Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · 22d

A new study from PSE Healthy Energy highlights hidden dangers of methane leaks, an often overlooked threat to both climate +public health

The research serves as a warning: weakening or delaying methane regulations would undermine climate goals + leave many communities exposed to toxic air pollution

New Research Details Hidden Health Risks of Methane Emissions

Newly published research from PSE Healthy Energy, a US-based nonprofit research organization, highlights the hidden dangers of methane leaks, an often overlooked but serious threat to both the climate...

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Tim Stephens @proftimstephens.bsky.social · 23d

"For now, the world isn’t performing an energy transition but an energy addition, where renewables top up oil, gas and coal. ... [T]hat will remain the case for years, if not decades, unless governments impose significant changes."

Depressing.

www.smh.com.au/business/mar...

The end of fossil fuel era? It’s nowhere near

For the last few years, climate and energy policymakers have convinced themselves the world was inexorably moving away from fossil fuels. Breaking news: It is not.

www.smh.com.au

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · 23d

“Land and environmental defenders – those protecting our forests, rivers, and lands across the world – continue to be met with unspeakable violence. They are being hunted, harassed, and killed – not for breaking laws, but for defending life itself.”

-Laura Furones, @globalwitness.org

New threats target land and environmental rights defenders

Land and environmental defenders face extreme violence, criminalisation and lack of protection around the world, with 146 killed or disappeared in 2024

globalwitness.org

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Sep 5

Next week, Pacific leaders gather in Solomon Islands for the Pacific Islands Forum.

As single communities across the Pacific face sea level rise + coastal erosion without assistance or support, @hrw.org calls on Pacific leaders to adopt the Pacific Guidance on Internal Planned Relocation:

Pacific Leaders Should Act Collectively on Climate Relocation

Pacific leaders preparing to gather for the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands this month have accepted a collective responsibility: to act decisively for the many Indigenous communities already...

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Katie Surma @katiesurma.bsky.social · Sep 4

A Chinese company spilled toxic mining waste into Zambian villages and rivers.

When the company's consultant warned that the spill was 3 times worse than previously disclosed and could cause serious illness for locals, the mining firm fired the consultant.

insideclimatenews.org/news/0409202...

Zambia Ordered a Mining Company to Pay Villagers After a Toxic Waste Spill. The Firm Made Them Sign Away Their Rights First - Inside Climate News

China’s Sino-Metals Leach Zambia spilled toxic sludge into communities and rivers, an accident that could cost billions to clean up and restore. The firm got impoverished and often illiterate villager...

insideclimatenews.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Melaine Le Roy @subfossilguy.bsky.social · Sep 4

Aneto Glacier
03 Sept. 2025

What's left of the largest glacier in the Pyrenees! 😱

Only few years more to see ice at the roof of this magnificent mountain range...😭

📷 @cryopyr / IG

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 1

Not just resisting, but leading the fight: five women who refuse to be ignored

Across the world, women at the heart of their communities are leading the struggle to protect their culture, land and way of life

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · Aug 29

New rules barring disaster assistance to undocumented immigrants raise a core values question: Is there any universal humanitarian principle that takes precedence over the raw animus toward undocumented people that now seems to be a bedrock principle of US govt policy? www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

US Barriers to Disaster Aid Challenge Human Rights Principles

The Washington Post reports that the US government is requiring organizations receiving federal funding, including from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), not to “operate any program that...

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Ryan Brightwell @ryanbrightwell.bsky.social · Aug 29

Air pollution from the oil and gas sector causes 91,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of illnesses in the US each year. Communities of colour face the greatest burden.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Air pollution from oil and gas causes 90,000 premature US deaths each year, says new study

Study analyzed health impacts of fossil fuels from exploration to end use, and found communities of color bear brunt of harm

www.theguardian.com

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 27

Continuing oil production in Block 43 in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park ignores the people’s mandate and directly affects the rights of the Indigenous Peoples inhabiting the park: @hrw.org

Ecuador: Indigenous people and activists demand the end of oil extraction in the Amazon region in Quito - Noticias Ambientales

Representatives of the Waorani people and environmental organizations arrived in Quito to demand an end to oil extraction in the Yasuní National Park, one

noticiasambientales.com

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 26

Dix ans après la houle dévastatrice de 2016, des centaines de familles déplacées à Khar Yalla à Saint -Louis dans le nord du Sénégal vivent toujours dans des conditions précaires: @hrw-fr.hrw.org

Sénégal : Dix ans après, le calvaire continue pour les réfugiés climatiques de Saint-Louis

« Rien n’a résisté à la furie des vagues. La maison s’est écroulée en un clin d’œil. Nous assistions, impuissants, à la disparition de tout ce que nous possédions ». C’est avec une voix grave que Fato...

fr.mongabay.com

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 20

El gobierno de Ecuador debe acelerar el cierre de los aproximadamente 240 pozos petroleros que operan en el corazón del Parque Nacional Yasuní, en la selva amazónica: @hrw.org

Human Rights Watch: “Ecuador debe cerrar ya los 240 pozos petroleros en el Yasuní”

Human Rights Watch pidió al Gobierno acelerar el cierre de los pozos en el Yasuní, como ordenó el referéndum de 2023 y los fallos judiciales | Actualidad | Extra

www.extra.ec

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Aug 20

Indonesia is the top producer of palm oil in the world, and Indonesian Papua is its final frontier for agriculture-driven deforestation.

