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Legally Bound
Tired of waiting for Kyoto, environmental pressure groups are now filing legal claims that could force governments to take action against climate change.
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Campaigners have submitted petitions to the UN arguing that signatories of the World Heritage Convention, who have a legal obligation to protect areas of World Heritage status, are in breach of treaty if they significantly contribute to global emissions of greenhouse gases.
The modern day antithesis of Robin Hood, global warming feeds the rich and economically greedy whilst stealing from the poor and ecologically fragile. Climate change threatens the world’s greatest natural treasures, many of which are found in developing countries, and the consequences are increasingly noticeable. Cracks are literally beginning to show in bleached coral reefs all over the world and glaciers have shrunk an average of 6 metres during the last 20 years. Petitions co-ordinated by the legal environmental organisation Criminal Justice have already been filed on behalf of Sagarmatha National Park in the Himalayas, the Belize Barrier Reef, and Huascaran National Park in Peru.
The UN has currently established a commission to examine the cases. The results will be heard next month. In the meantime, richer nations will be preparing themselves for a tidal wave of legal action should the floodgates open, but it won’t just be a battle of David and Goliath. US conservationists have also joined the ranks of environmentalists representing smaller, developing countries, filing a law suit with the UN on behalf of Waterton-Glacier Peace Park, a protected area straddling the US-Canadian border that is being damaged by rising temperatures.
The modern day antithesis of Robin Hood, global warming feeds the rich and economically greedy whilst stealing from the poor and ecologically fragile. Climate change threatens the world’s greatest natural treasures, many of which are found in developing countries, and the consequences are increasingly noticeable. Cracks are literally beginning to show in bleached coral reefs all over the world and glaciers have shrunk an average of 6 metres during the last 20 years. Petitions co-ordinated by the legal environmental organisation Criminal Justice have already been filed on behalf of Sagarmatha National Park in the Himalayas, the Belize Barrier Reef, and Huascaran National Park in Peru.
The UN has currently established a commission to examine the cases. The results will be heard next month. In the meantime, richer nations will be preparing themselves for a tidal wave of legal action should the floodgates open, but it won’t just be a battle of David and Goliath. US conservationists have also joined the ranks of environmentalists representing smaller, developing countries, filing a law suit with the UN on behalf of Waterton-Glacier Peace Park, a protected area straddling the US-Canadian border that is being damaged by rising temperatures.
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