27/05/2021

(Independent Media Institute) If We Don’t Protect 30% Of The Natural World By 2030, Earth May Be Unfit For Life

Independent Media Institute - Reynard Loki

We are to blame for the biggest extinction event in human history. But there is a solution if we take urgent action now.

Paradise lost: An estimated 15 to 20 tons of plastic trash wash ashore every single year on a 0.6-mile uninhabited stretch of Kamilo Beach on the island of Hawaii. (Photo credit: M. Lamson/Hawaii Wildlife Fund via National Institute of Standards and Technology).

Author
Reynard Loki is Editor, Chief Correspondent and Writing Fellow for Earth | Food | Life. He had previously served as the environment, food and animal rights editor at AlterNet.
The natural world is in a state of crisis, and we are to blame.

We are in the midst of the Sixth Extinction, the biggest loss of species in the history of humankind.

So many species are facing total annihilation. Nearly one-third of freshwater species are facing extinction. So are 40 percent of amphibians. 84 percent of large mammals; a third of reef-building corals; and nearly one-third of oak trees.

Rhinos and elephants are being gunned down at rates so alarming that they could be completely wiped out from the wild by 2034. There may be fewer than 10 vaquita—a kind of porpoise endemic to Mexico’s Gulf of California—due to illegal fishing nets, pesticides and irrigation. There are 130,000 plant species that could become extinct in our lifetimes.

All told, about 28 percent of evaluated plant and animal species across the planet are now at risk of becoming extinct.

The rapid decline in species has occurred in recent years: 60 percent of the planet’s wildlife populations have been lost in just the last 50 years. Scientists warn that in the coming decades, if we don’t take action, more than 1 million species may vanish from the Earth forever.

Our fellow Earthlings are being overhunted, overfished and overharvested for our food, clothing and medicines. And the ones that we don’t kill are losing their homes as we destroy their natural habitats to make space for our farms and cities and to extract fuels, minerals, timber and other resources for human society. And the habitats that we don’t completely eradicate we pollute with a vast array of toxic elements, from pesticides and plastics to carbon dioxide, fracking chemicals and invasive species.

We are even polluting wildlife habitats with our light and noise. And scientists fear that the worst is yet to come. As the International Union for Conservation of Nature warns, the worldwide extinction crisis is “expected to worsen as the human population grows.”

According to the Population Reference Bureau, the world’s human population is expected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050. That’s more than 25 percent more people on the planet than the 7.9 billion people currently living on the Earth. Other species will certainly be squeezed out.

Biodiversity isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential to the health and maintenance of the planet’s ecosystems, which, in turn, are critical to human health. In addition to providing sustenance, medicines and livelihoods to billions of people, biodiversity helps maintain the Earth’s basic life-supporting elements like clean water, clean air and crop pollination, as well as critical ecosystem services like soil fertility, waste decomposition and recovery from natural disasters.

“Whether in a village in the Amazon or a metropolis such as Beijing, humans depend on the services ecosystems provide,” writes Julie Shaw the director of communications of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, a biodiversity conservation joint initiative of the French Development Agency, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the government of Japan and the World Bank.

“Ecosystems weakened by the loss of biodiversity are less likely to deliver those services, especially given the needs of an ever-growing human population.”

IDL TIFF file

There is also a massive economic benefit to biodiversity.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)—a three-decade-old international treaty adopted by 193 countries (not including, most notably, the United States)—points out that “at least 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources.”

Damian Carrington, the environment editor of the Guardian, writes that ecosystem services are “estimated to be worth trillions of dollars—double the world’s GDP. Biodiversity loss in Europe alone costs the continent about 3 percent of its GDP [$546 million] … a year.”

So what can be done to prevent the rapid extinction of species and protect the world’s biodiversity?

In April 2019, a group of 19 prominent scientists answered that question when they published the “Global Deal for Nature” (GDN), a “time-bound, science-driven plan to save the diversity and abundance of life on Earth,” which, when paired with the Paris Climate Agreement, is meant to “avoid catastrophic climate change, conserve species, and secure essential ecosystem services.”

To achieve its goal of “ensuring a more livable biosphere,” the GDN’s main objective is crystallized in its “30×30” proposal: Conserve 30 percent of the Earth in its natural state by 2030.