In a new feature, HRW documents how the government and companies took Indigenous lands without women's consent in Indonesia's South Papua 🧵⤵️

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Friederike Mager @friederikemager.bsky.social · Aug 20

" #Ecuador has a clear obligation to begin to phase out fossil fuels in a way that respects the will of its people, the courts, & the human rights of affected communities. Complying with the referendum by closing the wells is long overdue." @richardpearshouse.bsky.social

www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 20

2 yrs ago the Ecuadorian people voted to halt all current + future oil drilling in a particularly sensitive block of Yasuni National Park. To date, only a handful of the block’s approx 240 wells have been closed.

The Govt should immediately end oil extraction in the area protected by the referendum

Ecuador: Officials Ignore Rainforest Protection Referendum

Ecuador’s government should expedite the closure of the approximately 240 oil wells operating in the heart of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest.

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Human Rights Watch en français @hrw-fr.hrw.org · Aug 19

#Sénégal Des habitants déplacés par les inondations de 2015 et 2016 continuent de vivre dans des conditions très difficiles. Les autorités devraient renforcer leur aide + mesures face au changement climatique, selon un nouveau rapport de HRW.
➡️ www.hrw.org/fr/news/2025...

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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · Aug 19

Brazil's agrarian federal agency should reject a proposal to downsize a sustainable settlement in a deforested area of the Amazon.

Downsizing Terra Nossa would reward people illegally occupying land with impunity and could leave residents vulnerable.

Brazil: Protect Small-Scale Farmers’ Land Rights in the Amazon

Brazil’s agrarian federal agency should reject a proposal to downsize a sustainable settlement in a deforested area of the Amazon region, Human Rights Watch said today. If approved, the reduction woul...

www.hrw.org

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 18

1,000 people live in Khar Yalla, near Saint-Louis in Senegal. They were moved to the site after coastal flooding destroyed their homes in 2015.

There is severe overcrowding at the site, no electricity + no waste disposal. Homes flood regularly.

10 years later, they’re still waiting for a solution

Senegal: Families Internally Displaced by Floods in Limbo

Senegalese people displaced by tidal surges that climate change is making stronger and more common are suffering ongoing human rights violations, with no durable solution in sight.

www.hrw.org

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 15

The latest talks toward a global plastics treaty end in failure.

Over 100 countries pushed for a cap on new plastic production, but Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, the U.S., China + Russia opposed them.

It’s no surprise these countries oppose production limits: plastic comes from fossil fuels.

No consensus on binding plastic treaty at talks in Geneva, delegates say

No consensus was reached during talks in Geneva on the world's first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution, according to delegates on Friday.

www.reuters.com

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Aug 12

As this round of negotiations towards a global plastics treaty stretches into its last days here in Geneva, a reminder from @hrw.org to tackle plastic pollution at it’s source:

Rights-respecting measures, including production caps and a fossil fuel phase-out, are essential to any lasting solution.

For Plastics Treaty, End Pollution at its Source

Countries will resume negotiations in Geneva on August 5, 2025, on a global plastics treaty.

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

The New Humanitarian @newhumanitarian.bsky.social · Jul 26

“Risks faced by activists and communities living on the fence-lines of Brazil’s oil and gas industry rarely draw attention from national and international media. But that can and should change.”

Opinion by @richardpearshouse.bsky.social of @hrw.org

Beyond hosting COP, Brazil must act to protect the climate and those who defend it

As it prepares to host the next round of UN climate talks in November, the environment – and frontline activists – are facing increasing threats.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

César Muñoz @cesarmunoz.bsky.social · Jul 24

O PL da Devastação permitiria que projetos avançassem sem avaliação de impacto ambiental, pondo em risco a proteção da Amazônia e dos direitos de povos indígenas e quilombolas.
Seria o maior retrocesso ambiental em décadas.
@lulaoficialbluesky.bsky.social deveria vetá-lo.
www.hrw.org/pt/news/2025...

Brasil: Lula deveria vetar retrocesso na proteção ambiental

O presidente do Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, deveria vetar o Projeto de Lei 2.159/2021, que desmantela o licenciamento ambiental e representa sérias ameaças aos direitos humanos relacionados ao ...

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Richard Pearshouse

Aoife Nolan @aoifenolan.bsky.social · Jul 24

A great, important read by @profjmcadam.bsky.social on #lclimatechange #displacement and #internationalprotection

Jane McAdam @profjmcadam.bsky.social · Jul 24

In this blog, I explain how the ICJ’s historic Advisory Opinion on Climate Change addresses displacement, international protection and ongoing statehood researchinginternaldisplacement.org/short_pieces...

How the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Addresses Displacement, International Protection and Ongoing Statehood - Researching Internal Displacement

The International Court of Justice’s long-awaited Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change embeds important principles of international human rights law. It confirms ...

researchinginternaldisplacement.org

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Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Jul 24

Brazil’s Congress just passed a proposed General Environmental Licensing Law.

If enacted, the bill could accelerate oil and gas extraction, mining, cattle ranching, and deforestation in the Amazon.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should veto the bill: @hrw.org

Brazil: Lula Should Veto Environmental Protection Rollback

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should veto a bill that dismantles environmental licensing and poses serious threats to environment-related human rights across the country, Human Rights W...

www.hrw.org

Richard Pearshouse @richardpearshouse.bsky.social · Jul 22

The threats and intimidation faced by activists +communities living on the fencelines of Brazil’s oil +gas industry rarely draw attention from international media.

But with Brazil to host the next UN Climate Change meeting (COP30) that can +should change.

My latest via @newhumanitarian.bsky.social

Beyond hosting COP, Brazil must act to protect the climate and those who defend it

As it prepares to host the next round of UN climate talks in November, the environment – and frontline activists – are facing increasing threats.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org

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