon has grown shareholder returns; 2024 was the 37th year in a row that Chevron grew its dividend payout   Alexander Kirk, fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness, said:   “Last year saw record temperatures supercharge devastating extreme weather across the world, ruining countless lives and livelihoods.   “ExxonMobil and Chevron, two of the largest fossil fuel companies, also marked 2024 with record or near-record oil production, nearly a decade after the Paris Agreement. This is not a coincidence.   “This is the result of unchecked greed in the fossil fuel industry, clamouring for shareholder value while their products make the only world we have increasingly inhospitable.   “It is beyond time that governments force oil and gas majors to cough up for the damage they've caused, by implementing robust and meaningful taxes on majors' profits and ruinous environmental impacts. We need to see these polluters pay."   http://globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/exxonmobil-chevron-post-monster-oil-production-in-hottest-year-in-history/ http://tinyurl.com/mtnrb4s8 http://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/ http://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/clientearth-taking-action-against-blackrock-for-greenwashing/ http://carbonmajors.org/ http://financemap.org/banking http://lobbymap.org/LobbyMapScores http://academic.oup.com/jel/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jel/eqaf008/8129420   http://climate-laws.org/ http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-climate-change-litigation/ http://news.climate.columbia.edu/2025/01/22/sabin-centers-online-tracking-tools-monitor-government-actions-on-climate-change/ http://climatetrace.org/   http://www.stopecocide.earth/bn-2025/tantamount-to-ecocide-council-of-europe-criminalises-severe-environmental-harm http://www.stopecocide.earth/ http://climatejustice.org.au/blog/f/pacific-island-nations-file-ecocide-request-with-icc http://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/what-s-the-relationship-between-climate-change-and-the-ocean/ http://one-ocean-science-2025.org/oos2025-recommendations-en.pdf http://for-the-ocean.org/news/ocean-protection-gap-report/   May 2025   Shock as Australian Government extends life of ​​Australia’s largest gas facility and locks in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution. The equivalent to 10 years of Australia’s annual emissions.   "Australia has just approved a fossil fuel mega-project that will run 20 years after the world is meant to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The average Australian is saying, 'Hang on, this is about climate change and 2070, What in the hell are we doing?", said Greg Bourne from the Australian Climate Council.   "They’ve just approved one of the most polluting fossil fuel projects in a generation, fueling climate chaos for decades to come. This single project will unleash more than four billion tonnes of climate pollution. The global market is already awash with gas. It is rubbish to say that Australia needs this gas when the lion’s share is marked for export. It’s bad for the climate, bad for Australia’s economy, and completely out of step with where the world is heading.”   Julia Dehm, an associate professor in the law school at La Trobe University and climate law expert said: "Our fossil fuel export footprint is significantly larger than our domestic emissions. And this really needs to be recognised as part of our sphere of responsibility. Approving more coal and gas projects, really undercuts Australia's climate credentials."   Children born in Australia today face much more extreme heat, floods and other disasters during their lifetimes than previous generations.   * The International Energy Agency has clearly stated there should be no new fossil fuel developments if the world is to limit warming to 1.5°C – the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal.   http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/labor-approves-woodside-extension/ http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/extending-north-west-shelf-project-rotten-climate/ http://australiainstitute.org.au/report/emissions-from-wa-gas-exports/ http://climateanalytics.org/comment/dug-up-in-australia-burned-around-the-world-exporting-fossil-fuels-undermines-climate-targets   http://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/what-is-meant-by-intergenerational-climate-justice/ http://www.rightsoffuturegenerations.org/the-principles http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/new-york/events/hr75-future-generations/Maastricht-Principles-on-The-Human-Rights-of-Future-Generations.pdf http://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-tell-inter-american-court-human-rights-how-climate-change-affecting-them-historic   http://wmo.int/media/news/global-temperature-record-streak-continues-climate-change-makes-heatwaves-more-extreme http://www.unicef.org/blog/urgent-need-child-centred-loss-and-damage-fund http://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/loss-and-damage-finance-children http://www.endchildhoodpoverty.org/publications-feed/climatechange http://reliefweb.int/report/world/climate-changed-child-childrens-climate-risk-index-supplement-enar   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/more-half-pakistan-s-school-age-children-will-be-out-school-due-extreme-heat http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/born-into-the-climate-crisis.pdf/ http://www.unicef.org/eap/press-releases/sweltering-heat-across-east-asia-and-pacific-puts-childrens-lives-risk-unicef http://www.unicef.org/reports/climate-changed-child http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/climate-change-urgent-threat-pregnant-women-and-children http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/urgent-action-states-needed-tackle-climate-change-says-un-committee-guidance http://childrightsenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Press-Release_GC26.pdf   May 2025   As EU surtax on fossil fuel profits ends, European Commission report reveals it generated €28 billion of additional public revenue. (European Network on Debt and Development)   An EU surtax on fossil fuel industries’ profits, which was limited to the fiscal years 2022 and 2023, generated an estimated €28 billion of additional tax revenues for EU Member States.   