New Mexico Law Strengthens State Environmental Policy
A bill New Mexico Democrats pushed as allowing for greater state control of environmental regulations was signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham following the 2021 Legislative Session. Senate Bill 8 allowed the State to set environmental standards “more stringent” than federal law, a change from how the law is currently written to allow […]
New Zealand introduces climate change law for financial firms in world first
New Zealand has become the first country to introduce a law that will require banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business, minister for climate change James Shaw said on Tuesday. All banks with total assets of more than NZ$1 billion ($703 million), insurers with more than NZ$1 […]
How a “tree mortgage” scheme could turn an Indian town carbon neutral
It’s a simple incentive with big gains: plant a tree, and after three years residents can mortgage each sapling for an interest-free loan that can be renewed annually for 10 years. The money need be repaid only if the tree is chopped down. Sheeja CG, a 46- year-old farmer, has lived among coffee, coconut and […]
Man saved from deportation after pollution plea in French legal “first”
A Bangladeshi man with asthma has avoided deportation from France after his lawyer argued that he risked a severe deterioration in his condition, and possibly premature death, due to the dangerous levels of pollution in his homeland. “To my knowledge, this is the first time a French court has applied the environment as one of […]
French court gives Macron deadline to prove he’s serious on climate
France’s highest administrative court on Thursday gave the government three months to show it is enacting climate policies that will ensure it meets its commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Conseil d’Etat’s ruling raises questions about the credibility of President Emmanuel Macron’s climate plan and affirms the binding nature of greenhouse gas reduction targets […]
Anglo American sued over alleged mass lead poisoning of children in Zambia
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the mining company Anglo American over its alleged failure to prevent widespread toxic lead pollution in the Zambian town of Kabwe. The town hosted one of the world’s biggest lead mines for many decades and scientists have reported “alarming” levels of lead in people’s blood. “The public environmental health […]
Net-zero by 2050: South Korea to enshrine new climate target in law
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has declared that the country will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, bringing its climate commitments in line with the likes of the UK and Japan. Announced in July as part of the national stimulus planning for Covid-19, the package earmarks $61.9bn for sectors including renewable energy generation and distribution, electric […]
Should animals have legal standing?
The New York Supreme Court is to hear arguments in November on whether an elephant can have legal personality. This may seem odd. But from a legal perspective it is not that strange. Indeed, it may be a practical way of using the law to protect the welfare of animals. To have a legal personality […]
Indonesia’s jobs law endangers environment, say activists
Environmentalists in Indonesia are calling for the reversal of a controversial law aimed at job creation because it is seen favouring business interests at the expense of the environment and labour. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil and nickel ore for electric vehicle batteries, has forests bigger than any outside the Amazon and […]
China’s carbon pledge revives hopes of a climate game change
Xi Jinping aims for carbon neutrality by 2060 but how he plans to meet that goal is still unclear. The declaration by Xi Jinping, China’s president, at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday – after Donald Trump had earlier criticised Beijing’s environmental record – has been hailed as a major step forward in international negotiations […]