The idea has taken off, with 50 nations led by Costa Rica, France and the United Kingdom joining the movement to realize the 30×30 vision of defending big swaths of intact ecosystems from exploitation. 

“Protecting 30 percent of the planet will undoubtedly improve the quality of life of our citizens, and help us achieve a fair, decarbonized and resilient society,” said Andrea Meza, Costa Rica’s environmental minister. “Healing and restoring nature is a key step towards human wellbeing, creating millions of quality green and blue jobs and fulfilling the 2030 agenda, particularly as part of our sustainable recovery efforts.”

Nongovernmental organizations have answered the rallying cry as well. The Wyss Foundation, a private charitable foundation based in Washington, D.C., “dedicated to… empower[ing] communities… and strengthen[ing] connections to the land,” has joined forces with National Geographic to launch the Wyss Campaign for Nature—“a $1 billion investment to help [nations], communities, [and] Indigenous peoples” mobilize to achieve the 30×30 goal.

The campaign has launched a public petition urging immediate action to protect those ecosystems that have not yet been completely despoiled by the unrelenting expansion of humanity.

 “Protecting 30 percent of our entire planet by 2030 (30×30) is an ambitious but achievable goal,” asserts the campaign. “To achieve it, all countries must embrace the goal and contribute to it; Indigenous rights must be respected; and conservation efforts must be fully funded.”

Stripped bare: To access the coal contained in the Appalachian Mountains in southern West Virginia, extractive companies engage in a controversial mining method called “mountaintop removal,” which is as destructive to the ecosystem as it sounds. Scientists have found that this process negatively impacts groundwater and biodiversity. (Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

And while the U.S. is not a signatory of the CBD treaty, President Biden can take unilateral action by declaring the wildlife extinction crisis a national emergency.

“The declaration, under the National Emergencies Act, isn’t just symbolic,” says the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation nonprofit based in Tucson, Arizona, which has launched a public petition urging the president to take this important and powerful step. “It will unlock key presidential powers to stem the loss of animals and plants in the United States and beyond,” the group says.

Biden’s declaration would marshal the federal resources necessary to start safeguarding the hundreds of species—including the monarch butterfly, eastern gopher tortoise and northern spotted owl—that have been languishing on the waiting list to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Those actions could include directing federal agencies to rein in wildlife exploitation, defend critical wildlife habitat on federal land and use the nation’s economic influence to help protect wildlife habitat around the world from deforestation and environmental damage caused by the private sector.

Little wise ones: Threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) fledglings stick close together on a branch. Earlier this year, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit to reinstate federal protections on the species’ essential habitat covering more than 3.4 million acres of federal old-growth forests. (Photo credit: Tom Kogut/USFS/USFWS Endangered Species/Flickr)
Thankfully, there is international traction to make the 30×30 vision a reality.

When the 15th Conference of the Parties to the CBD convenes in October in Kunming, China, chances are good that delegates will secure a firm multilateral commitment: The current “zero draft” of the global framework meant to steer conservation efforts through 2030 includes the 30×30 vision as an explicit aim.

“We lose a species to extinction every hour, but extinction is not inevitable,” said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, in December. “We can end extinction with funding and political will. We need to stop making excuses and take the bold policy actions necessary to save life on Earth.”

Cause for concern…

Killing fields: Oil rigs dot the landscape in Bakersfield, California, in 2020. In 2019, the state was ranked the seventh-largest producer of crude oil among the 50 states. (Photo credit: Babette Plana/Flickr)

Even though new renewable-energy capacity grew by 45 percent in 2020 (more than Germany’s entire energy-generation capacity), fossil fuel production is expected to grow in 2021, fixing dirty, carbon-emitting energy as the world’s dominant power source for some time to come.

Round of applause…

Pollution pause: In shutting down the Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix, President Biden has made a significant step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to uphold environmental justice. (Photo credit: vi.gov)

“These repeated incidents at the [Limetree Bay] refinery have been and remain totally unacceptable,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan in a press release Friday afternoon, after the agency ordered a temporary shutdown of Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix. “Today, I have ordered the refinery to immediately pause all operations until we can be assured that this facility can operate in accordance with laws that protect public health.”

