EarthAction

U.S. Mayors Call on Presidential Candidates to Make Nuclear Disarmament a Campaign Issue

Mayors for Peace delegation (L-R) Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui; Satoshi Karoki; John Burroughs; North American Coordinator Jackie Cabasso; Director Yasco Suehiro; Secretary-General Yasuyoshi Komizo  

On July 1, at the close of its 87^th Annual Meeting in Honolulu, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) unanimously adopted a bold new resolution, “Calling on All Presidential Candidates to Make Known Their Positions on Nuclear Weapons and to Pledge U.S. Global Leadership in Preventing Nuclear War, Returning to Diplomacy, and Negotiating the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons”. The resolution calls on “all Presidential candidates of all political parties” to make these “priority issues in the 2020 Presidential campaign”.  

The USCM resolution quotes Renata Dwan, Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, who “has declared that the risk of nuclear weapons being used again is at its highest since World War II, calling it an ‘urgent’ issue that the world should take more seriously”, and notes that according to the Congressional Budget Office, “U.S. spending for nuclear warheads, delivery systems and supporting infrastructure over the 2019 – 2028 period is projected to cost $494 billion, for an average of nearly $50 billion a year”.  

In remarks to a plenary session of the USCM annual meeting on Sunday, June 30, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace, declared: “As mayors, you are working every day for the wellbeing of your citizens, but all your efforts could be for naught if nuclear weapons are used again. I would also like to point out that, while every one of the nuclear-armed states is spending billions of dollars to modernize and upgrade their arsenals, that money could be much more productively spent to meet the needs of cities and the people who live in them.”  

Warning that “the U.S. announcement, followed by Russia’s, of their intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty effective in August 2019 are signs of deepening crisis among the nuclear-armed states,” the resolution “calls on all Presidential candidates to pledge their support for the joint 1985 declaration by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,’ as urged by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres”.  

The USCM resolution further “calls on all Presidential candidates to pledge, if elected, to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first and by actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.”  

The resolution observes that despite the fact that “the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970, requires the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China to negotiate “in good faith” the end of the nuclear arms race “at an early date” and the elimination of their nuclear arsenals,” “nuclear-armed states are engaged in nuclear weapons modernization programs.”  

And the USCM “calls on all Presidential candidates to pledge, if elected, to reverse U.S. opposition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to embrace its humanitarian values and goals”.  

The resolution was sponsored by Mayors for Peace U.S. Vice-President T.M. Franklin Cownie, Mayor of Des Moines, Iowa and 18 co-sponsors including outgoing USCM President Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, and USCM International Affairs Committee Chair Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, Ohio.  

The USCM, the nonpartisan association of 1,408 American cities with populations over 30,000, has unanimously adopted Mayors for Peace resolutions for 14 consecutive years. Resolutions adopted at annual meetings become USCM official policy.  

As noted in this year’s resolution, “Mayors for Peace is working for a world without nuclear weapons and safe and resilient cities as essential measures for the achievement of lasting world peace, and has grown to 7,756 cities in 163 countries and regions, with 215 U.S. members.”  

Mayors for Peace, founded in 1982, is led by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  

Click here to read the full text of the resolution with the list of 19 co-sponsors. And bring it to the attention of your mayor, your Congressional representatives, the Presidential candidates, and the TV networks that will be hosting the Presidential debates.  

For more information contact Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator Jackie Cabasso at [email protected]. 

Recommendations To Help Countries Make Paris Agreement Pledges That Are 1.5 Degrees Compliant

 

Below is the latest Climate Scorecard Spotlight Report.

 

For this report, we asked our country managers to provide a short-list of policy recommendations that their countries can follow to decrease the temperature of the planet and ensure 1.5 degree compliancy.

READ THE REPORT

 

We hope that these recommendations gain traction with NGOs, research organizations and the private sector who are in a position to advocate for their countries to strengthen their Paris Agreement pledge. 

 

Under the terms of the Agreement, countries are encouraged to strengthen the ambition of their 2015 pledge by 2020. 

 

We urge our readers and followers to review the policy recommendations in this Report. Adapt them, share with others, and give us feedback on how they can be improved. 

 

Climate change is real, and what governments do matters.

 

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We must save the Paris Agreement!

 

Our campaign is focused on raising public awareness and putting public pressure on leading greenhouse gas emitting countries. Learn More.

