‘The planet is currently enslaved to humans abusing its inherent rights – the right not to be enslaved or polluted,’ says environmentalist and barrister Polly Higgins.
We can all agree on what the problem is, it’s settling on a solution that’s the difficult part. Mark Anslow explores the complicated world of deforestation
Forest carbon finance, through avoided deforestation, is at best a sticking plaster solution that fails to get to the roots of the problem, argues Harriet Williams
Just as the humanitarian crisis of the Second World War gave birth to the swift implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago in 1948, we now have a planetary crisis that needs to be addressed with equal urgency. Now is the time to call for a Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights.
The US government has given he go-ahead for a test plot of genetically modified (GM) eucalyptus trees in Alabama. For the first time, these trees will be allowed to flower and set seed, opening the door to potential widespread contamination of the American South.
One of the major causes of rainforest destruction and biodiversity loss in tropical zones is the illegal logging of hardwoods. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label, broadly speaking, exists to address this by promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.
The world’s forests are natural carbon ‘sinks’ that remove and store atmospheric CO2. So why, in the name of saving the earth, asks Renton Righelato, are we cutting down these precious resources to make way for fuel crops?
The ongoing battle between US tree-sitters and North America’s big logging firms pitches some of the world’s most determined activists against some of its most ruthless corporations. It is a battle that the tree-sitters simply must not lose.