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(AU The Guardian) Seven In 10 Australians Want Government To Take More Action On Climate, Survey Finds

The Guardian - 

The Lowy Institute’s annual survey of sentiment on climate action found strong support for net zero emissions by 2050 and a ban on new coalmines

Students and other protesters participate in a School Strike 4 Climate rally in Sydney on Friday. A Lowy Institute poll found concern about climate change has increased over the past year. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Morrison government is under increasing pressure to act on the climate crisis, with a new poll showing seven in 10 Australians want the Coalition to lock in stronger commitments in the lead-up to this year’s Glasgow summit.

The Lowy Institute’s annual survey of sentiment on climate action finds strong domestic support for Australia committing to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and majority support for a ban on new coalmines.

The findings appear to undercut resistance from some prominent members of the Nationals, who have publicly cautioned the government against making a net zero commitment and have been pushing for a continued embrace of coal.

Biden administration says Australia needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions sooner. Read more
The Lowy Institute-commissioned poll of 3,286 Australians found overall concern about climate change had increased over the past year, with 60% of respondents describing global warming as “a serious and pressing problem” and agreeing “we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs”.

That represented a four-point increase from 2020.

In the latest climate poll, a majority (55%) also said the government’s main priority for energy policy should be “reducing carbon emissions” – an eight percentage point increase since 2019.

That compares with 32% of the sample who said the priority should be reducing household bills – a decline of six points over the same period.

Reducing the risk of power blackouts – a key focus of the government’s messaging on the issue – was nominated by just 12% of respondents as the energy policy priority in the most recent poll, down three points.

With the government facing international pressure to endorse deeper emission cuts in the lead-up to the expanded G7 summit in June and the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, the poll finds strong domestic support for doing so.

When presented with a question about the forthcoming UN climate negotiations, 70% agreed that “Australia should join other countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, to increase its commitments to address climate change”.

That compared with about three in 10 respondents (29%) who chose the alternative statement that “Australia should continue with its current policies to address climate change”, while 1% said they did not know.

Some 78% of those surveyed said they would support a net zero emissions target by 2050 – an idea Scott Morrison has expressed as a “preference” rather than a formal commitment – while 20% said they would oppose it.

Just over six in 10 Australians said they would support a ban on new coalmines opening in Australia, while the same proportion said they would support reducing Australian coal exports to other countries. Just 30% of the sample would support providing subsidies for building new coal-fired power plants.

The director of the Lowy Institute’s public opinion and foreign policy program, Natasha Kassam, said the politics and economics of climate action were shifting and a number of elected officials “would take heart” from the results.

Kassam said the level of support for moving away from coal would not have been seen several years ago. She noted that 70% of Australia’s coal and gas exports went to countries in Asia that had set net zero commitments.

“We’ve seen Australians’ concern about the climate increase since 2012,” she said, while noting there had been a slight dip in the poll last year when “understandably much of the public was feeling pretty anxious about the pandemic”.

“What has really shifted in the last couple of years is the willingness of the public to bear costs for climate action … and now we can see the vast majority accept benefits outweigh the costs.”

When asked to weigh the consequences of acting on climate change, nearly three-quarters of the respondents (74%) said the benefits of taking further action would outweigh the costs, while about a quarter (24%) said the costs would outweigh the benefits.

‘No action on anything’: Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition. Read more

Other popular potential policies include providing subsidies for the development of renewable energy technologies (91% support) and providing subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles (77%).

With the government pursuing its so-called “gas-fired recovery” from the pandemic, and planning to spend up to $600m on a new gas-fired power plant in New South Wales, 58% of the sample said they would support increasing the use of gas for Australia’s energy generation.

And seven years after the Abbott government repealed the Gillard government’s carbon price after a relentless political campaign, some 64% of the sample said they would support an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax.

The Lowy Institute said its climate poll was based on a nationally representative online and telephone survey conducted by the Social Research Centre between 12 and 26 April, with a margin of error of about 1.8%.

The Sydney-based thinktank has been tracking attitudes to global warming since 2006, when 68% of respondents agreed that it was “a serious and pressing problem” requiring Australia to take steps even if it involved costs.

That dropped to a low of 36% in 2012 at the height of the acrimonious political battle over the Gillard government’s carbon pricing scheme, before steadily rising in subsequent years.

