EarthAction

Climate Governance Commission Report and MEGA: Proposals to better manage the global environment

The Climate Governance Commission (CGC) yesterday released Governing our Planetary Emergency. This is a ground-breaking report which highlights that current policies are failing to address the global climate emergency, and which puts forward a platform of climate governance proposals in order to ensure more effective cooperative action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C or less.

“The world faces a deepening planetary emergency—and is on a reckless path toward runaway, catastrophic climate change—having already over-shot six of nine scientifically-identified Planetary Boundaries,” according to the Report. “Collectively, we must chart a safe and sustainable path for a workable future for all of humanity.”

The report was released two days prior to the start of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP28) taking place in Dubai, with the aim to positively influence the deliberations and decision-making at the COP.

Global governance to protect the environment

The report provides a package of fifteen near-and-medium-term proposals for vital and substantial governance improvements across the international system. These include, amongst others, Climate COP reform, declaration of planetary emergency and establishment of an international court for the environment.

“The science is clear. It is telling us that we are already living within an extinction crisis and a climate crisis. Life on Earth as we know it, and even our own survival as a species, is at risk,” says María Fernanda Espinosa, Co-Chair of the Climate Governance Commission and President of the UN General Assembly 2018-2019. “What we need is a reflection on and reconsideration of our global governance architecture, to ensure it is fit for purpose and adequate to the tasks ahead."

Climate Governance Commission Proposals

Among the near-term recommendations proposed by the Commission of experts:

• Urgent improvements of climate COPs for delivery, action, and accountability to focus, reconfigure, and streamline the annual conference, currently expected to attract more than 70,000 delegates in its 28th year. 
• The declaration of a “planetary emergency” by the UN General Assembly at next year’s Summit of the Future, as well as the activation of an Emergency Platform, elaborating on a proposal by the UN Secretary-General.
• A Grand Bargain among the “Big Four” GHG-emitting nations (China, the U.S., India, and the EU), joined by other high-emission nations. 
• Establishment of institutional infrastructures to evaluate the climate performance of goods and companies, and for the responsible engagement by and accountability of fossil fuel companies, executives, and associations.
• Renewed efforts to bridge the great climate finance divide, including through debt forgiveness, reforms to multilateral development banks, and balanced global carbon taxes and tariffs to fund climate mitigation and adaptation in low and middle-income countries.

“We stand at the cusp of a green energy transformation, poised to shape a fairer, cleaner, healthier future. The means to finance the climate action we need to see are within reach, but it is good governance that holds the key,” says Mary Robinson, Commission co-chair, former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders.

Advocating for change

The Commission will form diverse, high-level working groups to refine its recommendations and advocate for their associated transformations. This will be done in conjunction with Mobilizing an Earth Governance Alliance (MEGA) a new global alliance the Climate Governance Commission is establishing in partnership with the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP) and Citizens for Global Solutions with a number of other cosponsoring organizations.

At root, it is not an environmental crisis. Humanity has created a global governance crisis,” says John Vlasto, Chair of the WFM-IGP Executive Committee and Co-founder of MEGA. “Resolve this and we can unite to live in harmony with each other and with nature.”

The MEGA platform went live yesterday - in conjunction with the launch of the Climate Governance Commission Report - and will be publicly launched in the New Year.

For more information see Governing Our Planetary Emergency: Release of the Climate Governance Commission Report.

From UNFOLD ZERO. Read more here.

Introducing the Nominees of International Children’s Peace Prize 2023

We are excited to share the latest updates on the International Children’s Peace Prize 2023!

As you may know, the International Children's Peace Prize (‘ICPP’) is the most important award given to a young changemaker who has made an exceptional difference for the rights of the child and the position of vulnerable children, anywhere in the world.

The prize was launched in Rome during the 2005 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, each year the prize has been awarded by a Nobel Peace Laureate.

For the first time ever, this year’s awards ceremony for the winner of the 2023 International Children’s Peace Prize will take place on November 17th at the Palace of Whitehall, London. To ensure as many people as possible can join the ceremony, it will be held in a hybrid format.

For the ICPP 2023, we have received 140 nominations of young changemakers from 35 countries around the world! The nominees are working on a range of topics, including education, climate change, refugees and migrants, sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, non-discrimination against children of prisoners, indigenous people, and many more.

You can now see all their amazing stories on our website!