This headline figure has been published by the European Commission in its assessment of the so-called ‘solidary contribution’, a profit top-up levy on energy undertakings in the oil, gas, coal, and refinery sector with businesses in the EU.   In response to the European Commission’s report, Markus Trilling, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) said:   “The Commission’s report shows that returning a larger portion of polluting profits to public hands is fair and feasible: it generated a sizeable amount of much-needed public revenue.   “Today, we’re all paying the price of polluting industries’ profits as the impacts of climate change grow ever harsher, and the hardest consequences are felt in developing countries that have contributed the least to the problem. There is a desperate lack of climate finance to fund the green transition and climate adaptation globally, as well as for covering the cost of loss and damage.   “Fossil fuel industries are reaping billions of euros of profits from activities that emit extremely high amounts of greenhouse gasses. These industrial polluters must, at the very least, contribute their share of taxes to finance the fight against the climate crises. We need a permanent polluter pays tax on all fossil fuel profits – both in the EU and globally.   “We also must not forget that we urgently need to phase out fossil fuels – that is clear. But while these industries continue their dirty business surtaxes on their profits can create disincentives for fossil fuel companies to continue with business as usual and bring in substantial additional tax revenues.”   The EU solidarity contribution was introduced in October 2022, in reaction to the public outcry about emerging energy and fossil fuel companies’ super-profits, while large parts of society were suffering from a ‘cost of living crisis’.   The tax was intended to skim-off the windfall profits, i.e. ‘profits that do not correspond to any regular profit’ and that hadn’t occurred without the Russian invasion of Ukraine.   The European Commission recommended a minimum 33 per cent tax on fossil fuel companies’ ‘surplus profits’, which were defined as profits above 120 per cent of the past five years average.   Markus Trilling said: “The EU’s so-called solidarity contribution was a timid start, since it was only applied as a temporary emergency measure on extraordinarily high profits. But it shows it can be done. The climate crisis is still raging, and it beggars belief that the EU has no plan to continue imposing top-up taxes on the profits of fossil fuel industries, which continue to be very high. This measure should be scaled up, and introduced as a permanent measure – both in the EU and globally.   The upcoming negotiation of a new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation also provides a unique opportunity to introduce polluter pays taxes on the profits of highly polluting industries all around the world.” http://tinyurl.com/4knuumjp   * The Climate Damages Tax proposal   The Climate Damages Tax (CDT) addresses the injustice of climate devastation impacting populations around the world who did not cause the climate change but are left to pay for it without the means to do so. It looks to the fossil fuel industry – the burning of whose products are the root cause of the problem – who are currently making grotesque levels of profits in the hundreds of billions of dollars every year, to be held accountable for their actions. Most specifically, by being taxed considerably more to help pay for the skyrocketing bill for damages they have to date avoided.   The CDT is a fossil fuel extraction charge, levied on each tonne of coal, barrel of oil or cubic litre of gas produced. It would generate billions in extra income, most especially from fossil-fuel producing states. We propose that this substantial additional revenue is allocated in two ways.   Firstly, it can help, particularly OECD countries contribute finance to the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF), without unfairly costing their taxpayers. Secondly, it will generate a significant domestic dividend that can be channelled to climate action nationally, helping to pay for the necessary support for workers and communities to transition away from fossil fuels, towards green energy and transport: http://tinyurl.com/mtnrb4s8   * Global Poll: 89% of world population call for greater climate action from their Governments. (Nature Climate Change)   Mitigating climate change necessitates global cooperation, yet global data on individuals’ willingness to act remain scarce. In this study, we conducted a representative survey across 125 countries, interviewing nearly 130,000 individuals. Our findings reveal widespread support for climate action.   