The Globe and Mail

March 31, 2021
The organizations that represent academic research within the Group of Seven nations have a message for world leaders: The same kind of scientific expertise that proved crucial to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic is also required to address a broader set of environmental and health challenges facing humanity.

In a joint communique released on Wednesday, science academies from each of the countries, including the Royal Society of Canada, call for urgent and co-ordinated action by their respective countries on three priority areas – climate change, biodiversity loss, and the need for better access to data during international health emergencies. 

Expert panels, convened over the past several months, have produced recommendations in all three of the priority areas, aimed at driving discussions in June at the next meeting of leaders from the G7 club of economically developed countries.

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CNBC

January 26, 2021
The richest of the rich are polluting the world and driving climate change, while the poorest of the poor suffer the greatest consequences, according to a new report published Monday by Oxfam International. 

The richest 1% of the global population have used two times as much carbon as the poorest 50% over the last 25 years, the nonprofit’s report says.

When fossil fuels (which are carbon-based) are burned in factories or jets, for example, carbon dioxide is produced. Carbon dioxide emissions trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere, resulting in the warming of the planet. The burning of fossil fuels and processes that generate carbon dioxide emissions are major drivers of economic productivity and wealth. 

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The Hill

May 1, 2020
[…] The COVID-19 pandemic is causing heartbreaking loss of life across the world. Our daily lives have ground to a halt, and we do not yet know the full magnitude of the long-term social and economic impacts. But it has also given us all time to rethink our priorities and reminded us of what is truly important.

In an open letter to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, BirdLife International is calling for the U.N. to declare a healthy natural environment a fundamental human right. Currently, the declaration does not make any reference to preserving our environment — yet this is the foundation on which all other human rights — and indeed, all life on earth — depends. For our children and grandchildren to enjoy sufficient food, water and safety, and to raise families of their own, the natural world must be healthy and strong enough to support them.

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