Archive for ‘Climate Crisis’

06/03/2021

The Pandemic Crisis Has Highlighted Both the Centrality of Women Contributions and the Disproportionate Burdens They Carry

Human Wrongs Watch

International Women’s Day

Health care worker with protective glasses and mask
Despite women making up a majority of front-line workers, there is disproportionate and inadequate representation of women in national and global COVID-19 policy spaces. PHOTO:WHO / P. Phutpheng

6 March 2021 (United Nations)* — Women stand at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and as some of the most exemplary and effective national leaders in combating the pandemic. The crisis has highlighted both the centrality of their contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.

This year’s theme for the International Day,”Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world“, celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

06/03/2021

Meet Seven Women Saving the Planet

Human Wrongs Watch

5 March 2021 (UNEP)* — Women are playing a lead role in tackling some of the planet’s biggest environmental threats, from climate change to species loss, to pollution. International Women’s Day, which falls on 8 March, provides an opportunity to reflect on women’s contributions as caretakers of people and nature, defending environmental and human rights and representing the interests of those whose voices may otherwise go unheard.

Meet seven extraordinary women who are using their powers to save the planet.

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UNEP / 05 Mar 2021

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05/03/2021

Fantasy Turned Nightmare for Human Trafficking Survivor Who Is Now Thriving in the US

Human Wrongs Watch

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Mar 3 2021 (IPS)* – Marcela Loaiza was just 21 years old when a man approached her at her workplace in Pereira City, Colombia with promises of fame and money. The well-dressed, mysterious Colombian said he could give her an opportunity for a better life. Loaiza was also working at a supermarket to support herself and her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

The impact of pandemics on the mental health outcomes of children and their families must be explored as a distinct phenomenon. We suggest three ways to enable thisCredit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser.

“He said he want to help me to become an international dancer, that he would take me to another country to sing,” Loaiza told IPS News from her Las Vegas home.

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05/03/2021

Smugglers Force Dozens of Migrants into the Sea Off Djibouti – At Least 20 Die

Human Wrongs Watch

Obock, Djibouti (IOM)* At least 20 people have drowned after smugglers threw dozens of migrants overboard early 3 March 2021 morning during their journey from Djibouti to Yemen, the third such incident on the Gulf of Aden in six months.

djibouti_boatFishing boats such as this one abandoned outside Obock, Djibouti, are used to smuggle tens of thousands of migrants annually across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen where they continue their journey to Gulf countries in search of work. Photo: IOM/2018

Survivors receiving medical treatment at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Migrant Response Centre in Obock said at least 200 migrants, including children, were crowded aboard the vessel when it departed. Thirty minutes into the journey the smugglers forced roughly 80 people into the sea. Five bodies were recovered on 3 March.

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05/03/2021

The Weight of the 931 Million Tonnes of Food Wasted in 2019 Equals that of 23 Million Fully Loaded 40-Tonne Trucks – Bumper-to-Bumper, Enough to Circle the Earth 7 Times

Human Wrongs Watch

Wasting food just feeds climate change, new UN environment report warns 

Unsplash/Sanjog Timsina | More than 900 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year. [Image posted here from UN News]

Nairobi/Paris, 4 March 2021 (UNEP)*An estimated 931 million tonnes of food, or 17% of total food available to consumers in 2019, went into the waste bins of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, according to new UN research conducted to support global efforts to halve food waste by 2030.

The weight roughly equals that of 23 million fully loaded 40-tonne trucks — bumper-to-bumper, enough to circle the Earth 7 times.

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04/03/2021

Trapping and Storing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions from Fossil Power Generation and Industry, ‘Urgently Needed’ to Achieve Carbon Neutrality

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Trapping and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil power generation and industry is needed urgently to achieve carbon neutrality, the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said in a report published on Wednesday [3 March 2021].

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UNEP | A coal power plant in Tuzla, Bosnia.

The net-zero emissions goal is crucial to limit global warming, as outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the technology brief calls for rapid scale-up of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS).

The process involves capturing CO2 emissions from coal and gas power plants, and from heavy industry, for deep underground storage or re-use.

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04/03/2021

End ‘Deadly Addiction’ to Coal, UN Chief Urges Countries

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)*The world still has a “fighting chance” to limit global warming by ending dependence on coal, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told representatives from governments, local authorities and the private sector, meeting online on Tuesday [2 March 2021].

Unsplash/Les Corpographes | A woman cycles past wind turbines on a country road in Heijningen, The Netherlands.
 

Addressing members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, the UN chief stressed that keeping temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is achievable over this decade.  

“Once upon a time, coal brought cheap electricity to entire regions and vital jobs to communities. Those days are gone”, he said in a video message.  “Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5 degree goal.” 

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04/03/2021

World Wildlife Day Highlights Role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Livelihoods and Knowledge in the Conservation of Forests Species and Ecosystems

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Geneva/Jackson Hole, WY/Rome/New York, 3 March 2021 (UNDP)* – For the first-ever virtual celebration of the United Nations World Wildlife Day, representatives of UN Member States, UN System organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, Indigenous Peoples and Local communities, and youth took part in an online event marking the Day.

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02/03/2021

Protests by Indian Farmers Spread Panic in Image-Conscious Modi Government

Human Wrongs Watch

NEW DELHI, India, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)* – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not really like attending parliament – except on special occasions. Budget session was one such occasion. Unsurprisingly, he tried to reach out to farmers still protesting at the border of the capital Delhi, against his government’s new farm laws.

Apple-farmers-in-Kashmir_

Apple farmers in Kashmir package their crops to send to a mandi or market yard. According to policy, wholesale transactions between farmers and traders must take place in a mandi, yet the market yards have become hubs of widespread corruption where a small group of sale agents have taken control. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

Modi suggested that the farmers were ‘pure’ and innocent, but misinformed and provoked by ‘professional agitators’. These ‘professional agitators’ include pop star Rihanna, niece of US Vice President Meena Harris and even porn star Mia Khalifa.

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02/03/2021

Forests, Forest Species and Ecosystems’ Key Role in Sustaining the Livelihoods of Hundreds of Millions of People, Particularly of Indigenous and Local Communities…

Illustration of animals and indigenous people among the branches of a forest.

Though World Wildlife Day is an annual celebration, wildlife conservation is an issue that needs attention and action every day. #DoOneThingToday to make a difference and help wildlife conservation. | PHOTO:World Wildlife Day/Gabe Wong

2 March 2021 (United Nations)* — World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2021 under the theme “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet“, as a way to highlight the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally, and particularly of Indigenous and local communities with historic ties to forested and forest-adjacent areas.

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