We subscribe and disseminate the petition for a Global Moratorium on Gene Drives, in view of the XII Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.   Gene drives are a new tool that force genetically engineered traits through entire populations of insects, plants, animals and other organisms. This invasive technology represents a deliberate attempt to create a new form of genetic pollution. They may drive...

[posted by Arthur Neslen on The Guardian, October 9, 2018] A court in The Hague has upheld a historic legal order on the Dutch government to accelerate carbon emissions cuts, a day after the world’s climate scientists warned that time was running out to avoid dangerous warming. Appeal court judges ruled that the severity and scope of the climate crisis demanded greenhouse gas reductions of at least 25% by 2020 – measured against 1990...

[posted by Thomas Johnson, Anna Lora-Wainwright, Jixia Lu on Sustainability Science, May 2018]   Environmental distribution conflicts (EDCs), defined as “mobilizations by local communities against particular economic activities whereby environmental impacts are a key element of their grievances” (Temper et al. 2015: 261–2), have become widespread in China. Whilst they are often centred on community efforts to uphold social...

[posted by Cecilia Erba on Politheor, September 29th, 2018]   National efforts to reduce emissions and fight climate change are still largely inadequate. Citizens and organizations are taking action and bringing governments to court to push for more ambition.   Over the last years, the number of lawsuits related to climate change has dramatically increased. The Climate Change Litigation Database currently counts more than...

[posted by Arnim Scheidel, Leah Temper, Federico Demaria, Joan Martínez-Alier on Sustainability Science, May 2018]   Introduction Transitions towards more sustainable futures could benefit from supporting those civil society actors that relentlessly oppose and transform local unsustainabilities across the globe. Instead, persecution, criminalization and violence against such grassroots activists, including their brutal...

[posted by Dana Drugmand on Climate Liability News, August 14, 2018] A lawsuit dubbed the People’s Climate Case, which challenges the European Union’s 2030 emissions reduction target and other climate policies, was given the green light by a court on Monday and is moving forward. The European General Court accepted the case brought by 10 families from Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Romania, Kenya and Fiji and a youth association in...