We hope that you will be inspired by their stories and encourage young people to continue their changemaking activities with more passion and rigor. You can also contribute to make this happen by donating on our website.

Learn more about Kids Rights here

Anti-dam groups troop to NCIP over FPIC inconsistencies, conduct dam exposure tour

Filing of petition and complaints at the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Cordillera (NCIP-CAR)

Dam-threatened Kalinga tribes along with advocates trooped to the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples- Cordillera (NCIP-CAR) to petition the dams proposed along the Saltan river in Kalinga.
 

Indigenous peoples from the municipalities of Pinukpuk, Balbalan and Tabuk in Kalinga mark this year's International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers (IDAAD) with a petition filed against JBD Water Power Incorporated's (JWPI) hydroelectric power projects at the NCIP regional office in Baguio City today, March 14, 2023. Said petition seeks the nullification of the result of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) among the Limos tribe last February 9, 2023, whatever the results may be, on basis of inconsistencies in the process.

 

 

According to Elma Tuazon, representative from the Limos tribe and lead convenor of the Sumkad ti Umili para ti Matagoan, Karbengan, Aglawlaw, Daga ken Dayaw (SUMKADD), the petition submitted is nullifying "the decision-making process/meeting for the Limos Ancestral Domain activity on February 9, 2023 related to the Saltan Hydroelectric Power Project", proposed by the JWPI along the Saltan River in Kalinga. "We have sinced petitioned against these dam projects along the Saltan River since 2022, we are reiterating our opposition to these proposed dam projects."
 

Resolutions against the JWPI dams were adopted by several barangays in Balbalan and the municipality of Pinukpuk as early as February of 2022.
 

A dialogue with NCIP CAR Regional Director Atty. Atanacio Addog was also conducted, where the demands for NCIP's accountability and strict monitoring of the FPIC process were floated. Continuing talks between the petitioners and NCIP will soon determine the outcomes, but petitioners remain wary of NCIP's expected actions considering that Addog is one of the accused in the administrative charges including 158 counts of estafa, falsification, and use of falsified documents filed by the dam-threatened Isnag indigenous peoples of Kabugao on December 2022 and January 2023.

 

 

Dialogue with NCIP Regional Director Atanacio Addog at the NCIP Regional Office in Baguio City.

 

Dams Learning Exchange
 

Prior to the petition filing, the petitioners from Kalinga were accompanied by delegates coming from dam-threatened communities in Kabugao, Apayao for a two-days Dam Learning Exchange. The Indigenous peoples delegation conducted an educational tour at the Ambuklao Dam site in Bokod, Benguet.

 

 

Ocular visit of delegates to the Ambuklao Dam. Ptr. Virgil Aniceto of the Regional Ecumenical Council of the Cordillera (RECCORD), who spent a long time of service in Bokod, explained the parts of the dam and the resulting damages at the time of its construction and beyond.

 

Bokod town Mayor, Honorable Thomas Wales, in his message to the delegates during their courtesy call said, "Think of the next generation, not only the now. Consider them when you make your decision regarding those projects. Our decision should not limit the future generations' options for development as they see fit for them. This is for the sake of us all."
 

In the community exchange, Ambuklao Barangay Captain Monroe Galasgas related the experience of their community during the building of the then government-owned 75MW Ambuklao Dam through the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). "We had to leave our community. Some of our families were relocated to Nueva Vizcaya and Palawan however, our families eventually returned to Ambuklao because the relocation site was undeveloped," he said.
 

The dam was decommissioned in 1999 due to silt accumulation. It resumed operation in 2011 after it was rehabilitated by SN Aboitiz. It was since then upgraded to 105MW capacity. SN Aboitiz now owns and manages the facility, but last January this year, it was reported that Bokod indigenous peoples rejected the company’s bid to continue the said dam’s operation through a resolution of non-consent submitted to the provincial office of NCIP Benguet.
 

According to the community, a large portion of the lands covered by the dam compound are part of their ancestral domain. "We are still reclaiming some of our lands until now," Galasgas added.
 

"A lot of our questions have been answered regarding the long-term impacts of dam on the lives and livelihood of people," said Eusebia Luban, an Isnag woman from Kabugao, Apayao who attended the dam expo and tour.
 

"Balunen me dagitoy nga adal tapno ibingay mi met kadagiti kakailian mi," she added.
 

