Scientists Want to Make Harming the Environment a War Crime

Forests burned to the ground. Rivers damaged by broken infrastructure. Animals slaughtered and driven from their habitats. The environmental impacts of war are staggering, yet they’re often overshadowed by the societal wreckage created by conflict.

Making harming the enviornment a war crime.

Now in a letter published in the scientific journal Nature, a group of scientists is urging the United Nations to make it a war crime to harm the environment during times of conflict. The UN’s International Law Commission is in talks through Aug. 8, and the scientists are calling on attending members to create a framework “to protect the environment in regions of armed conflict.”

“We call on governments to incorporate explicit safeguards for biodiversity, and to use the commission’s recommendations to finally deliver a Fifth Geneva Convention to uphold environmental protection during such confrontations,” the petition reads. 

Read the story from Global Citizen by Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez - “Scientists Want to Make Harming the Environment a War Crime.”

Going plastic-free can be a surprising journey

As the NSW government holds out against banning lightweight plastic bags, a new plastic-free industry driven by innovative businesses and pro-active consumers is rapidly leaving our policy-makers and retailers behind.

Rugby league legend Mal Meninga was the National Retail
 Association's plastic bag ban ambassador ahead of
Queensland going single-use shopping bag free on July 1.

Today NSW is isolated. New bans came into force on July 1 in Queensland and Western Australia, in line with the ACT, Northern Territory South Australia and Tasmania. Victoria’s ban is due to be implemented next year.

You’d be forgiven for thinking this was the pinnacle of the single-use plastic debate. 

However, it is already possible to do much more in Australia than say "no" to plastic bags and straws or hand a reusable cup over counter to the barista (although all of this is fantastic progress). It is governments and big retailers who need to catch up.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Louise Williams and Clara Williams - 

“Going plastic-free can be a surprising journey.”

Climate change prompts idea for new cyclone classification

Increasingly powerful cyclones driven by climate change may require a new classification for the storms, category 6.

Cyclone Winston which hit Fiji in 2016 had winds exceeding 230km/h which was the highest margin of a category 5 cyclone, Climate Change Minister James Shaw told Radio NZ.

The Pacific Climate Change Conference is underway in Wellington, attended by politicians, scientists and policymakers.

Read the story from The New Zealand Herald - “Climate change prompts idea for new cyclone classification.”