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26/05/2021

(UK The Conversation) Five Satellite Images That Show How Fast Our Planet Is Changing

The Conversation - 

Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy

Author
 is Professor of Physical Geography, University of Bristol.
You have probably seen satellite images of the planet through applications like Google Earth. These provide a fascinating view of the surface of the planet from a unique vantage point and can be both beautiful to look at and useful aids for planning.

But satellite observations can provide far more insights than that. In fact, they are essential for understanding how our planet is changing and responding to global heating and can do so much more than just “taking pictures”.

It really is rocket science and the kind of information we can now obtain from what are called Earth observation satellites is revolutionising our ability to carry out a comprehensive and timely health check on the planetary systems we rely on for our survival.

We can measure changes in sea level down to a single millimetre, changes in how much water is stored in underground rocks, the temperature of the land and ocean and the spread of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases, all from space.

Here I have selected five striking images that illustrate how Earth observation data is informing climate scientists about the changing characteristics of the planet we call home.

1. The sea level is rising – but where?
The sea is rising quickly – but not evenly. ESA/CLS/LEGOS, CC BY-SA   LARGE IMAGE

Sea level rise is predicted to be one of the most serious consequences of global heating: under the more extreme “business-as-usual” scenario, a two-metre rise would flood 600 million people by the end of this century. The pattern of sea surface height change, however, is not uniform across the oceans.

This image shows mean sea level trends over 13 years in which the global average rise was about 3.2mm a year. But the rate was three or four times faster in some places, like the south western Pacific to the east of Indonesia and New Zealand, where there are numerous small islands and atolls that are already very vulnerable to sea level rise.

Meanwhile in other parts of the ocean the sea level has barely changed, such as in the Pacific to the west of North America.

2. Permafrost is thawing
Source: ESA   LARGE IMAGE
Permafrost is permanently frozen ground and the vast majority of it lies in the Arctic.

It stores huge quantities of carbon but when it thaws, that carbon is released as CO₂ and an even more potent greenhouse gas: methane. Permafrost stores about 1,500 billion tonnes of carbon – twice as much as in the whole of the atmosphere – and it is incredibly important that carbon stays in the ground.

This animation combines satellite, ground-based measurements of soil temperature and computer modelling to map the permafrost temperature at depth across the Arctic and how it is changing with time, giving an indication of where it is thawing.

3. Lockdown cleans Europe’s skies
Source: ESA   LARGE IMAGE
Nitrogen dioxide is an atmospheric pollutant that can have serious health impacts, especially for those who are asthmatic or have weakened lung function, and it can increase the acidity of rainfall with damaging effects on sensitive ecosystems and plant health. A major source is from internal combustion engines found in cars and other vehicles.

This animation shows the difference in NO₂ concentrations over Europe before national pandemic-related lockdowns began in March 2020 and just after. The latter shows a dramatic reduction in concentration over major conurbations such as Madrid, Milan and Paris.

4. Deforestation in the Amazon
Credits: ESA/USGS/Deimos Imaging

Tropical forests have been described as the lungs of the planet, breathing in CO₂ and storing it in woody biomass while exhaling oxygen. Deforestation in Amazonia has been in the news recently because of deregulation and increased forest clearing in Brazil but it had been taking place, perhaps not so rapidly, for decades.

This animation shows dramatic loss of rainforest in the western Brazilian state of Rondonia between 1986 and 2010, as observed by satellites.

5. A megacity-sized iceberg
Source: ESA   LARGE IMAGE
The Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough frozen water to raise global sea level by 58 metres if it all ended up in the ocean. The floating ice shelves that fringe the continent act as a buffer and barrier between the warm ocean and inland ice but they are vulnerable to both oceanic and atmospheric warming.

This animation shows the break-off of a huge iceberg dubbed A-74, captured by satellite radar images that have the advantage they can “see” through clouds and operate day or night and are thus unaffected by the 24 hours of darkness that occurs during the Antarctic winter. The iceberg that forms is 1,270 km² in area which is about the same size as Greater London.

These examples illustrate just a few ways in which satellite data are providing unique, global observations of key components of the climate system and biosphere that are essential for our understanding of how the planet is changing. We can use this data to monitor those changes and improve models used to predict future change.