#OurRiversOursToDefend

#LetOurRiversFlowFreely

#DefendCordilleraPH

UN General Assembly calls for an end to the war in Ukraine

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution late last night (Feb 23), calling for an end to the war and demanding Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter.

Coming just hours before the war entered its second year, the resolution was adopted under the Uniting for Peace mandate, which provides the possibility for the UN General Assembly to take action to address acts of aggression or other serious threats to international peace when the Security Council is blocked by the veto power of one of the Permanent Five Members.

The UNGA resolution, entitled Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine contains 11 key points including;

• Deploring the dire human rights and humanitarian consequences of the war;
• Expressing deep concern about the adverse impact of the war on global food security, energy, nuclear security and safety and the environment;
• Calling for full adherence by the parties to the armed conflict to their obligations under international humanitarian law;
• Emphasizing the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes;
• Underscoring the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
• Reaffirming that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal;
• Demanding that the Russian Federation withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized border;
• Calling for a cessation of hostilities.

Time for Russia to End the Continuing War Against Ukraine
InDepthNews, February 23

"Russia should end its invasion of Ukraine, withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory and enter into negotiations with Ukraine to resolve historical disputes and establish a lasting and just peace that guarantees the security of both nations," says the World Future Council in an article Time for Russia to End Continuing War Against Ukraine published in InDepthNews yesterday.

“Regardless of any grievances and unresolved conflicts that Russia may have with Ukraine and the United States/NATO, the use of force to resolve such conflicts is prohibited under Article 2 of the UN Charter,” says Alyn Ware, Director of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament program.

"War has no place in the 21st century when humanity already needs to address so many pressing issues such as climate change and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals” says Angelina Davydova, in the InDepthNews article. Ms Davydova is a Member of the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group and Council Member of World Future Council.

“We regret that better use is not made of diplomacy, mediation and Common Security mechanisms earlier in conflicts to address and resolve historical grievances." says international lawyer Neshan Gunasekera, Co-Chair of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Commission and a Director of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. “We call on the United Nations and the international community to make better use of these common security mechanisms to address unresolved conflicts and prevent war." 

Such Common Security mechanisms include the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, International Court of Justice, UN mediation services, UN Human Rights Council, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and others.

Calling for urgent action to protect children from escalating heatwaves ahead of COP27

Our new report, The Coldest Year Of The Rest Of Their Lives: Protecting Children From The Escalating Impacts Of Heatwaves, warns that urgent action is needed to increase funding for adaptation to protect children and vulnerable communities from worsening heatwaves and other climate shocks. The report can be found here.

Released ahead of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the report finds that 559 million children are currently exposed to high heatwave frequency (defined as an average of 4.5 or more heatwaves per year). Further, 624 million children are exposed to one of three other high heat measures - high heatwave duration, high heatwave severity, or extremely high temperatures.

“The mercury is rising and so are the impacts on children,” said ED Cathy Russell.

Following up on 2021’s, Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index, our new study focuses on one specific hazard – heat. It was developed in collaboration with partners including the Data Collaborative for Children and aims to help us better understand children’s exposure to the impacts of climate change to help prioritize action for those most at risk and ultimately ensure today's children inherit a livable planet.

 

World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is celebrated every year on November 20, the same day as the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and World Children’s Day.

Arigatou International launched the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children in 2008 to make this an opportunity for people of different religions and cultures to come together to pray and meditate, but also to take action for children’s rights and well-being.

This year also, organizations working for children’s rights and well-being have joined Arigatou International and UNICEF to celebrate the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children and the Wear My Shoes Campaign.
 
The Wear My Shoes Campaign aims to mobilize children and adults - including religious leaders, policymakers, parents/caregivers, and educators - to protect Children’s dignity.

Visit our landing page for more information. 

Please click HERE to register for the event.

From Unicef

Emergency Notice regarding Vulcan Materials from Aquatic Ecologist Ed Boles

Dear Colleagues,

As a concerned citizen of Belize, I am providing information about Vulcan Materials Company (attached), a multi-billion dollar aggregate mining company in the United States, and its purchase of White Ridge Farm in the Stann Creek District of Belize.  Their intent is to blast, pulverize, and ship Sugar Hills, a limestone formation, to the southeastern US for use as road fill. Blasting shall disrupt local hydrologic systems in the Southern Lagoon area, threatening the largest concentration of Caribbean manatees, as well as Central American River Turtles, American Crocodiles, and other fauna. The crushed material shall be carried by a conveyer bridge that passes over an important Hawks Bill Sea Turtle nesting beach to waiting cargo ships in the dredged out center of the Inner Channel behind the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Spokes persons for the current Belize Government have stated that no strip mining shall occur in this area.

