Posted on 8 February 2020 by John Hartz

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New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses

"Even in the face of the clearest scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels is literally setting the planet on fire, this sector continues to invest in the same old model and often misinforms society about the climate crisis and its causes."

Claimant Eric Dooh shows the crude oil that has damaged the banks of the creek through his village of Goi (Ogoniland). Multiple leaks in a Shell pipeline have heavily contaminated the creek over many miles, eliminating fish, and other life from the tidal area. (Photo: Milieudefensie)

In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report.

The grassroots climate action group 350.org examined ten global communities which have suffered from heavy pollution, deforestation, displacement, and other violations as multinational corporations like Chevron and Shell—in addition to smaller fossil fuel entities and corrupt governments—have placed profits over human rights.

"The pollution and contamination often caused by fossil fuel industry activities mainly affect the poorest populations, as well as the climate crisis," said Aaron Packard, manager of the Climate Defenders program at 350.org, in a statement. "Vulnerable communities are being doubly exposed to losses or scarcity of land, fish stocks and water, for example."

New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses by Julia Conley, Common Dreams, Feb 7, 2020 

Articles Linked to on Facebook

Sun, Feb 2, 2020

• The Worst Climate Scenarios May No Longer Be the Most Likely by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Jan 30, 2020
• Humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview by Adrian Barton, The Conversation US, Jan 31, 2020
• South Coast residents face anxious night as 'aggressive fire' hits region by Nick Bonyhady, Alex Ellinghausen, Caitlin Fitzsimmons & Aiesha Saunders, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 1, 2020
• Greta Thunberg seeks Africa climate change action, BBC News, Jan 31, 2020
• Scientists alarmed to discover warm water at "vital point" beneath Antarctica's "doomsday glacier" by Sophie Lewis, CBS News, Feb 1, 2020
• Studies do not support blog’s claim that volcanic activity is causing melting of West Antarctic glaciers, Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Jan 20, 2020
• Andes Meltdown: New Insights Into Rapidly Retreating Glaciers by Jonathan Moens, Yale Environment 360, Jan 30, 2020
• Media on Climate Crisis: Don’t Organize, Mourn by Neil deMause, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Jan 31, 2020

Mon, Feb 3, 2020

• Climate change, pollution and urbanization threaten water in Canada by Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Robert Sandford Stephanie Merrill, The Conversation CA, Feb 2, 2020
• African youth activists warn of 'great danger' from climate chaos by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jan 31, 2020
• Australia's capital braces as hot, windy conditions fuel bushfires by Will Ziebel, Reuters, Feb 1, 2020
• 'Strong links' between worsening bushfires and climate change: experts by Michaela Whitbourn, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 3, 2020
• What Are the Democratic Candidates’ Climate Proposals for Black America? by Julia Crave, Politics, Slate Magazine. Jan 31, 2020
• Climate Models Are Running Red Hot, and Scientists Don’t Know Why by Eric Roston, Bloomberg News, Feb 3, 2020
• If there's a silver lining in the clouds of choking smoke it's that this may be a tipping point, Opinion by Michael Mann, Comment is Free, Guardian, Feb 2, 2020
• Climate scientists are not priests or prophets by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Feb 3, 2020

Tue, Feb 4, 2020

• Samples from famed 19th century voyage reveal ‘shocking’ effects of ocean acidification by Erin Malsbury, Science  Feb 3, 2020
• Britain replaces O'Neill as president of U.N. climate summit by Matthew Green, Reuters, Jan 31, 2020
• Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, AP/NBC News, Feb 3, 2020
• Sea level rise accelerating along US coastline, scientists warn by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, Feb 3, 2020
• How climate change affects mental health by Samantha Harrington, Yale Climate Connections, Feb 4, 2020
• Why is the Keeling curve so curvy? by John Cook, Skeptical Science, Feb 4, 2020
• Japan Races to Build New Coal-Burning Power Plants, Despite the Climate Risks by Hiroko Tabuchi, Climate, New York Times, Feb 3, 2020
• Are Republicans coming out of ‘the closet’ on climate change? by Steven Mufson, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Feb 4. 2020 