In the run up to the vitally important UN climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow this November, colleagues and I have produced a briefing paper to highlight the role Earth observation satellites will play in safeguarding the climate and other systems that we rely on to make this beautiful, fragile planet habitable. 

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(UK The Conversation) Climate Change: How Bad Could The Future Be If We Do Nothing?

The Conversation - 

Lumppini/Shutterstock

Author
Mark Maslin FRGS is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London.
This article is based on Mark Maslin’s latest book, How to Save Our Planet: The Facts.
The climate crisis is no longer a looming threat – people are now living with the consequences of centuries of greenhouse gas emissions.

But there is still everything to fight for. How the world chooses to respond in the coming years will have massive repercussions for generations yet to be born.

In my book How to Save Our Planet, I imagine two different visions of the future. One in which we do very little to address climate change, and one in which we do everything possible.

This is what the science suggests those very different realities could look like.

Year 2100: the nightmare scenario

The 21st century draws to a close without action having been taken to prevent climate change. Global temperatures have risen by over 4°C. In many countries, summer temperatures persistently stay above 40°C. Heatwaves with temperatures as high as 50°C have become common in tropical countries.

Every summer, wildfires rage across every continent except Antarctica, creating plumes of acrid smoke that make breathing outdoors unbearable, causing an annual health crisis.

Ocean temperatures have risen dramatically. After repeated bleaching events, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been officially declared dead.

Tropical coral reefs are vulnerable to rising ocean temperatures. Rich Carey/Shutterstock

Frequent and prolonged droughts torment vast swathes of the Earth’s land. The deserts of the world have expanded, displacing many millions of people. Around 3.5 billion live in areas where water demand exceeds what’s available.

Air pollution has a new major cause outside the traffic-choked cities: dust whipped up from now-barren farmland.

The Arctic is free of sea ice every summer. Average temperatures in the far north have risen by over 8°C as a result. The Greenland and Western Antarctic ice sheets have started to melt, releasing a huge amount of freshwater into the oceans.

Most mountain glaciers have completely melted. Skiing is now a predominantly indoor sport which takes place on giant artificial slopes. Most of the Himalayan plateau’s ice has disappeared, reducing the flows of the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yamuna rivers which over 600 million people rely on for plentiful water.

The extra heat in the ocean has caused it to expand. Combined with water from melting ice sheets, sea levels have risen by more than one metre. Many major cities, including Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro and Miami, are already flooded and uninhabitable. The Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and many other small island nations have been abandoned.

Many coastal and river areas are regularly flooded, including the Nile Delta, the Rhine valley and Thailand. Over 20% of Bangladesh is permanently under water.

Winter storms are more energetic and unleash more water, causing widespread wind damage and flooding each year.

Tropical cyclones have become stronger and affect tens of millions of people every year. Mega-cyclones, like 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan, have become more common, with sustained wind speeds of over 200 mph.

Typhoon Haiyan was one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. Ymphotos/Shutterstock

South-east Asian monsoons have become more intense and unpredictable, bringing either too much or too little rain to each region, affecting the lives of over three billion people.

Food and water insecurity has increased around the world, threatening the health and wellbeing of billions of people. Extreme heat and humidity in the tropics and subtropics has increased the number of days that it is impossible to work outside tenfold – slashing farm productivity.

Extreme weather in temperate regions like Europe has made food production highly unpredictable. Half of the land devoted to agriculture in the past is now unusable, and the capacity of the rest to grow food differs widely from season to season. Crop yields are at their lowest levels since the middle of the 20th century.

Fish stocks have collapsed. The acidity of the ocean has increased by 125%. The ocean food chain has collapsed in some regions as the small marine organisms that form its base struggle to make calcium carbonate shells and so survive in the more acidic waters.

Despite advances in medical sciences, deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses are at their highest levels in human history. Extreme weather events – from heat waves and droughts to storms and floods – are causing large loss of life and leaving millions of people homeless. Disease epidemics have plagued the century, spreading among populations beleaguered by widespread poverty and vulnerability.

Year 2100: humanity rises to the challenge

This is what our planet could look like if we do everything in our power to contain climate change.

Global temperatures rose to 1.5°C by 2050 and remained there for the rest of the century. Fossil fuels have been replaced by renewable energy. Over a trillion trees have been planted, sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The air is cleaner than it has been since before the industrial revolution.