However, Vulcan Materials is persistent and maybe even desperate to open their first mine in Belize.  The Mexican Government temporarily shut down the Vulcan Calica Mine south of Playa del Carmen in February and again on May 5, 2022, this time closing it due to the extensive damage the mining operation was causing to the local environment and the water table. This mine was producing 12 million tons of crushed limestone for the US market. In response these shutdowns, Vulcan has two lawsuit against the Mexican Government for $1.1 and $1.5 billion USD and the International Center for Investment Disputes shall be issuing a decision. Ten US republican senators are urging US President Biden to protect Vulcan and put strong pressure on Mexico. Vulcan Materials has a long history of litigation within many areas of the United States where they operate mines, so this is nothing new to their legal team and their US political support.

This web address, https://www.whiteridgeproject.com/, takes you to the site where Vulcan Materials describes benefits of having this company within Belize. The attached document tells a very different story, reviewing the scientific literature describing ecological and social impacts of limestone mining and taking a close look at the Vulcan site near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The Calica Mine in Mexico is an indicator of what can happen in Belize if this corporation gets set up in our small country. If the Government of Belize had to take action against Vulcan for violations of their agreement and failure to protect the environment, as is occurring in many places where Vulcan is operating, we too could face a billion dollar plus lawsuit backed by a powerful and well-funded group of corporate lawyers. If this mega corporation gets a foothold in our small country, our world renowned ecological resources and cultural/social identity may change forever. 

The Vulcan team arrives this month to begin groundwork to get the mine eventually opened. The word needs to get out. The people need to know who we are up against and what the real stakes are, the real cost we and our great grandchildren shall have to bare. If this is of concern to you, please help us spread the word. Forward this document to anyone who may be interested in helping us protect our country from this corporate resource grab. We need all the assistance and support we can muster against this threat that if realized shall impact our ecosystems, water resources, ecotourism, economy, and cultural integrity. We need to collectively speak out.

Please share this with your Belize networks. Thank you for your attention and your concern.

Ed Boles

Aquatic Ecologist

Background on Vulcan Materials Company and Expected Impacts should

White Ridge Farm Karst Hills Become an Aggregate Mine

Executive Summary

Letter from Vulcan Rep Janet Kavinoky in Response to Ed Boles Analysis

Sign 2 Petitions

• GOB Says No to Vulcan
• Letter published in Belize AgReport from Board of Directos of Pro-Organic Belize.
• Tennessee Senators Urging US President Biden to Intervene on Behalf of Vulcan in Mexico

Health Risks Associated with Residents Living Near Quarrying Operations

Check https://www.facebook.com/groups/belizeumbrella
for more TV coverage posts

• No Vulcan for Gales Point
• Sambai Musicians of Gales Point Sing Against Mining Project Proposal
• Erosion -- award winning documentary on what happened in Playa del Carmen
• Vulcan Responds to NO on 7 Belize
• Stop Vulcan Manatee Strip-mining at Gales Point Manatee

Join the American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship on May 22, 5:00 - 6:00PM EST

2021 EarthAction Project & Campaign Report

2021 EarthAction Project & Campaign Report

The following projects and campaigns were made possible with your support. Thank You.

2020 Action: Every month, 2020 Action educated and mobilized thousands of US citizens and encouraged them to communicate with US policymakers on critically important peace and environmental issues. Each month, 2020 produced a timely Action Alert with meaningful actions for citizens to take to protect our environment and security—usually to contact a policymaker facing a critical decision. For details, read 2020’s 2020 Action Report at 2020Action.org. 2020 Action just completed its 35^th year!

Strategies to Boost Fair Climate Action in the 2020-2030 Decades: EarthAction sponsored a Side Event at COP 26 UN Climate Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, November 2021. We collaborated with The Group of Governance on Climate Change - Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. They presented an equity-based analysis of the current NDCs; Climate Scorecard reported on efforts to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030, and the Asociación Proteger described real cases of community driven improvement of housing and schools, based on local resources.