 

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Webinar: Move the Nuclear Weapons Money - from destruction to sustainable development

Abolition 2000, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), UNFOLD ZERO and the World Future Council invite you to participate in a webinar on 
 

Move the Nuclear Weapons Money:
Divesting from Destruction. Investing in peace and sustainability

Tuesday July 30
5pm – 6:30pm Central Europe time
11:00 – 12:30 USA Eastern time 

Over the next ten years the nuclear armed countries plan to spend over 1 trillion US dollars on the nuclear arms race.

Those manufacturing the nuclear weapons are making a fortune, and are actively promoting the nuclear arms race. But everyone else suffers. Imagine how this money could instead end poverty, help reverse climate change, fund sustainable development goals, and support peace, education, health and welfare.

This webinar will explore strategies and actions to reverse the financial interests in nuclear weapons through actions to cut nuclear weapons budgets, end investments in nuclear weapons corporations, increase investments in peace and sustainability, and promote the economic value of peace.

Speakers:

• Laurie Smolenski, Institute for Economics and Peace, USA
  The economic value of peace
• Maevyn Davis-Rackerby, PNND, USA.
  Cutting nuclear weapons budgets
• Thies Kätow, World future Council/PNND, Germany
  Nuclear weapons divestment by states, cities and pension funds
• Rob van Riet, World Future Council, Chile/Netherlands
  The Climate/Nuclear Nexus: nuclear weapons and fossil fuel divestment 
• Clara Vondrich, DivestInvest, USA
  Lessons from fossil fuel divestment and impact investment

Chair:

Alyn Ware, Abolition 2000/PNND, Czech Republic/New Zealand.
Co-founder of Move the Nuclear Weapons Money 
 
Click here to register.

For more information see Abolition 2000 working group on economic dimensions of nuclearism and Move the Nuclear Weapons Money.

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation: Committed to a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

Read more about Ben Ferencz here in a recent EarthAction blog post.

Download Planethood, a free e-book by Ben Ferencz here. It’s a ‘must read’ for all who care about peace, justice and the planet.

Twenty years ago, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation played a role in the effort to establish the International Criminal Court. Respect for international law has been at the forefront of our efforts for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons since NAPF was founded in 1982.

That’s why we are so shocked and outraged at the U.S. government’s treatment of asylum seekers and migrants at the nation’s southern border: family separation, deplorable conditions in detention centers, and even deaths of children and adults alike while in U.S. custody.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines “crimes against humanity” as including:

• “Deportation or forcible transfer of population;”
• “Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;”
• “Enforced disappearance of persons;” and
• “Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering.”

When such acts are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, it is indeed a crime against humanity.

Please take a moment to write to your Senators and Representative and tell them that they must do everything in their power to stop these crimes from continuing.

Whether acting as head of state, government official, or individual, under the Nuremberg Principles, anyone committing a crime against humanity is responsible under international law.

Ben Ferencz, a member of the NAPF Advisory Council and the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, called the Trump administration’s family separation policy "a crime against humanity."

Our elected officials, and each of us individually, have a responsibility to speak up against such crimes under international law.

Families must be reunited, and those seeking asylum must be treated with dignity.

Take Action

Nuclear Policies Impact Global Peace Index 2019 Rankings

The Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019 rankings, released earlier this month, demonstrate that ‘Global peacefulness has improved for the first time in five years.’

But for most of the countries possessing nuclear weapons their level of peace remains far below the global average, and in some cases has declined even further.

The United Kingdom is ranked at number 45 on the Global Peace Index, France is ranked at number 60, China at 110, USA at 128, India at 141, Israel at 146, DPRK at 149, Pakistan at 153 and Russia at 154.

Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on peace dynamics, trends, and key factors in developing peaceful societies. The Index also makes correlations between levels of Positive Peace and economic indicators, demonstrating the economic value of peace.

‘Higher levels of Positive Peace in a country correlate very closely with positive economic outcomes including stronger exchange rates and sovereign credit ratings and higher GDP growth, coupled with greater gender equality and better environmental resilience,’ said Laurie Smolenski, IEP Outreach and Development Officer.

Laurie Smolenski presenting the 2019 Global Peace Index rankings at the Washington DC launch of the GPI. Click here to watch the video of her presentation and following discussion.

Nuclear weapons and the Peace Index

While one cannot claim that the possession of nuclear weapons is a causative factor for the low level of a country’s peace rating, the correlation between nuclear weapons possession and low rankings is at least cause to question the argument that nuclear weapons enhance peace and security.

‘Nuclear deterrence is based on the threat of massive violence, plus military preparations to possibly launch such violence,’ says Alyn Ware, Co-founder of Move the Nuclear Weapons Money and Global Coordinator for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND).

