‘A human face on an abstract problem’: ICJ forced to listen to climate victims

Marginalised communities have been elevated during hearings in The Hague on impact of climate crisis

The village of Veraibari in Papua New Guinea sits at the mouth of the Kikori River, just before it opens into the Pacific. “Veraibari was so beautiful when I was a child,” remembers Ara Kouwo, 52. “I used to walk down to the beach passing under mango trees.”

Kouwo’s testimony was one of many included in written submissions to the international court of justice (ICJ) before hearings that began last week and continue until Friday in a landmark case in which the court has been asked to give an advisory opinion on “the obligations of states in respect of climate change”.

Topics

UnitedHealthcare exec’s murder exposes a deeper problem no one wants to face

Why is health insurance in the hands of private, profit-seeking, profit-maximizing organizations in the first place?
MarketWatch - 2h
Wander Franco trial: Rays star faces sexual abuse, human trafficking charges in Dominican Republic

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl
ABC News - 1d
Small island nations face climate-induced ‘catastrophe’, warn experts

First comprehensive study on health and climate change in small island developing states lays bare impact of the crisis and calls for action from richer countries. The 65 million people living in ...
The Guardian - 1d
Fannie and Freddie, the Big Mortgage Backers, Face Climate Risks

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which backstop most U.S. mortgages, know floods and fires are a growing problem. But little action has been taken.
The New York Times - 2d
Biggest problems facing College Football Playoff remain — and the SEC is partly to blame

After all the hand-wringing and consternation, the first 12-team playoff is set. If three simple changes were made, there would be a lot less fretting — and it would put the sport (and the ...
Yahoo Sports - 3d
Listen: Global News Podcast special edition on Syria

Assad regime falls in Syria
BBC News - 3d
UN human rights expert raises concerns about US charges against climate protesters

Mary Lawlor criticizes US’s failure to respond to concerns after Alex Connon and John Mark Rozendaal charges. A leading UN human rights expert has expressed dismay after the US government failed to ...
The Guardian - Dec. 4
Sex abuse victim wants to 'face demons' before demolition

Victims criticise the way in which plans to demolish a building where abuse took place were managed.
BBC News - Dec. 4
On the Grenadian island of Carriacou, even the dead are now climate victims

As ICJ hears landmark climate case, Grenada’s PM says vulnerable nations expect a long, hard fight for aid. It’s a macabre picture: tombs, headstones and wreaths, lovingly selected by family ...
The Guardian - Dec. 3