- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
Boost climate action or we'll see you court, activists tell governments
Governments around the world must scale up climate action "or face further legal action", an open letter from campaign groups warned Tuesday, as battles over policies to cut emissions and protect the environment are increasingly fought in the courts.
From legal efforts to steer governments to do more to curb fossil fuel pollution, to court action over companies' misleading green claims, the number, scope and ambitions of climate litigation is expanding, say experts, with an increasing number of cases are being launched against governments.
And that will continue if they do not use the upcoming United Nations COP meeting in Egypt to substantially enhance their climate action, according to an open letter signed by lawyers from more than 20 organisations around the world.
"Governments of the world: your delay is costing lives. Strong action is needed now to protect people and the planet," the letter said.
"If you continue to fail us, we will continue to turn to the courts to demand accountability."
The groups said they had already launched more than 80 legal cases around the world to "compel" governments from the Netherlands to Brazil, warning that the world was on the "precipice of the most serious intergenerational violation of human rights in history".
Research from the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics this year has found that of the 2,000 or so climate legal cases filed since 1986, almost a quarter were started since the beginning of 2020.
Some 80 of these cases have been filed against national or subnational governments since 2005, the research found, with a record number of 30 new cases submitted in 2021.
Perhaps the most successful of this kind of case was environmental group Urgenda's landmark 2019 victory in Dutch courts, which saw the government ordered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent by the end of 2020. The target was largely met.
"Climate action is a legal duty. Yet governments are failing to comply with their own laws and commitments," said Sarah Mead Co-Director of Climate Litigation Network, part of the Urgenda Foundation, which signed the letter.
"We want to make sure that countries understand that the law is on our side."
- Cases rise -
But legal rulings can go both ways.
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that the government's key environmental agency cannot issue broad limits on greenhouse gases.
Campaigners say that energy companies are increasingly turning to international arbitration to recoup investments as governments accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.
Earth has warmed nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels so far, unleashing more intense weather extremes, including dangerous heatwaves and floods.
The 2015 Paris Agreement saw governments agree to a cap on warming of well below 2C and preferably a safer 1.5C.
But the UN's Environment Programme has said that even taking into account updated global promises to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases, the world is currently on course to warm 2.8C.
D.Avraham--CPN