Notably, 69% of the global population expresses a willingness to contribute 1% of their personal income, 86% endorse pro-climate social norms and 89% demand intensified political action. Countries facing heightened vulnerability to climate change show a particularly high willingness to contribute.   Despite these encouraging statistics, we document that the world is in a state of pluralistic ignorance, wherein individuals around the globe systematically underestimate the willingness of their fellow citizens to act. Raising awareness about the broad global support for climate action becomes critically important in promoting a unified response to climate change..   http://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01925-3 http://89percent.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/22/activate-climate-silent-majority-support-supercharge-action http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/encouraging-findings-on-public-acceptance-of-global-climate-policy http://peoplesclimate.vote/   May 2025   Chinese banks rise to claim top spot among largest lenders to “forest-risk” businesses. (Global Witness)   Chinese banks became the largest creditors of “forest-risk” companies globally between 2018-2024 – excluding financial institutions based in Brazil and Indonesia – according to a new analysis by Global Witness, based on data released by the Forests & Finance coalition.   This marks a shift from Global Witness’s previous reporting on Chinese bank finance in 2021, which used Forests & Finance data from 2013-2020. During this period, Chinese banks were the fifth largest creditors globally of major companies producing and trading commodities at high risk of driving deforestation.   The Forests & Finance database, compiled by Dutch research firm Profundo, tracks financial flows to over 300 “forest-risk” companies involved in agricultural supply chains such as beef, palm oil and soy production – industries that are major drivers of tropical deforestation.   The financial sectors of Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia provide a disproportionate amount of “forest-risk” financing to commodity producers in their own countries and are excluded from this analysis, which focuses on international financial flows. When including these countries, China ranked third globally overall in 2023, the final year for which full data is available.   At COP26, countries like the US, France, the Netherlands and the UK pledged to end deforestation by 2030. However, private financial institutions based in those financial centres also remain some of the biggest supporters of “forest-risk” companies.   According to the data, between 2018-2024, Chinese banks provided a total of $23 billion in credit to “forest-risk” companies. This figure for the seven-year period is higher than the figure provided in the seven-year period between 2014-2020 ($18 billion), indicating that the financial sector has failed to adjust lending practices to mitigate the damage some of these companies are wreaking upon global forests.   There are a handful of key Chinese banks among the top creditors providing “forest-risk” financing – CITIC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China were the top three creditors between 2018-2024, according to the data.   The rising influence of Chinese banks in “forest-risk” sectors is of particular concern given that Chinese banks persistently have some of the weakest deforestation policies in place compared with banks from other countries.   The lack of formal policy raises questions about whether and how the world’s top creditors to "forest-risk" agribusinesses are carrying out due diligence to ensure their investments do not drive deforestation.   One way of comparing the strength of banks’ policies on deforestation is via the Forest 500, prepared by Global Canopy, which ranks financial institutions based on an evaluation of their publicly available commitments to tackle deforestation and related human rights abuses, assessing factors such as if all commodities are included, as well as the transparency of their reporting against targets.   Four out of six major Chinese lenders (including CITIC, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) assessed in Forest 500’s database have policy scores of zero.   All the banks from China in this assessment also score zero points for their approach to human rights abuses associated with deforestation.   According to Forest 500, a strong deforestation policy for a bank includes clear, time-bound commitments to eliminate deforestation and associated human rights abuses from its financing, applies to all high-risk commodities across all financial services, and includes robust implementation measures such as due diligence, monitoring and transparent reporting.   Global Witness approached Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and CITIC with an opportunity to comment on the report’s findings – including their financing activities and apparent lack of deforestation policies. None of the three banks responded to this request.   Chinese banks and their regulators must take their deforestation-risk portfolio seriously – the increasing financial support to the “forest-risk” companies shown by our analysis suggests a clear departure from China’s commitment and national policies.   The increasing flow of this funding, coupled with no national regulations to prevent it falling into the hands of deforesting companies, appears to contradict the commitments China has made on the international stage – such as those made under the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration, signed by China and more than 140 nations at COP26, that commits to realigning financial flows with forest protection.   