Latest Stories from Ghislaine
How are abortion rights tied to climate justice?
The United States Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling that safeguarded the right to have an abortion. This now leaves a greater number of people exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Known commonly as Roe v Wade, overturning such now leaves the legality of abortion up to the states to decide. As a result, up to half of all US states will likely ban abortion in the...
What does a summer of heatwaves say about our climate?
From India to Europe and more, climate change is driving increasingly intense and damaging heatwaves as humans struggle to adapt. The world has been feeling the heat in 2022. India and Pakistan experienced their hottest March on record this year, exposing many to power and water shortages. Europe, meanwhile, is only just emerging from an unprecedented heatwave, with forecast models indicating any relief will only be temporary across the Iberian Peninsula. In...
Fossil fuel companies sue governments over climate action
In response to attempts to limit further extraction, foreign oil and gas companies continue to file lawsuits against governments. According to a report by the UK-based social justice organisation Global Justice Now, five major fossil fuel companies, including Rockhopper, TC Energy and Uniper, have filed lawsuits worth over 15 billion EUR in Europe and the United States. An increasingly visible climate emergency and calls on governments to take action have...
Part 5: The fossil fuel industry cannot gatekeep the energy transition
Limiting global warming to 1.5-2°C means cutting fossil fuel production yearly while keeping coal, oil, and gas in the ground. But what does this mean for the world’s most carbon-emitting industry? According to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, supporting fossil fuel production is not aligned with our essential low-carbon transition. Experts consider the just and equitable shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy to be a critical...
How the media is shaping climate action
The final IPCC report confirms the media’s role in how we perceive and address the climate crisis. Global media coverage of climate change has been steadily increasing since the 1980s. In a study across 59 countries, researchers found that coverage had risen from 47,000 stories in 2016-17 to about 87,000 in 2020-21. With this increasing reach and by effectively communicating the science, injustice, and hope behind climate change and solutions,...
Part 4: Activism effective in blocking fossil fuels
In 2021, the world witnessed record-breaking climate disasters alongside the harsh reality that global fossil fuel production is incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 or even 2 degrees Celsius. Overwhelming evidence of the fossil fuel industry’s role in this production gap has sparked an increasing number of protests calling for the end to further exploration and extraction. Climate activists are now demonstrating the power people hold even in the...
Part 3: Fossil fuel lobbyists driving climate delay
The 5 biggest oil companies spend US$115 million delaying climate policy, annually. Following the United Nations Climate Summit (COP26) in November, the environmental campaign group Global Witness reported that 500 lobbyists had been sent to the event by over 100 fossil fuel companies – more than any single country at the summit, including those worst affected by climate change. Multinational corporations often have the financial means and connections to influence policies...
Part 2: Lawsuits worldwide put Big Oil in the hot seat
Activists look to legal action, taking the fossil fuel industry to court for environmental damage. Over the past two decades, more than 2,000 climate litigation cases have been filed against both governments and carbon-intensive industries. As climate change becomes an increasingly pressing issue and awareness grows amongst the public, it’s expected that this number will continue to rise, according to Verisk Maplecroft, a research firm specialising in global risk analytics. In...
Part 1: Cities in the US are taking big oil to court
Coal, oil, and gas are responsible for 86% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions in the past 10 years. Will these companies be held accountable? The city of Baltimore recently won a landmark case against some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, attempting to hold them accountable for their role in climate change. The court’s decision is expected to have a substantial ripple effect on similar lawsuits filed by...
People everywhere are calling for the phasing-out of fossil fuels
With ever increasing heatwaves, mudslides, and rising sea levels, phasing out fossil fuels is a critical step in solving climate change. For decades, scientists have continued to confirm the significant role the fossil fuel industry has played in causing climate change. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that coal, oil, and gas have been responsible for 86% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the past 10 years,...
