Climate Justice Is Served

This week, international human rights courts saw unprecedented and ‘historic’ climate justice cases brought before them. 

Hot on the heels of the IPCC’s damning report on the state of the climate, this Wednesday, the UN’s General Assembly unanimously voted to put climate justice into the legal system. The assembly has now asked the UN’s highest court, The International Court of Justice (ICJ), to arbitrate the legal obligations of states to protect current and future generations from climate change.

Victory for Vanuatu

Following a year-long campaign, which started with students from Vanuatu - a low-lying Pacific Island nation prone to cyclones and susceptible to sea level rises - the ICJ will now decide how to hold countries legally accountable for failing to tackle climate change. Although the ICJ’s rulings are advisory and non-binding, their conclusions will influence future climate law cases. 

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said the vote marked “a win for climate justice of epic proportions.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the ICJ’s future ruling can “provide much-needed clarification on existing international legal obligations."

Also on Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard its first-ever proceedings on climate change and human rights. A group of elderly Swiss women brought the Swiss government to the ECHR because its inaction on climate change has infringed on their right to life and health. If they win, the court could order Switzerland to adopt legislative measures to keep warming below 1.5C, which would have far-reaching implications for other nations.

EU Spearheads Green Progress

The European Union has continued its sustainability and climate change leadership by announcing new policies. 

‘The Green Claims Directive’ was proposed as a new set of rules requiring companies to prove their environmental claims and labeling to protect consumers against greenwashing. The 80-page document has been widely welcomed, but some green groups claimed the EU missed the mark because member states are not obligated to enact the directive. 

“The very fact that it's a directive and not mandated means that there is potential for different interpretations in different countries,” said Andrew Martin, executive vice president of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. He added that it was a “missed opportunity” for the EU to take a hard line against greenwashing.

The EU reached a provisional deal to nearly double share of renewable energy to 42.5% by 2030 and unveiled its landmark zero-emissions cars by 2035 rule. Similar to the greenwashing directive, some claimed the law did not go far enough by failing to enact an outright ban on combustion vehicles. Germany secured a last-minute exemption on ‘e-fuels’ made from captured hydrogen or CO2 and synthesized by renewable energy, which have low or zero emissions. The exemption caused anger among some diplomats, the Spanish energy minister Teresa Ribera, said of the change, “we don't like this approach. We think it is not fair," referencing the fact that e-fuels are too expensive to become widely adopted. 

Another Blow For Biden’s Climate Credentials 

Weeks after approving the controversial Willow Project - an Alaskan oil and gas drilling scheme - the Biden administration's climate credentials took another hit. 

The White House will auction leases to 73 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico for oil drilling - an area larger than Italy. The leases could result in over 1 billion barrels of oil being extracted over the next 50 years. Ben Jealous, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, said, “If this continues, all of the good Biden has done for the future will be undone by Biden himself.”

Biden’s week went from bad to worse when the Democrats joined Republicans in the Senate to block the Administration's signature water protection rule. President Biden is expected to use his second-ever veto to stop this move, and supporters of overturning the water bill appear not to have the votes to overrule a presidential veto.

Measuring and Reporting Biodiversity

The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released the fourth and final Beta version of its framework before the final release in September. The TNFD hopes to help organizations report on nature-related risks relevant to their operations and to be a framework that informs reporting standards, such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

This version is the first glimpse of what the full standard will look like, including their approach to reporting metrics, which balances comparability and flexibility for annual reporting and reasonable assurances. They also adapted the ‘Scopes 1, 2, and 3’ concept for climate reporting to the context of nature as ‘direct’ operations, ‘upstream,’ ‘downstream,’ and ‘financed.’ Accompanying the final beta version was sector and biome-specific guidance for four distinct sectors and biomes, with more to be rolled out in the coming months. 

A recent report in Nature highlighted how important measuring, reporting, reducing, and restoring organizations’ impacts on natural systems, such as biodiversity, is in maintaining a healthy climate. The study revealed that rewilding certain species - that accelerate the carbon cycle - could collectively capture an additional 500 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2100, which would help to keep global average temperature increases below 1.5C of warming. 

The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer. 

Other Notable News:

• The EU is postponing the sector-specific part of the European Sustainability Reporting Standard by one year so that they can help companies facing difficulties in implementing their first set of rules. 
• Tipping points in climate usually conjure up negative connotations. This week Joel Makower reminded us not all tipping points are bad. He references The Bezos Fund’s “The Breakthrough report,” which examines the positive socio-economic tipping points that are key to decarbonization. 
• Only one in ten business leaders believe they have an actionable sustainability strategy. A recent survey of executives and business leaders revealed that although over half have net zero pledges, 11% don't believe they have a robust sustainability plan, and 29% believe their actions rarely align with their ambitions.
• Antarctic ocean currents are heading for collapse. A recent report revealed the melting Antarctic ice sheet could decline currents by 40% by 2050, which could have a disastrous effect on the climate and marine wildlife.
• Small talk in your local hairdressers may soon move from holiday plans to the climate crisis, as a salon in Sydney has taught their staff how to steer conversations toward climate action.
• Will mass layoffs affect ESG professionals and companies’ ESG goals? Most companies say the layoffs will not affect climate and sustainability goals, and with coming ESG regulations, ESG professionals are needed now more than ever.
• Countries like the UK and Canada are under pressure to replicate green subsidy measures like the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Green Deal. UK Finance Minister Jeremey Hunt said the UK would not go “toe-to-toe” with the US or EU on green subsidies and would find other ways to incentivize green investment.

Notable Podcasts: 

• This week’s Outrage and Optimism podcast culminated a two-week special featuring a round table of some of the who’s who are in climate. The question surrounding the two-parter was how different sides of the climate movement can collaborate for effective climate action in this critical decade. 
• In the BBC’s The Climate Question Podcast this week, they explore the role of AI in climate change, specifically how AI can help farmers predict seasonal temperatures and rains better for more sustainable food production.