Crucially, supporting companies with a track-record of causing environmental and social harm is also at odds with China’s national policies, especially those designed to guide and leverage finance to support the green and low-carbon transition.   For example, in 2022, a major overarching policy called Green Finance Guidelines set out detailed expectations for banks and insurance companies to identify, monitor, prevent and control their environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.   The guidelines made it clear that banks should “strictly restrict” granting credit to clients that face significant environmental and social violations and risks (article 20) and strengthen ESG risk management in their credit and investment granting for overseas Belt and Road projects (article 25).   In recent years, China has made efforts to decarbonise its economy and balance growth within planetary boundaries. In fact, the world is increasingly looking to China for leadership in climate and nature actions as the country explores new opportunities in the clean energy sectors.   Despite being one of the world’s largest markets for “forest-risk” commodities such as soy, beef and palm oil, China currently lacks a national policy prohibiting the import of commodities linked to deforestation.   Global Witness’ analysis suggests that Chinese banks and their regulators can do much more to reverse the environmental and social harm caused by financing deforestation-linked companies, which undermines China’s international climate and nature goals.   http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/chinese-banks-rise-to-claim-top-spot-among-largest-lenders-to-forest-risk-businesses/ http://globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/eu-anti-deforestation-law-appears-to-exclude-major-deforestation-hotspots-gw-reaction/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/ http://insideclimatenews.org/news/26052025/china-belt-and-road-initiative-wind-solar-investments/ http://insideclimatenews.org/news/30032025/china-belt-and-road-argentina-environmental-cost/ http://dialogue.earth/en/energy/will-chinas-new-renewable-energy-pricing-speed-up-coals-exit/ http://dialogue.earth/en/climate/opinion-preserving-glaciers-is-key-to-humanitys-survival/   Apr. 2025 (Copernicus Climate Change Service, agencies)   The average global temperature last month was 1.6C (2.88F) higher than in pre-industrial times, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Tuesday.   March 2025 was the 20th month in a 21-month period for which the global-average surface air temperature was more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 14 of these 20 months, from September 2023 to April 2024, and from October 2024 to March 2025, were substantially above 1.5°C, ranging from 1.58°C to 1.78°C.   Scientists have warned that every fraction of a degree of global warming increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and droughts.   Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the C3S service, noted that Europe experienced extremes in both heavy rain and drought in March.   Europe last month recorded “many areas experiencing their driest March on record and others their wettest March on record for at least the past 47 years”, Burgess said.   Scientists said climate change also intensified an extreme heatwave across Central Asia and fuelled conditions for extreme rainfall in countries like Argentina.   Arctic sea ice also fell to its lowest monthly extent last month for any March in the 47-year record of satellite data, C3S said. The previous three months also set record lows.   The main driver of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, according to climate scientists. But even as the costs of disasters due to climate change spiral, the political will to invest in curbing emissions has waned in some countries.   United States President Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax”, despite the overwhelming global scientific consensus that it is human-caused and will have severe and ongoing consequences if not urgently addressed.   In January, Trump signed an executive order to have the US withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement, dealing a blow to worldwide efforts to combat global warming. In 2015, nearly 200 nations agreed in Paris that limiting warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels offered the best chance of preventing the most catastrophic repercussions of climate change.   Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London told the AFP news agency that the world is “firmly in the grip of human-caused climate change”. “That we’re still at 1.6C above pre-industrial is indeed remarkable,” she said.   http://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-maps http://climate.copernicus.eu/second-warmest-march-globally-large-wet-and-dry-anomalies-europe http://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-report-documents-spiralling-weather-and-climate-impacts   Apr. 2025   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres message for International Earth Day:   Mother Earth is running a fever. Last year was the hottest ever recorded: The final blow in a decade of record heat.   We know what’s causing this sickness: the greenhouse gas emissions humanity is pumping into the atmosphere – overwhelmingly from burning fossil fuels. We know the symptoms: devastating wildfires, floods and heat. Lives lost and livelihoods shattered.   