‘Such a provocative, violence-based security framework runs counter to a conflict-resolution approach, and tends to correlate to similar violence-based approaches in a country’s domestic policies and other foreign policies.’

Investing in violence or in peace?

Another aspect of the report relevant to the nuclear weapons issue is the relative levels of national and global investment in violence versus investment in peace.

‘The world continues to allocate enormous resources on creating and containing violence but very little on promoting peace,’ said Ms Smolenski speaking at a Move the Nuclear Weapons Money event at the United Nations on May 7, 2019.

‘The data from the GPI and the Positive Peace Report give some indication of the incredible benefits we would reap by divesting in violence and investing in peace.’

Some of these benefits are highlighted in the SANE Act (Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditure) which PNND Co-President Senator Markey intends to re-introduce into the US Senate within the next few months.

They will also highlighted in the Count the Nuclear Weapons Money action to take place in New York in UN Disarmament Week 2019.

Over 7 days an 7 nights, activists, legislators, religious leaders, youth, artists, celebrities and others will count out $1 trillion – the nuclear weapons budget for the next 10 years – and symbolically reallocate this to better purposes including peace, health, education, climate protection, renewable energy, poverty alleviation etc…

Click here for more information or to join the Count the Nuclear Weapons Money action.

From UNFOLD ZERO. Read more here

New Name | Same Mission

Over six years of working across the globe to fight wildlife crime through our intelligence-led approach to conservation, it has become clear that Elephant Actions League’s scope of work has expanded well beyond its name. As we continue to broaden that scope, we need a name that better reflects what we do and will do in the field. Therefore, we are excited to announce that Elephant Action League will now be EARTH LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL.
 
We are so grateful to the world’s elephants and how far these incredible creatures have taken us in only six years. Our investigative work on international ivory trafficking, from our landmark research on links between ivory trafficking and the Somali group al-Shabaab, to our undercover investigation on ivory trafficking in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, published in the report “Blending Ivory" and featured in the Leonardo DiCaprio executive produced Netflix documentary The Ivory Game, has allowed us to hone our approach, build a world-wide team and informant network, and expand our operations.

These beginnings propelled us to many important operations and investigative activities around the world, including the first undercover investigation on rhino horn trafficking in China and Vietnam, jaguar trafficking in Latin America, and our seminal work to help save the vaquita through our investigation into the totoaba trade from Mexico to China, originally published in the report “Operation Fake Gold” and featured in the upcoming documentary Sea of Shadows, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and distributed by National Geographic.

that we have many more exciting projects and operations ahead of us, some working along side a number of important partners, we feel that the name Earth League International will help our supporters better understand our approach to protecting and fighting for wildlife and wild spaces, our ideas, and our potential.  
 
Earth League International’s mission will continue to be the protection of wildlife, oceans, and forests through intelligence and investigative operations, and cooperation with key government agencies around the world. This means continuing to operate at the nexus of civil society and law enforcement – bridging the resource, knowledge, and priority gaps exhibited by many government and law enforcement agencies around environmental crime.

Earth League International team will continue to manage WildLeaks, the world's first whistleblowing initiative dedicated to environmental crime. And, finally, we will launch international campaigns, educational programs, and media projects, in collaboration with other organizations and professionals, in line with our mission.
 
Thank you for having followed and supported us thus far. We hope you will help Earth League International become a strong, independent global player in the defense of Earth and nature against crime, greed, corruption, and overexploitation.

From Earth League International. Read more here.

Renewables 2019 Global Status Report: Now Available!

RN: Use the searchable microsite to access the report

• Read the press release in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
• Use figures and infographics to tell the story                                                            

PARTICIPATE: Join us at an event: 

• Overcoming Africa´s Energy Access Gap: Strategic Priorities for Scaling up Renewables (Addis Ababa) 19 June
• EU Sustainable Energy Week (Brussels) 19 June
• 7th International Symposium on Environment & Energy Finance Issues (Paris) 2 July 

Or via a webinar:

• The Global Renewable Energy Transition: Who is leading?: two webinars with a focus on Europe (18 June) and Asia (19 June).
• Presenting: The Global Status Report of Renewables - REN21's 2019 GSR Report with a focus on the role of solar (26 June)                           

DISCOVER: Our new logo and website.
                                                                              
ENGAGE: We love to hear what you think about our new Renewables 2019 Global Status Report. Please tweet with the #GSR2019 hashtag and tag us (@ren21) so we can share your content! 

From REN2. Read more here