CIEL Worldview

Defending the right to a healthy planet.

June 22, 2012
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Rio+20 Outcome: The Anthropocene Challenge

By Marcos Orellana, Rio de Janeiro, 22 June 2012.

Marcos, Alyssa and Andrea, part of CIEL's delegation

On June 20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) officially started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The Conference opened with a documentary, Welcome to the Anthropocene, which was introduced by the UN’s Secretary-General.  The documentary visually portrays the alteration in Earth’s natural cycles induced by human activities.

Welcome to the Anthropocene echoes the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) 5th edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5), published on June 6, 2012.  The report concludes that the “scientific evidence shows that Earth systems are being pushed towards their biophysical limits.” Also it “cautions that if humanity does not urgently change its ways, several critical thresholds may be exceeded, beyond which abrupt and generally irreversible changes to the life-support functions of the planet could occur.”

Rio+20 Conference

Facing the scientific evidence, the Rio+20 process has been channeled in diplomatic negotiations in the UN Headquarters in New York City.  The negotiations have focused on renewing political commitments that will invigorate and advance the implementation of sustainable development, and on advancing the green economy and the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD).  CIEL advocated throughout the negotiations for the integration of human rights in global environmental governance.  Rio+20 presented an opportunity for the international community to reinforce the right to a healthy environment, for present and future generations.  Last week, the negotiations moved to Rio de Janeiro, concluding in the early hours of June 20, 2012.  Ultimately, after exhaustive negotiations, the outcome document, The Future We Want will be adopted today, June 22, 2012.

However, during the opening plenary, the Major Group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rejected the outcome document because Continue Reading →

March 23, 2012
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UN Human Rights Council establishes an Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment

CIEL and Earthjustice, working closely with Maldives, Costa Rica and Switzerland, obtained from the UN Human Rights Council a resolution on Human Rights & Environment that establishes an Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment.  Continue Reading →

February 22, 2012
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Great Rainforest or the Greatest Rainforest?

By Amanda Kistler

On Thursday, January 12th, 2012 CIEL scientist Matt Finer presented as part of Amazon Watch’s GreenBag Lunch series with this auspicious title, riffing off Stephen Colbert’s rhetorical question he poses to anyone that might not agree with his hyperbolic categorization. However, even Colbert would find few, if any, who would call the region of Loreto, Peru, anything but great

According to Matt, Loreto is a huge land area but not unmanageable. It is primarily flat except for the western areas that are the last bit of lowland forest before the Andes Mountains. Endemic species, or species that cannot be found anywhere else, live in these elevation gradients. Loreto is also home to the start of the Amazon River. Continue Reading →

December 5, 2011
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It’s time to admit there is no future in fossils.

By Niranjali Amerasinghe

Niranjali Amerasinghe, Staff Attorney

Following the UN climate talks in Durban can be a tedious business. Even for a conference junkie like me.  There are times when the discussions get so mired in petty political bargaining that it’s hard to keep the bigger picture in mind.  People seem to forget why they’re actually there: to find a solution to the biggest environmental threat ever faced by humanity.  This involves making significant changes to the status quo, like transitioning away from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy.  There is no way we will limit global warming to 1.5oC degrees Celsius (a level above which impacts from climate change are expected to be radically more extreme) if governments continue to pander to the special interests of the fossil fuels industry. Continue Reading →

November 23, 2011
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What’s at stake at Durban? We are.

By Kristen Hite, Interim Director, Climate Change Program

In recent years we’ve seen global predictions on climate change becoming increasingly dire.  In recent weeks it’s gone from bad to worse:  The International Energy Association, often criticized for how its future projections of energy production rely too heavily on fossil fuels and nuclear energy just issued a report that says our current energy patterns will lead us to a global rise in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius or worse, leading to “irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change.”  This comes on the heels of a new analysis by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which tells us that impacts are worse than expected and that climate change is increasingly responsible for natural disaster damages to the tune of billions of dollars annually.  Put simply: we can’t avoid climate impacts—we’re already experiencing them and they are getting worse.  But we can avoid locking in an unsustainable future that guarantees widespread destruction to communities and ecosystems across the globe—that is, if diplomats representing 190+ countries agree on how to act. Continue Reading →

November 10, 2011
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Breaking the global paralysis on endocrine disruptors

By Baskut Tuncak

Over the past two decades, the urgent need for global action on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has become undeniable.   A little-known global agreement—SAICM—might provide the best opportunity for global action to prevent further health and environmental harm from EDCs.

Continue Reading →

November 8, 2011
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SAICM and Nano: A unique chance to develop an international governance mechanism for this new emerging issue

By David Azoulay

Nanomaterials are those tiny materials (1 nanometer is about 1/100,000 of the width of a human hair) that behave radically differently than would expected, relative to their bulk counterparts. Examples include carbon nanotubes and nano silver. Promoters of nanotechnology promise life-changing and civilization-saving applications, while scientific institutions and citizen organizations across the world argue for precaution. These materials show drastically new toxicological profiles, and some of Continue Reading →

November 4, 2011
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Global negotiation on chemicals offer hope for developing countries…and the world

By David Azoulay

David Azoulay, Senior Attorney

Hundreds of government delegates will join representatives of intergovernmental organizations, health and environmental advocates, as well as business groups in Belgrade, Serbia November 15-18 to improve the management of toxic chemicals. The Belgrade meeting, known as an Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), sets the stage for the Third International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM3) in September 2013.

Both events are part of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), a broad global agreement to improve policies and practices. Next year will mark the 50th Anniversary Continue Reading →

October 26, 2011
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Multilateralism works! An insider’s analysis of Basel COP10

By Hana Heineken, Law Fellow

My very first COP experience, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in Cartagena, Colombia, was hailed by delegates, observers, and the UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner as the most successful Basel COP in the history of the Basel Convention.  I was fortunate to have joined CIEL’s delegation that participated in such a momentous event.

COP10 began with Continue Reading →