Minera Panamá will have to close the Cobre Panamá mine after the country’s highest court unanimously ruled that the terms of its contract were unconstitutional. The decision comes amid nationwide protests that blocked roads and shipping routes as Panamanians fought back against expansion of the mining sector due to its damaging environmental impacts.
The advisory opinion, spearheaded by youth activists from Vanuatu, could impact thousands of lawsuits filed worldwide against governments for their inaction in addressing the crisis.
More than 120 top attorneys have signed a declaration to “withhold services in respect of supporting new fossil fuel projects and action against climate protesters exercising their right to peaceful protest.”
After being stripped of her post for vigorously opposing mining in her community, a local official in Palawan has won in landslide victory in the country’s May 9 elections.
For two decades, citizens have mobilized against different oil and gas projects in Quebec, including shale gas in the St. Lawrence Valley and oil projects in Gaspésie.
The office of Prime Minister Henry posted a sliding scale of wage hikes that vary by industry, with the greatest increase going to workers in areas such as the electricity and telecommunications.
It is the first ever internationally-agreed tool to safeguard environmental defenders and marks an important step in upholding the universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
A new report by Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International found that Indigenous-led resistance over the past decade has stopped or delayed the equivalent of 25% of annual U.S. and Canadian emissions.
The project that was supposed to cost under $5 billion had ballooned to nearly double that amount, thanks to determined opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous communities.
In addition to improving public access to environmental information and encouraging public participation in environmental policymaking, the treaty also requires participating countries to protect environmental human rights defenders.