The American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship: EarthAction helped to raise over $100,000 to support the Palestinian House of Friendship (PHF) in Nablus, Palestine and their programs including: Summer Camps; a Skate Park; after school programs and e-learning for kids who were unable to go to school due to COVID; Girl Scouts (160 members) who served elders, needy families, and orphans in the community; an older women’s chorus and the formation of a younger women’s chorus called Zunnar; the Open Gate Music Studio that produced recordings throughout the year; the creation of a Little Free Library in Nablus; a cultural folklore festival in Asira with music, dance, and hand-crafts displayed which more than 2,000 people attended; and a new program called, “The Green Hands Initiative,” where children learn to love the land and to plant vegetables and fruits.

Support for Indigenous Peoples: In 2021, in collaboration with the Save Our Spirits (S.O.S.) Fund, EarthAction provided over $60,000 in much-needed support for indigenous and ancestral communities around the world. These projects included the following:

The Elders Project (TEP) in Colombia: We continued to work with and to provide assistance to the traditional authorities (Mamos) of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta (SNSM) in Colombia. Rick Harlow, the Project Director, traveled to Colombia in August to distribute a new book of Kogui wisdom, published with TEP funding, to the pueblos of the SNSM. Rick returns to Colombia in December to coordinate the next Black Line Journey for the Kogui, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamos pueblos. These activities are of great help to the Elders in their efforts to strengthen their spiritual traditional practices.

TEP has also been working with the Hopi Elders.  In October Rick traveled to Arizona to assist the Hopi in realizing a 1,300 mile pilgrimage to 11 sacred sites that define their ancestral territorial boundaries. TEP will continue working with the Hopi in 2022 as they realize another pilgrimage next summer.

The Lalakea Foundation: We provided a grant to their Nā Wāhine ʻĀpapalani, Hawaiian women cultural practitioners who have been conducting ritual and ceremony on Maunakea for many years. They are dedicated to honoring the sacred Piko O Wākea through prayer, chant and ceremony that acknowledge Nā Kānaka o ka Mauna, Deities of the Mountain, and form connectivity with the sacred through space and time. Due to COVID, this project was extended into 2021.

Hopi Community: We provided support to several Hopi communities for their COVID-19 Emergency Response Hopi Contact Tracing Projects. They trained people within the community to carry out contact tracing in a number of Hopi villages that were being hard-hit by the pandemic.

Q’eros Ceremonial Terrace Project in Ecuador: Through the Wiraqocha Foundation, Fredy Flores Machaca & Hannah Rae, received a grant on February 1, 2021 to design and build a terrace as the first phase of creating a museum and center for the preservation of the Q’eros culture. The terrace will be a sacred place for the Q’eros to gather for communal ceremonies.

Restoring Ancestral Connection to the Environment— a Community-Led Project of the Moken People of Koh Surin. The Global Purpose Group, founded and directed by Bodhi Garrett, was the sponsor of this project. In February 2021 they received an S.O.S grant to provide cultural and ecological preservation, education for children, meaningful income for adults, and community empowerment for the Moken community at Koh Surin National Park. The islands are located in the Andaman Sea of Thailand.

Kaibeto Navajo COVID Relief: On the Dine' Nation, Sharon Claw-Watson organized a team of 12 volunteers (Kaibeto Covid Relief Team) that served the communities of Kaibeto, Inscription House, Shonto, Redlake (Tonalea), Navajo Mountain and Rocky Ridge on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Our S.O.S. grant helped these communities to receive needed supplies including fresh food, healing herbs, water, medicines, vitamins, and boxes of food to keep the people in these communities, especially the elderly, healthy and safe from exposures to infection. Many of the volunteers used their own vehicles, traveling long rough unpaved roads to deliver supplies. Our grant provided food and needed supplies to 50 to 100 families for one to two months and paid for gas for the delivery vehicles.

Panina Makahiki/Closing Makahiki Ceremony 2021 in Hawaii: the project sponsor, Kohe Mālamalama O Kanaloa-Protect Kahoʻolawe Fund (PKF), received a grant for a closing ceremony in a series of ceremonies called, Makahiki Kaho‘olawe, that brought together their kūpuna (elders), kamaliʻi (children), kumu (experts/teachers) and ʻohana (families) from each island of Hawaiʻi to aide in their re-greening on the island and to secure blessings for Kahoʻolawe for the new year.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance, Philippines received a grant to assist them with their response to the COVID-19 pandemic including the distribution of food relief consisting of rice, sugar, salt and cooking oil to a total of 500 families of indigenous people among the Ayangan tribe in the province of Ifugao. They also shared information on COVID-19 and held discussions on food security during the relief distribution in communities and conducted psycho-social sessions among vulnerable groups such as farmers, elders, youth, and informal workers.