And we know the cure: rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and turbocharging adaptation, to protect ourselves – and nature – from climate disasters.   Getting on the road to recovery is a win-win. Renewable power is cheaper, healthier, and more secure than fossil fuel alternatives. And action on adaptation is critical to creating robust economies and safer communities, now and in the future.   This year is critical. All countries must create new national climate action plans that align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius – essential to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe.   This is a vital chance to seize the benefits of clean power. I urge all countries to take it, with the G20 leading the way. We also need action to tackle pollution, slam the brakes on biodiversity loss, and deliver the finance countries need to protect our planet.   Together, let’s get to work and make 2025 the year we restore good health to Mother Earth.   http://www.un.org/en/climatechange/ http://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate-2024 http://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-january-2025-was-warmest-record-globally-despite-emerging-la-nina http://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2024-warmest-year-record-about-155degc-above-pre-industrial-level http://wmo.int/media/news/climate-change-impacts-grip-globe-2024 http://wmo.int/media/news/record-carbon-emissions-highlight-urgency-of-global-greenhouse-gas-watch http://www.ipcc.ch/reports/ http://www.worldweatherattribution.org/when-risks-become-reality-extreme-weather-in-2024 http://climatenetwork.org/2025/02/11/over-90-of-countries-fail-to-submit-new-ndcs-by-deadline http://www.iied.org/country-climate-targets-another-missed-deadline-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-31   Apr. 2025   Clean energy can be Africa’s greatest success story, which is why its leaders must not fall for the pro-coal lobbying of the Trump administration, says Mohamed Adow, Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa   President Donald Trump’s administration has recently taken to urging African leaders to burn more planet-heating fossil fuels, and in particular coal, the dirtiest of all of them. Simultaneously, it scrapped USAID funding, which had been helping millions of the poorest people in Africa survive amid expanding climate breakdown.   Those thinking of aligning with Trump’s agenda would do well to remember that the droughts, floods, and storms which have destroyed the lives and livelihoods of Africans across the continent have been supercharged by US energy policy. The US alone has produced about a quarter of all historic carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution, which are now responsible for accelerated global warming.   Not only would a coal-based development pathway for Africa heap more misery onto its citizens who are already living on the front lines of the climate crisis, but it would also be economically suicidal.   The economic impact of the climate emergency is already taking a terrible toll on Africa, and a 2022 report by the charity Christian Aid showed that under the current climate trajectory, African countries could suffer a reduction in gross domestic product growth of 64 percent by 2100.   There is also no need for Africa to shackle itself to the outdated fossil fuel infrastructure of coal when the continent is blessed with a spectacular potential for developing clean renewable energy.   The US fossil fuel advocates would be happy to see Africa trail along in the footsteps of the Global North, rather than see the continent leapfrogging the dirty energy era in the same way it leapfrogged landline telephone technology and adopted mobile phones en masse. But Africans should know better.   No other continent has more untapped wind and solar power than Africa, and this remains the key to its long-term prosperity. From the sun-drenched deserts of North Africa to the wind-swept plains of East Africa, the continent has the natural resources to become a global leader in clean energy.   Countries such as Morocco, Kenya and South Africa are already making significant strides in renewable energy development, with projects that harness solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower.   Investing in renewable energy offers numerous benefits. It can improve energy access for millions of people, create jobs, and boost economic growth. Renewable energy projects are often more scalable and adaptable to local needs, making them ideal for rural electrification and community-based initiatives.   By contrast, coal has wrought a terrible cost to Africans. It is often touted as a cheap and reliable energy source, but this ignores the hidden costs of environmental degradation, health impacts, and the overall economic harm of climate breakdown. Moreover, the global shift towards clean energy means that investments in coal are increasingly risky and likely to become stranded assets.   African countries must resist the lobbying efforts of Trump’s fossil fuel backers and instead focus on building a sustainable energy future. This requires a multifaceted approach, including investment in renewable energy infrastructure, strengthening governance and policy frameworks, and fostering international cooperation.   