Wed, Feb 5, 2020

• Indigenous lands, protected areas limit Amazon’s carbon emissions by Jocelyn Timperley, Climate Home News, Jan 27, 2020
• Climate change 'to hit richest biodiversity areas hardest' by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 4, 2020
• Miners face funding squeeze as green investing surges by Helen Reid & Tanisha Heiberg, Reuters, Feb 2, 2020
• Earth is heating at a rate equivalent to five atomic bombs per second. Or two Hurricane Sandys. by Dana Nuccitelli, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Feb 4, 2020
• 13 things Trump forgot to mention at his State of the Union address by Zachary B Wolf, CNN, Feb 5, 2020
• EU urged to adopt meat tax to tackle climate emergency by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, Feb 4, 2020
• Trump Named ‘Worst President for Our Environment in History' by Nine Green Groups by Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, Feb 5. 2020
• Climate change: Trump and Republicans pivot from denial to “optimism” by Dawn Stover, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Feb 5, 2020

Thu, Feb 6, 2020

• Johnson sets out his climate crisis vision as Cameron turns down talks role by Fiona Harvey. Environment, Guardian, Feb 4, 2020
• Bubbles trapped in Alaska ice are a mesmerizing, terrifying warning by Patricia Edmonds, National Geographic, Feb 4, 2020
• When it comes to climate hypocrisy, Canada's leaders have reached a new low, Opinion by Bill McKibben, Comment is Free, Guardian, Feb 5, 2020
• Analysis: Why coal use must plummet this decade to keep global warming below 1.5C by Simon Evans, Carbon Brief, Feb 6, 2020
• Worst Case Climate Change Scenario Is Scary, But The Reality Could Be Even Worse by Steve Hanley, CleanTechnica, Feb 5, 2020
• The world’s oceans are speeding up — another mega-scale consequence of climate change by Chris Mooney, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Feb 5, 2020
• Why Clouds Are the Key to New Troubling Projections on Warming, Analysis by Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, Feb 5, 2020
• You just lived through the warmest January on record by Mark Kaufman, Science, Mashable, Feb 4, 2020

Fri, Feb 7, 2020

• Carbon Taxes Alone Aren’t Good Climate Policy by Gernot Wagner, Risky Climate, Bloomberg, Feb 6, 2020
• Australia receives bushfire reprieve with floods, battens down for cyclone by Paulina Duran & Melanie Burton, Reuters, Feb 6, 2020
• Rising seas threaten to drown U.S. airports by 2100 by Matthew Lavietes, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Feb 5, 2020
• New conservative climate plans are neither conservative nor climate plans by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Feb 5, 2020
• Trump Opens National Monument Land to Energy Exploration by Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, Feb 6, 2020
• I Quit My Bank. Am I Saving the World?, Opinion by Maeve Higgins, Sunday Review, New York Times, Feb 6, 2020
• Climate change could spark 'global systemic crisis', scientists warn by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Feb 7, 2020
• Antarctica Breaks Its Hottest Recorded Temperature by Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, Feb 7, 2020

Sat, Feb 8, 2020

• Miami Is the “Most Vulnerable” Coastal City Worldwide by Daniel Cusick, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 4, 2020
• Climate change: Loss of bumblebees driven by 'climate chaos' by Helen Briggs, Science & Environment, BBC News, Feb 7, 2020
• Violence Increases with Climate Change by Jenessa Duncombe, EOS, Feb 6, 2020
• The next president can force the financial sector to take climate change seriously by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Feb 7. 2020
• Trump's desperate embrace of 'one trillion trees', Opinion by John Sutter, CNN, Jan 6, 2020
• New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses by Julia Conley, Common Dreams, Feb 7, 2020
• ‘Sea-level rise won’t affect my house’ – even flood maps don’t sway Florida coastal residents by Risa Palm and Toby W. Bolsen, The Conversation US, Feb 7, 2020
• No food, no fuel, no phones: bushfires showed we’re only ever one step from system collapse by Anthony Richardson, Environment & Energy, The Conversation AU, Feb 7, 2020