Grass-Roots Organization for Women (GROW) Ghana: We provided support for Community-based Initiatives to address the impact of the Corona-19 virus in rural indigenous and local communities. They strengthened their outreach to prevent the spread of infection and addressed emerging public health issues that impacted vulnerable populations in rural areas who lacked access to essential services. This project went from June 2020 through May 2021.

NEW PROJECT Indigenous Solidarity Fund (ISF) In May 2021, EarthAction became the sponsor of ISF whose mission is to support elders, leaders, and wisdom-keepers of indigenous groups in Colombia and the Americas in their efforts to preserve and share their cultures and traditional practices. Click here to view a video made in 2021 by ISF Project Director Jesse Stammel of an urgent message from the revered Grandfather, Wisdom Keeper, Land Protector and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Werjayo Berito Kuwaru'wa of the U'Wa people in Colombia

Other Campaigns

Throughout 2021, EarthAction engaged in many other global campaigns for peace, justice and the environment through our website and social media. These included: the global launch of the Green Grids Initiative at the Climate Summit in Glasgow; COVAX, the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines; the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; The launch of the Youth Elders Fusion Initiative; For details visit: www.earthaction.org.

THANK YOU

EarthAction thanks all our Partner Organizations, members, donors and Board members for their ongoing participation and support. Special thanks to the Thomas D. Hormel Trust, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the Whatcom Community Foundation and the Save Our Spirits Fund.

Click here if you would like to make a donation to support our ongoing work.

Global Forum for Children and Youth: 7-9 December 2021

Dear colleagues and partners,

On December 7-9, UNICEF and partners will convene the Global Forum for Children and Youth (CY21), which includes leaders, experts, change-makers, and influencers together with children and youth to discuss and accelerate proven and new solutions, inspire commitments to create change and mobilize knowledge and resources to advance child rights to meet the SDGs by 2030. We encourage all our partners to follow the forum online. 
 
Ahead of the event, we would like to request you to please share the CY21 teaser video on your platforms. The video assets (with editable files) and suggested post copy are available to download here. 

The daily agenda during the event are found on the links below.

7 December
8 December
9 December
 
The Global Forum for Children and Youth convenes children and young people themselves, along with leaders across the United Nations, government, business, philanthropy, and civil society, as well as authors, artists, and influencers. You can find the list of speakers here.
 
You may also find other available resources to support you on the links below.

• Please find here Global Forum for Children and Youth top-level folder for multimedia and marketing and social media assets.
• Please find here a communications package, including key messages.

Here is the link to stream the forum online.

See the teaser video here.

United Nations Day Against Nuclear Tests

Climate change and nuclear weapons are two existential threats to human survival that share a number of connections, according to participants at Nuclear Weapons & Climate Change, an intergenerational symposium that was held at Central Hall Westminster in London and online last week (Thursday, 9 September 2021).

Over 300 legislators, experts, government officials and representatives of civil society organizations from more than 60 countries met with youth leaders in the climate action and nuclear disarmament movements to discuss effective action to address these two existential threats to current and future generations.

The event, held in commemoration of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, was co-organised by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, the Kazakhstan Embassy to the UK, Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation and Youth Fusion.

Connections between climate change and nuclear disarmament

The event highlighted that climate change and nuclear weapons, in addition to being the two most serious threats to the survival of human civilization, share other similarities and connections:

• The impacts of climate change emissions and the use of nuclear weapons are trans-border and transgenerational. They cannot be contained in either time nor space – impacting globally and far into the future;
• Neither issue can be resolved solely at national levels, but require international cooperation and the building of common security;
• Climate change stimulates conflicts that could spill over into nuclear conflict, while any use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict would create catastrophic climatic consequences, compounding the current impact of climate change emissions;
• The human and financial resources currently devoted to nuclear weapons are desperately required to instead be invested in assist carbon emission reduction and climate stabilisation.