Cities have been restructured to provide all-electric public transport and vibrant green spaces. Many new buildings have a photoelectric skin which generates solar energy and green roofs which cool the cities, making them a more pleasant place to live.

High-speed electric trains reaching 300 mph link many of the world’s major cities. Intercontinental flights still run, using large and efficient planes running on synthetic kerosene that’s made by combining water and carbon dioxide sucked directly from the atmosphere.

Urban life must become greener, with cleaner air and zero-carbon public transport. Yyama/Shutterstock

Global diets have shifted away from meat. Farming efficiency has greatly improved during the transition from industrial-scale meat production to plant-based sustenance, creating more land to rewild and reforest.

Half of the Earth is dedicated to restoring the natural biosphere and its ecological services. Elsewhere, fusion energy is finally set to work at scale providing unlimited clean energy for the people of the 22nd century.

Two very different futures. The outcome your children and grandchildren will live with depends on what decisions are made today. Happily, the solutions I propose are win-win, or even win-win-win: they reduce emissions, improve the environment and make people healthier and wealthier overall.

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(AU ABC) Australian Conservation Foundation Wins Federal Court Challenge Against Adani And Environment Minister

ABC News - Talissa Siganto

Environmental advocates have won a court challenge against Adani's proposed water use at its coal mine in central Queensland. (ABC News)

Key Points
  • Federal Court judge Melissa Perry ruled the Department of Environment "fell into legal error"
  • The scheme proposed building a pipeline to pump water into Adani's Carmichael coal mine
  • Environmental advocates say the ruling is "a great win" for farmers and regional communities that depend on water
Environmental advocates have won a legal challenge against the federal government and mining giant Adani, over its proposed water use at its coal mine in central Queensland.

The Australian Conservative Foundation (ACF) took the Environment Minister to the Federal Court last year, arguing it made an "error of law" when it assessed the planned North Galilee Water Scheme in 2019.

The scheme proposed creating a water pipeline, pump station infrastructure and the expansion of an existing dam catchment, which would then pump water to Adani's Carmichael mining project.

Lawyers for ACF argued the department should have applied the "water trigger" provision, which falls under the Commonwealth environment protection legislation when assessing the planned scheme.

The trigger weighs up the impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining developments on rivers.

'A big plumbing project'

During a hearing last October, Neil Williams SC, argued the water extraction was associated with coal mining activity, and therefore the minister should have considered all adverse impacts the action would have.

Stephen Lloyd SC, who is acting for Adani Infrastructure, said because the company was a subsidiary of Adani Mining, its actions should be treated separately.

Mr Lloyd also referred to it as a "big plumbing project", which does not seek approval to take water.

The proposed scheme would pump water to Adani's Carmichael mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin. (Twitter: Adani Australia)

"We are extracting water to be supplied to a coal miner … [mining is] not part of my client's actions," Mr Lloyd told the court. Today, a Federal Court judge ruled in favour of ACF, granting a judicial review of the minister's decision to bypass the legislation.

In her published reasons, Justice Melissa Perry said the minister's delegate erred in his construction of definitions of sections of the relevant act and therefore "fell into legal error".

"Contrary to the delegates view, an action will involve a large coal mining development for the purposes of the water trigger controlling provisions if the action is so closely associated with the mining of coal as to be integral to it," she said.

Justice Perry also ordered the defendants pay the environmental group's legal costs.

'A great win' for water protection

In a statement, the ACF Chief Executive Officer Kelly O'Shanassy said it was a "great win" for the protection of water.
"It's a win for regional communities and farmers who depend on reliable flows of river water in our drought-prone landscape," she said.
Ms O'Shanassy said the judgement would set a "new precedent".

"This decision will apply to other potential water sources for the Carmichael mine," she said.

"We expect the federal government to properly apply the law."

A spokeswoman for Bravus Mining and Resources, formerly Adani, said it would carefully consider the judgement.

"We will now consider our options on the progression of the North Galilee Water Scheme and how we would like to proceed," it said in a statement.

The statement also said, regardless of the ruling, construction of the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project was "well underway".

"Importantly, the North Galilee Water Scheme project is not required for these construction activities," the statement said.

"We have also secured water for the operational phase that does not require the North Galilee Water Scheme."

