Four Victories for Earth Day, Daily Brief April 22, 2024

Today is Earth Day, and in the run up to the annual commemoration of our planet, media headlines have been typically grim. We’ve seen news stories on extreme weather warnings related to the climate crisis, species being driven toward extinction, and air pollution causing insects to mate with the wrong species. There’s also the evergreen story of politicians failing to fulfil their promises on the environment, and painful headlines like: “Should we reconsider having children due to fears about the climate crisis?”

Cheery.

Now, fine, the reality is, news about the environment isn’t great generally, and the impacts of human-generated climate change in particular are often grim.

However, if we’re only fed a diet of disaster, our sense of hope will be malnourished. On Earth Day, we should not succumb to despair nor miserablism. We should realize there have also been some positive environment stories lately. Here are four.

First, government representatives from around the world are meeting in Ottawa, Canada, this week to continue negotiations on a legally binding international agreement on plastic pollution. The latest draft isn’t everything that’s needed, but it does contain some positive measures.

Second, at the European Court of Human Rights recently, a group of women from Switzerland won a landmark case against their government. They successfully argued Switzerland’s failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a violation of human rights.

Third, the US Environmental Protection Agency – under pressure from concerned activists, of course – has introduced new regulations requiring more than 200 petrochemical plants to curb toxic pollutants. It’s good news for people living in places like “Cancer Alley.”

The fourth example comes from Peru. Last month, residents from the town of La Oroya, who’d been exposed to extreme levels of toxic lead and other metals from a mine and smelter complex, won a landmark case at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Court found the government responsible for violating the right to a healthy environment, among other rights.

So much environmental news around the world is depressing, and it can give a sense that we’re all doomed to unstoppable pollution and a climate catastrophe. But there are some bright spots out there. People are fighting back and winning – often when they use human rights as the framework of their arguments.

On Earth Day, let’s remember: we have a right to a healthy environment, and pushing governments to uphold this right is one key way to make environmental progress.