Congressional Hearing on Big Oil Lies, Climate is a Human Rights Issue, Mexican Forests Have Few Wildfires and More Biodiversity
Congressional Hearings on Big Oil Lies and Greenwashing
On April 30 2024, hearings were held in Congress about oil company lies and greenwashing. The Democrats released a “joint staff report on Big Oil’s decades-long deception campaign … the culmination of a nearly three year-long investigation by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability … which has worked with the Democratic staff of the Senate Budget Committee staff… the investigation… provides a rare glimpse into the extensive efforts taken by the fossil fuel companies to deceive the public and investors about their knowledge of the effects of their products on climate change and to undermine efforts to curb greenhouse emissions.” It is 60 pages and full of information that complements what has already been established (see our Your Planet Your Heath podcast episode 4, “Gaslighting” also available on YouTube with some cool images).
The Republican response was open and reasoned. Nah, just kidding. As reported in desmog
“Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) spent significant time alleging that Dr. Geoffrey Supran, a University of Miami climate disinformation expert who testified at the hearing, wrote tweets that Supran did not, in fact, write.
“’These are not my tweets, these are retweets,’ Supran attempted to explain when he was finally shown the tweets, as Kennedy continued to speak over him.
“’I’d like to make very clear that this form of character assassination is characteristic of the propaganda techniques of fossil fuel interests,” Supran added.
Supran’s point, however, was mostly obscured by Kennedy’s ongoing hectoring from the committee dais.”
Also, Republican Senator Ron Johnson read into the record that elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide is good as it is “plant food.” This is irrelevant to the devastating effects of greenhouse gases on climate and at best a minor benefit long debunked as a reasonable consideration compared to destroying our delicate natural balances and the devastating effects altered weather patterns will have on the food supply.
Swiss Women Win in Court: Harms From Climate Change is a Human Rights Issue
There was good news from Europe regarding legal efforts to deal with climate change, from a Nature piece by a lawyer involved, Charlotte E. Blattner:
“On 9 April, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a groundbreaking ruling: states are obliged to protect their citizens from the threats and harms of climate change. And in that regard, judges said, Switzerland’s climate action has been inadequate (see go.nature.com/4azjhvd).
“This marks the first time that an international human-rights court has linked protection of human rights with duties to mitigate global warming, clarifying once and for all that climate law and policy do not operate in a human-rights vacuum. The ruling is bound to alter the course of climate protection around the world.
“The case was brought by Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection (Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz), a group of more than 2,500 Swiss women aged 64 or over. They argued that they are at greater risk of heat-related illness or death than most people — and that, given that temperatures are rising, Switzerland was doing too little to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions and contribute to meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement targets. In doing so, Switzerland was violating its duty to protect them. The court agreed.
How science bolstered a key European climate-change case
“As a lawyer who helped to collate scientific and legal evidence to advise the court, I consider this judgment crucial in putting climate law and policy on a human-rights track. It sets a precedent for the 46 member states of the Council of Europe and will act as a benchmark for climate-change litigation worldwide. The ruling makes judicial history, in terms of the legal remedies and the judges’ reasoning.”
Mexican Forests Have Greater Biodiversity and Fewer Wildfires.
On May 1. 2024 The Guardian reported that Mexican forests have fewer wildfires and more biodiversity than other American nations. Why? Better forest management practices by Indigenous and community groups that control over half of the forests in Mexico. Good news: 36% of remaining intact forests worldwide are in Indigenous hands.
From the article:
“Studies show that not only do community-controlled forests absorb more C02 than those under government or private control, but deforestation rates are lower. They also suffer less during severe water shortages, greatly reducing wildfire risk.
“For forest enterprises such as the one in Ixtlán, maximising profits has never been the principal goal. ‘Our interest is in creating jobs,’ says the conservation scientist Guadalupe Pacheco-Aquino. In the second-poorest state in Mexico, relatively well-paid rural jobs like those community forestry creates in Ixtlán are a rarity. ‘Forestry has been instrumental in helping people to get out of poverty.’
“Investment in public works such as roads and schools and generating local income through profit-sharing round out the community forestry enterprises mandate. ‘These businesses engage with the market but are not market-driven,’ says David Bray, professor emeritus of earth and environment at Florida International University. ‘They are successful because of favourable state policies, high and stable prices for wood products and their sophisticated levels of community governance.’”