In a statement, the federal government said the Department of Environment "will closely consider the decision before making any comment".

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(Reuters) Greta Thunberg Aims To Change How Food Is Produced

Reuters

'Our relationship with nature is broken'- Thunberg

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has set her sights on changing how the world produces and consumes food in order to counteract a trio of threats: carbon emissions, disease outbreaks and animal suffering.

In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Thunberg said the environmental impact of farming as well as disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, which is believed to have originated from animals, would be reduced by changing how food was produced.

"Our relationship with nature is broken. But relationships can change," Thunberg said in the video marking the International Day of Biological Diversity.

A focus on agriculture and linking the climate crisis to health pandemics is a new angle for Thunberg who has typically focused her ire on policy-makers and carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

"The climate crisis, ecological crisis and health crisis, they are all interlinked," she said.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg talks to the media before meeting with EU environment ministers in Brussels, Belgium, March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

Thunberg said the spillover of diseases from animals to humans was caused by farming methods, adding that a move to a plant-based diet could save up to 8 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.

The World Health Organization has said the coronavirus was probably transmitted from bats to humans through another animal, while scientists say 60% of the infectious human diseases that emerged from 1990 to 2004 came from animals.

Meanwhile, demand for alternatives to regular meat is surging worldwide due to concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment.

More than two dozen firms are testing lab-grown fish, beef and chicken, hoping to break into an unproven segment of the alternative meat market, which Barclays estimates could be worth $140 billion by 2029.

The Global Center on Adaptation, which works to accelerate climate resilience, said in January climate change could depress global food production by up to 30%, while rising seas and more intense storms could force hundreds of millions of people in coastal cities out of their homes.

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25/05/2021

(CA ) Young Climate Activists Beat Germany's Government In Court. Could It Happen Here?

CBC News - Evan Dyer

The German government's defeat suggests youth-led climate lawsuits can be more than merely symbolic

A youth climate protester carries a sign at Queen Street West and Bay Street in downtown Toronto on Friday, March 19, 2021. (Sam Nar/CBC)

Young climate activists in Canada have turned to the courts in their fight to goad governments into taking their near-term climate commitments seriously. If the German experience is any guide, they may be on to something.

In a decision closely watched by the 22 young plaintiffs behind two climate lawsuits in Canada, Germany's constitutional court on April 29 sided with nine young Germans against their federal government. The court agreed the country's landmark climate legislation, passed in 2019, put too much of a burden on future generations and didn't take enough responsibility in the present.

"The provisions irreversibly offload major emission reduction burdens onto periods after 2030," the court ruled, ordering the government to change the legislation.

Felix Ekardt, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told CBC News his team "got the court to recognize for the first time that freedom must be guaranteed not only here and now, but also intertemporally and globally — that is, across generations and across state borders."

Germany's Minister of Economy and Energy Peter Altmaier agreed, calling it "epochal for climate protection and the rights of young people."
We feel that we are not being heard ... that lawmakers today aren't going to have to deal with the impacts and effects of their decisions in the way that we, the youth, will."
- Plaintiff Lauren Wright of Saskatoon
Not long after the court ruling, Germany's leaders (already feeling heat from a Green Party surge in the polls) quickly emerged with a new draft law that increases the emissions cut target for the end of the decade dramatically — from 55 per cent below 1990 levels to 65 per cent. They also brought forward their net-zero target date by five years.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the new law takes on a "gigantic" task. "For the first time, the most strenuous part of climate protection is not being postponed to the distant future," she said. "The Constitutional Court ordered us to do this and the government reacted very quickly."

A morale booster

Ekardt remains cautious about his legal team's achievement. "The government and parliament have only adjusted the target. It remains to be seen whether real measures will follow," he told CBC. "Moreover, even the targets have been inadequately adjusted."

Still, for 16-year-old Lauren Wright of Saskatoon — a plaintiff in a similar case against the Canadian government — the German verdict was "a big source of optimism."

"The quick turnaround time between the victory and measurable change starting to become enacted is very, very good to see," she told CBC News.

Thirteen of the 15 plaintiffs suing the Canadian government over its role in climate change stand together on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2019. (Our Children's Trust)
Wright is part of a lawsuit sponsored by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Oregon-based Our Children's Trust. The suit is intended to force the federal government to adopt more stringent emissions targets. Our Children's Trust has sponsored a similar lawsuit against the U.S. government since 2015.

