World Court says countries are legally obligated to curb emissions and protect climate

World Court says countries are legally obligated to curb emissions and protect climate

A landmark decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, has cleared the way for countries to sue each other over climate change. Campaigners and climate lawyers have called this a "watershed legal moment" and hope the decision will pave the way for compensation from countries that have historically burned the most fossil fuels. The unprecedented case was the brainchild of a group of young law students from low-lying Pacific islands on the frontlines of climate change, who came up with the idea in 2019.

California becomes world’s largest economy to be powered by two-thirds clean energy

The state released new data showing California’s continued progress toward a clean energy future with 67% of the state’s retail electricity sales in 2023 coming from renewable and zero-carbon electricity generation — compared to just 61% the previous year and around 41% a decade ago. Then, in 2024, the state added a record-breaking 7,000 MW of clean capacity to the grid, the largest single-year increase in clean energy capacity in state history.

In landmark ruling, same-sex couples recognized as family by Ukrainian court

Kyiv's Desniansky District Court has formally recognized a same-sex couple as a family, marking the first legal precedent of its kind in Ukraine, human rights organization Insight LGBTQ has announced. Ukraine does not currently recognize same-sex marriages or partnerships, and this court ruling may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding rights for LGBTQ families. According to a 2024 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 70% of Ukrainians believe LGBTQ citizens should have equal rights.

World’s first malaria treatment for newborn babies gets approval

Switzerland’s drug regulator has cleared the way for a new medicine to become available in parts of Africa where the life-threatening disease is endemic. In a late-stage clinical trial, pharmaceutical giant Novartis showed the drug was safe and effective for babies. The lack of specialized treatment – and the fact that babies are not vaccinated until they are around five months old – has left the youngest infants relatively unprotected against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that kills about 597,000 people per year.

China removes more than 300 dams along Yangtze River tributary to restore biodiversity

China has claimed to dismantle 300 dams and decommission more than 90% of small hydropower stations along the Chishui River since 2020. The move is seen as one of the world's largest state-led efforts to restore aquatic biodiversity, reversing decades of hydro-infrastructure development that critically endangered native fish species, the South China Morning Post reported. The Yangtze sturgeon, declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2022, has now shown signs of recovery.

The United Nations formally establishes the International Court of Justice (1954 C.E.)

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), colloquially the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by other UN organs and specialized agencies. The ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law. Established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, the Court began work in April 1946.

The world’s rich nations agree to offer poorer nations trillions of dollars in climate reparations (2034 C.E. ???)

In a historic move long discussed and negotiated, the world's rich nations – disproportionately responsible for the emissions that drive climate change – agree to compensate the nations disproportionately hurt by them with over $1 trillion USD annually. The move not only helps pull these Global South nations out of chronic cycles of poverty but also provides an important mechanism to fund vital climate and ecological restoration efforts.

Tell Congress: No Troops on Our Streets

From ACLU: The Trump administration is reportedly set to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to ICE detention centers nationwide. Some of these detention centers are now at military bases – including Fort Dix, which was opened on July 25th. These actions are dangerous for troops, immigrants, and all of us – and take the National Guard away from their normal jobs, like helping communities facing devastation from natural disasters. Sign the petition.

Weekly reflection

Hi beautiful people,

This isn't necessarily a new revelation for me, but somehow I've become more aware lately of how much time I spend wanting to get to a different moment than the one I'm in. The one I'm in is either too boring or too challenging in some way. I need to numb out of it in some way. Or I need to focus on some other past or future moment to escape it.

This habit of mine causes a lot of needless resistance and suffering.

What's emerging for me lately feels like what might need to be a lifelong practice. Somehow, it feels like one of the core lessons I'm here in this life to learn.

What I'd so like for myself is to truly believe and practice that there is enough beauty and goodness in this moment, as it is. I practice that simply by noticing whenever I am in resistance to this moment, dropping whatever I'm doing, and breathing into myself until it clears. I imagine each breath as the universe filling me with life and inspiration. I remember that simply being able to breathe and be alive is a truly impossibly great gift.

So far, this strategy is 100% effective. I'm not saying that I don't always remember to do it or that I don't sometimes succumb to some form of numbing out. But so far, there is no resistance or suffering that hasn't eventually passed when I simply keep breathing into it for long enough.

Love,
Peter

Peter Schulte Purpose coach Bellingham WA USA About | Instagram | Donate