Investing in clean energy infrastructure is crucial. This includes not only large-scale projects like solar parks and wind farms but also decentralised systems that can bring electricity to off-grid communities. Many countries across Africa are already leading the way with community-focused solar systems and microgrids, and these initiatives demonstrate how renewable energy can be both ambitious and pragmatic, addressing energy access challenges while reducing reliance on imported fuels.   Strengthening governance and policy frameworks is equally important. African governments must prioritise climate adaptation and resilience in their urban planning and development processes.   This involves integrating climate considerations into all new projects and ensuring that resources are allocated where they are most needed. Effective governance structures can enable the implementation of climate adaptation strategies and ensure that investments in renewable energy are sustainable and equitable.   International cooperation and support are also vital. The global clean energy transition holds new promise for Africa’s economic and social development. Countries representing more than 70 percent of global CO2 emissions have committed to reaching net zero emissions by mid-century, including several African nations. These commitments can help attract climate finance and technology, enabling African countries to achieve their energy-related development goals on time and in full.   Africa’s path to sustainable economic development lies in embracing renewable, clean energy. The continent has the natural resources and innovative spirit to become a global leader in renewables, improving energy access, creating jobs, and reversing the climate crisis. By resisting the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to perpetuate coal use, African countries can build a resilient and prosperous future for their people.   Clean energy can be Africa’s greatest success story. For that to happen, African leaders must not take advice from a US president who admits he only cares about “America First”.   http://www.powershiftafrica.org/ http://africaclimateplatform.com/ http://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/africa-climate-justice-activists-to-submit-petition-to-achpr-seeking-courts-opinion-on-human-rights-obligations-of-african-states-in-the-context-of-climate-change/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/05/top-african-rights-court-consider-states-climate-obligations http://globalvoices.org/2025/06/12/how-chinese-media-ignores-the-environmental-toll-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-africa/ http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/african-unions-voice-at-the-icj-seeking-climate-justice/ http://www.hhrjournal.org/2025/04/20/a-breath-of-fresh-air-indian-supreme-court-declares-protection-from-climate-change-a-fundamental-right/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/council-europe-must-recognise-right-healthy-environment-un-experts-urge http://rightsindevelopment.org/news/planet-burning-people-are-demanding-justice   http://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate http://www.who.int/news/item/17-03-2025-nearly-50-million-people-sign-up-call-for-clean-air-action-for-better-health http://www.who.int/health-topics/climate-change http://www.socialprotectionfloorscoalition.org/2024/05/policy-brief-social-protection-for-climate-justice-why-and-how/ http://www.ipbes.net/nexus/media-release   http://globalcommonsalliance.org/news/new-research-reveals-path-to-prosperity-for-planet-and-people-if-earths-critical-resources-are-better-shared/ http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00042-1/fulltext http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/planetary-commons-fostering-global-cooperation-to-safeguard-critical-earth-system-functions http://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2301531121 http://sdgs.un.org/publications/synergy-solutions-climate-and-sdg-action-bridging-ambition-gap-future-we-want-56106 http://report-2023.global-tipping-points.org/section1/1-earth-system-tipping-points/ http://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics http://doughnuteconomics.org/stories   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5646-scene-setting-report-report-special-rapporteur-promotion-and http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5347-adverse-impact-climate-change-full-realization-right-food http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/09/water-must-be-managed-common-good-and-made-accessible-all-un-expert http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-environment http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/plastic-pollution-global-threat-human-rights-say-un-experts http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/10/plastic-pandemic-time-running-out-prevent-human-rights-tragedy-un-expert http://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/climate-change-and-environment   * OHCHR: Frequently asked Questions on Human Rights and Climate Change 2021 (90pp): http://tinyurl.com/2v298vmx Visit the related web page