Effective measures to address the threats of nuclear weapons and climate change

Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Co-Chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation, in his opening keynote address, outlined the key challenges associated with nuclear weapons and climate change.

On the nuclear weapons issue, he called for progress on key measures including adoption of a new START treaty to reduce the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the USA, a renewal of the Iran nuclear deal and a renewed dialogue of the P5 (China, France, UK, Russia and USA) in Strategic Stability which should include consideration of the adoption of no-first-use policies. (For more on no-first-use policies see NoFirstUse Global).

On the climate issue, Lord Hannay highlighted the importance of the COP 26 conference in Glasgow in November this year, and the need to ensure monitoring and implementation of climate agreements, which have been lacking so far.

Most important in both nuclear disarmament and climate protection is building political commitment. “We cannot afford to say that the global challenges outlined today are too many to ask the international community to take on at one time,’ said Lord Hannay. ‘We do not realistically have the choice to address them sequentially. We need to find the political will and the resources to deal with them now.” 

Inter-generational panels

Youth leaders in climate action and nuclear disarmament who spoke in the panel sessions. From left to right: Marie-Claire Graf (Switzerland), Global North Focal Point for YOUNGO, the Children and Youth constituency to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Aigerim Seitenova (Kazakhstan), Member of OSCE Core Group of Youth Experts; Nicole Ann Ponce(Philippines), Co-Founder of the I am Climate Justice movement, Core Team Member of World's Youth for Climate Action; Kehkashan Basu (UAE/Canada),Founder and CEO of The Green Hope Foundation. Member of the World Future Council. Winner. 2016 Children's International Peace Prize. Winner of the 2020 Voices Youth Gorbachev-Shultz Legacy Award for Nuclear Disarmament.

The event featured four inter-generational panels on the topics Impacts of nuclear weapons testing and use, Nuclear war and climate change, Move the nuclear weapons money and Legal actions to address nuclear weapons and climate change.

For reports on these panels, please see Legislators, experts, officials and youth discuss climate change and nuclear disarmament connections at special London event.

Military carbon footprint - move the nuclear weapons money

Key issues raised in the event related to the negative influence of the nuclear arms industry, high carbon footprint of the military, massive budgets and investments allocated to military purposes including nuclear weapons and the importance of shifting these budgets and investments to addressing climate stabilisation and sustainable development. This framework is also the focus of the global Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign.

Dr Philip Webber, Chair of Scientists for Global Responsibility, compared the global investment required for to stabilise the climate (about $1trillion annually) with the current investments in climate stabilisation (about $400 billion) and the global military budget (about $2 trillion) to demonstrate that the shortfall is about 1/3 of the global military budget. Dr Weber then focused on the UK situation and demonstrated that the UK investments required to meet a net zero 2030 target would be an even smaller percentage of the UK military budget.

He noted that the UK military carbon footprint is about 11 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent – equal to the annual emissions of 6 million cars. In addition, if the UK Trident nuclear weapons were ever used, this would would cause catastrophic climatic consequences. Finally, Dr Webber noted that if funds were re-directed from military to climate action, 5 times as many jobs would be created. (See Dr Webber’s presentation - PDF version or Power point version).

Slide from presentation of Dr Webber comparing UK military spending with the funding required to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, or more ambitiously by 2030.

Slide from Dr Weber's presentation explaining why nuclear-armed countries continue to increase their spending on nuclear weapons despite these funds being required to address the climate crisis.

Closing remarks: action to protect people and the planet

In his closing remarks, Ambassador Idrissov reminded the audience of the significance of Central Hall Westminster, the venue for this event. “In this very premises in January 1946, the very first session of the United Nations General Assembly took place,” said Ambassador Idrissov. ‘And the very first resolution adopted by this UN session established a special commission of the Security Council to ensure the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. It is sad that 75 years later, we are still struggling to implement this resolution.”

One of the initiatives of Kazakhstan has been a call on the UN and its member states to commit to achieving the goal of nuclear weapons elimination no later than 2045, the 100^thanniversary of the UN. Civil society is supporting this call, and other more immediate nuclear disarmament measures, with Protect People and the Planet: Appeal for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World (still open for endorsement).

A civil society appeal to prevent nuclear war, eliminate nuclear weapons and redirect nuclear weapons budgets and investments to instead support public health, COVID-19 recovery, the climate and sustainable development. Open for endorsement.