Another youth-based lawsuit, sponsored by the Canadian non-governmental organization Ecojustice, takes aim at the decision by the government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford to roll back the province's climate targets in 2018.

Most affected, least consulted

"The majority of our plaintiffs cannot vote. We are below voting age," said Wright. "I cannot contribute my voice in a way that I can elect people to positions of power.

"We feel that we are not being heard, that we're going to be disproportionately affected by these issues, that lawmakers today aren't going to have to deal with the impacts and effects of their decisions in the way that we, the youth, will."

Many courts have turned out to be receptive to that argument. The first breakthrough came in the Netherlands in 2019, when the Supreme Court ordered the government to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels by the end of 2020.

Vancouver attorney Chris Tollefson represents Wright and 14 other youth plaintiffs in the case LaRose v. HM The Queen.

"Increasingly, we're seeing very encouraging results in these kinds of cases," he told CBC News. "Courts increasingly are recognizing that there is a generational rights issue here, that these young people deserve at least to be heard."

Governments push back

Both the Ford government and the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have fought to keep these lawsuits from moving forward in Canada — by filing motions that seek to prevent the young plaintiffs from making their cases in court.

The federal government has been more successful.

Last October, Federal Court Justice Michael Manson granted the government's motion to strike the LaRose lawsuit. Government lawyers had argued that the case was too political and the conduct alleged too broad — and that, in any case, there was no binding climate target for Canada to violate.

"That was a very disheartening moment for us in the case," said Wright.

This month, lawyers for the young plaintiffs filed an appeal of that decision, which they hope will be heard this fall. 

Ontario strikes out

Just a few weeks after the federal government's success in court, Ontario tried and failed to strike the Mathur et al lawsuit.

"Our clients decided to take Premier Ford to court over this because the Ford government did something that few governments have done in light of the scientific consensus on climate change," lawyer Fraser Thomson told CBC News. "They have chosen to weaken our targets, to go backwards."

In 2019, thousands of students around the world took to the streets for climate marches. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Ontario's move to roll back targets in 2018 left the provincial government with a vulnerability its federal counterpart doesn't share. Though the province argued that the case took the court "well beyond its institutional capacity," Superior Court Justice Carole J. Brown saw it differently.

"For the first time in any court case in Canada, a court has affirmed that my clients have the right and the ability to take their government to court under the highest law in the land, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," said Thomson. "And they have a right to a hearing on a full evidentiary record."

Next steps 

"I think it's a very intriguing argument," said constitutional expert Carissima Mathen, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa. "It is one that has not obviously been put forward in the context of the Canadian charter before, and it would rely on a number of premises being accepted.

"One is that the current model by which we structure voting and participation is somehow deficient in providing for the interests of those who can't vote, and that simply by virtue of their age, they are structurally disadvantaged in how public policy decisions are made.

"It's a lift."

Mathen said that if the federal case is permitted to proceed, she would expect it to go all the way before the government accepts a defeat.

Headed for the Supreme Court

"I would be very surprised if any government would respond to a decision rendered by a court lower than the Supreme Court, because this is such a novel argument, such a profound argument, potentially about the reach of the Canadian charter," Mathen said.

"Of course, you can win on the argument. And then the next step, the really important final step, is what does the court do?"

Mathen said a court ruling in favour of the plaintiffs in either the federal or the Ontario lawsuit would lead to a range of possible remedies — starting with mere "declaratory relief," which would see the court determine that rights have been (or could be) violated and direct the government to take those rights into account.

"And then there's a continuum of much more interventionist remedies that the court could invoke, such as actually making some kind of order," she said. "I see that as less likely. Generally, Canadian courts have been less willing to intervene in that way and actually direct the government to take a decision, especially one that is quite complicated."

Ekardt said he expects the arguments that convinced judges in Germany will be equally convincing here.

"I am not an expert on Canadian constitutional law. But we argue exclusively with typical core elements of liberal-democratic constitutions — fundamental rights to freedom and to the elementary preconditions of freedom such as life, health and subsistence," he said.

Although his plaintiffs have suffered one legal setback, Tollefson said he shares Ekardt's optimism. 

"We're very confident about this lawsuit."

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