Seven convicted of killing Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres – “The assassination was planned by the leadership of the DESA corporation and carried out by hitmen linked to the Honduran Armed Forces”

By Shreya Dasgupta 5 December 2018 (Mongabay) – A Honduran court has convicted seven men in the murder of indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres in 2016.Until her death on March 2, 2016, Cáceres had been leading a fierce campaign against the Agua Zarca dam in western Honduras, a joint project between the Honduran company Desarrollos […]

Japan to resume commercial whale slaughter after leaving International Whaling Commission – “This is the path of a pirate whaling nation, with a troubling disregard for international rule”

By Justin McCurry and Graham Readfearn 19 December 2018 TOKYO (The Guardian) – Japan is to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resume commercial whaling next year, a report claimed on Thursday, in a move that drew condemnation from Australia, with other anti-whaling nations expected to follow suit.Japan will inform the IWC of […]

An Indian perspective on the Poland climate meeting: Not much help for the world’s poor and vulnerable

By Arun Agrawal 19 December 2018 (The Conversation) – The international climate change conference that concluded in Katowice, Poland on 15 December 2018 had limited ambitions and expectations – especially compared to the 2015 meeting that produced the Paris climate agreement. It will be remembered mainly for its delegates agreeing on a common “rulebook” to […]

An economist’s take on the Poland climate conference: The glass is more than half full

By Robert Stavins 18 December 2018 (The Conversation) – The global climate change conference in Katowice, Poland, that wrapped up on Dec. 15 had a challenging mission. Three years ago in Paris, 196 countries and regions agreed to curb global greenhouse gas emissions Now they had to agree on rules and guidelines for how to […]

We finally have the rulebook for the Paris Agreement, but global climate action is still inadequate

By Kate Dooley 17 December 2018 (The Conversation) – Three years after the Paris Agreement was struck, we now finally know the rules – or most of them, at least – for its implementation.The Paris Rulebook, agreed at the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, gives countries a common framework for reporting and reviewing progress […]

Why the rise of populist nationalist leaders rewrites global climate talks

By Arjuna Dibley 5 December 2018 (The Conversation) – The election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil not only marks the rise of another populist nationalist leader on the world stage. It’s also a turning point for the global politics of climate change. When the new president takes office in January 2019, by my estimate at […]

Katowice celebrations damped by reality of global warming – World is probably going to keep getting warmer, despite the deal struck in Poland

By Leslie Hook 18 December 2018 (Financial Times) – At about 10pm on Saturday evening, 15 December 2018, a cheer went up among the delegates at the UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland. A deal had been struck on the rules for implementing the Paris climate accord, breathing new life into a pact that aims […]

Former fossil fuels lobbyist to head Trump interior department – Top two U.S. environmental agencies now run by people previously paid by industry

By Emily Holden 16 December 2018 WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Guardian) – Ryan Zinke’s exit as interior secretary elevates a former lobbyist to the job, meaning the top two US environmental agencies will now be run by people previously paid by industry.The deputy secretary, David Bernhardt, will take over at least temporarily when Zinke steps down […]

Quoting The Lorax, court vacates Atlantic Coast Pipeline permit to cross national forests – “We trust the U.S. Forest Service to ‘speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues’”

By Julia Fair 15 December 2018 (Staunton News Leader) – A federal court has vacated an environmental permit that would have allowed The Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross two national forests, according to a court opinion filed Thursday with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The opinion quotes Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, saying: “We trust […]

Greta Thunberg accuses world leaders at UN climate conference of stealing kids’ futures – “You are not mature enough to tell it like is”

By John Sutter and Lawrence Davidson 17 December 2018 (CNN) – Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student from Sweden, captured the attention of the world recently when she shamed climate change negotiators at a United Nations climate summit in Poland. “You are not mature enough to tell it like is,” she said at the COP24 summit, […]

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