	WMO report documents spiralling weather and climate impacts by World Meteorological Organization, agencies   The clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, with some of the consequences being irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which also underlined the massive economic and social upheavals from extreme weather.   The World Meteorological Organization State of the Global Climate report confirmed that 2024 was the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era, with a global mean near-surface temperature of 1.55°C above the 1850-1900 average. This is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record.   WMO’s flagship report showed that:   Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide are at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years. Globally each of the past ten years were individually the ten warmest years on record. Each of the past eight years has set a new record for ocean heat content.   The 18 lowest Arctic sea-ice extents on record were all in the past 18 years. The three lowest Antarctic ice extents were in the past three years. The largest three-year loss of glacier mass on record occurred in the past three years. The rate of sea level rise has doubled since satellite measurements began.   “Our planet is issuing more distress signals -- but this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible. Leaders must step up to make it happen -- seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies - with new National climate plans due this year, ” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.   “While a single year above 1.5 °C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.   “Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise. The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded. Meanwhile, extreme weather continues to have devastating consequences around the world,” said Celeste Saulo.   Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, and other hazards in 2024 led to the highest number of new displacements recorded for the past 16 years, contributed to worsening food crises, and caused massive economic losses.   Extreme weather events in 2024 led to the highest number of new annual displacements since 2008, and destroyed homes, critical infrastructure, forests, farmland and biodiversity.   The compounded effect of various shocks, such as intensifying conflict, drought and high domestic food prices drove worsening food crises in 18 countries globally by mid-2024.   Tropical cyclones were responsible for many of the highest-impact events of 2024. These included Typhoon Yagi in Viet Nam, the Philippines and southern China.   In the United States, Hurricanes Helene and Milton in October both made landfall on the west coast of Florida as major hurricanes, with economic losses of tens of billions of dollars. Over 200 deaths were associated with the exceptional rainfall and flooding from Helene, the most in a mainland United States hurricane since Katrina in 2005.   Tropical Cyclone Chido caused casualties and economic losses in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Mozambique and Malawi. It displaced around 100,000 people in Mozambique.   The report lists 151 unprecedented extreme weather events in 2024, meaning they were worse than any ever recorded in the region. Heatwaves in Japan left hundreds of thousands of people struck down by heatstroke. Soaring temperatures during heatwaves peaked at 49.9C at Carnarvon in Western Australia, 49.7C in the city of Tabas in Iran, and 48.5C in a nationwide heatwave in Mali.   Record rains in Italy led to floods, landslides and electricity blackouts; torrents destroyed thousands of homes in Senegal; and flash floods in Pakistan and Brazil caused major crop losses. Storms were also supercharged by global heating in 2024, with an unprecedented six typhoons in under a month hitting the Philippines.   Commenting on the report Prof Stefan Rahmstorf, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate in Germany said; “Global warming continues unabated, exactly as predicted correctly since the 1980s, and millions of people are increasingly suffering the consequences.. “We can only stop the warming trend by getting out of fossil fuels fast.”   “We have the solutions – but what stops us is the disinformation campaigns and lobby power of the fossil fuel industry,” Rahmstorf added. “Ignoring reality, denying the laws of physics and silencing scientists can only lead to harm, and ordinary people will pay the price for that.”   Dr Brenda Ekwurzel, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, criticized the Trump administration’s deletion of online climate information. “Attempts to hide climate science from the public will not stop us from feeling the dire impacts of climate change,” she said.   “This report underscores the urgency of world leaders meeting the moment, not slashing environmental protections and federal disaster aid, sacrificing public health for the fossil fuel industry’s private profit, and gutting agencies that help form the scientific underpinnings of our global climate knowledge.”   Dr Davide Faranda, from ClimaMeter, said: “Every fraction of a degree matters. The choices we make today will determine the severity of climate impacts in the years to come.”   Prof Celeste Saulo, said the report was a wake-up call about the rising risks to lives and livelihoods. “In response, WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help society be more resilient to extreme weather,” she said. “Only half of all countries have adequate early warning systems – this must change.” She stressed that investment in weather, water and climate services was more important than ever.   http://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-report-documents-spiralling-weather-and-climate-impacts http://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate-2024 http://www.transparency.org/en/press/transparency-international-partners-call-immediate-action-end-high-polluters-lobbys-climate-talks-cop30 Visit the related web page
	View more stories