Category: Change Leadership

Climate Change A Major Threat To Human Rights

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Amnesty International and Greenpeace International: The human rights consequences of failure are stark. Up to an additional 600 million people could face hunger by 2080 due to climate change.” (Joint Statement: Greenpeace – Amnesty International. December 8th 2015).

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Note from author: The above mentioned numbers are estimations. Currently a significant amount of food production is been thrown away, according to a number of sources, including FAO  (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). As a report published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers  reveals, currently at least 50% of all food produced worldwide is wasted, i.e. thrown away. In Finland alone, more than 120 million kilos of food is being thrown away by households annually, with a total of more than 400 million kilos of food waste throughout the Finnish society, an average of more than 23 kilos of food waste per citizen. (Saa syödä! 2017). Overweight and obesity have become larger problems than hunger and malnutrition in majority of countries worldwide. Nevertheless, with a rapidly growing world population, the FAO estimates that food production would have to increase with up to 70 % by 2050.

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Climate Change AND Human Rights Closely Interlinked

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Amnesty International and Greenpeace International: All states have obligations under international human rights law to prevent harm to human rights, including the rights to life, to housing, food, water, sanitation and to a healthy environment.” (Joint Statement: Greenpeace – Amnesty International. December 8th 2015).

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Note from author: Access to clean, fresh water is a basic human right. In Finland, water management/treatment is on such a high level that it is safe across the whole country to drink tap water. Nevertheless, many people still prefer to filter even our clean tap water, since they feel that tap water may still include residues from e.g. fluorine, medical waste and so on. Of course we have bottled water, both still and sparking, for sale in groceries, but there is no real need to consume bottled water unless someone prefers to do so.

The situation with fresh water around the world is problematic in many areas/regions, with a lack of access to clean water. E.g. according to the WWF, water scarcity affects at least 1.1 billion people around the world on a regular basis, and up to 2.7 billion people lack access to clean, fresh water during some periods in a calendar year. 1.1 respectively 2.7 billion are high numbers, taking into consideration that world population is currently at 7.5 billion people, with an estimation of up to 10 billion by 2050. With all the resources and technologies available today, it is difficult to understand why we have not yet been capable of solving the global clean water problem.

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NGO´s Urge Shift To 100% Renewable Energy

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Amnesty International and Greenpeace International: An urgent shift to 100 % renewable energy for all is essential to protect people from climate change”. (Greenpeace Press release. December 8th 2015).

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Note from author: Renewable energy sources (RES) provide us with energy through natural processes, such as a variety of biological processes, wind, sunshine, water and geothermal heat. (ScienceDaily). In other words, these are sources of energy that cause less harm to our environment than e.g. the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil), oil drilling and nuclear energy. Although nuclear energy is often referred to as being a “clean” energy source, this is not the case. Nuclear plants around the world, according to the World Nuclear Association, currently produce about 11 % of total world energy. In Finland alone, more than 30% of energy is currently produced through nuclear energy. According to Geological Survey of Finland, nuclear energy produces radioactive waste which is harmful to human health. Although rather rare occasions, nuclear plants also include a number of risks, as we know from both Tchernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima Accident in 2011.

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NGO´s Cooperating To Tackle Climate Change

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Amnesty and Greenpeace close the gap between climate change and human rights.”

(Greenpeace Press release. December 8th 2015).

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Note from author: Co-operation between organizations is becoming increasingly commonplace especially since there is an interrelatedness between climate change, human rights, health factors and so on. The consequences of climate change are leading to a domino effect where natural disasters cause problems in all areas of life on earth.

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Burning of Fossil Fuels Is Causing Climate Change

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).”. (NASA. Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet).

Note from author:

Denying human-caused climate change is like saying there is a world market only for about five computers, like Thomas Watson, the president of IBM, said in 1943. By now we all know how severe human-caused climate change is, with recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma costing e.g. the U.S.A. up to 200 BILLION USD. Not to forget about all the other damage, including psychological suffering of people losing their homes across the Caribbean and in the United States. We all have to take action now, both in our personal lives as well as in business, across all industries, to stop human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and the greenhouse effect which has been warming our planet in the past decades. Make sure to start taking urgent action before it is too late, since this is a global problem that affects the whole world population.

LIVE Hurricane Irma Update

 

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What Are Greenhouse Gases?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include: Water vapor (H20), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N20), Chlorofluorocarbons.” (NASA. Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet).

Connect with me on Twitter @annemariayritys – for climate-related posts only, @GCCThinkActTank + to receive my articles/posts delivered directly to you, make sure to subscribe to Leading With Passion – thank you!

Note from the author: Isn´t it strange how water vapor (H20) is a contributor to climate change? A chemist could probably explain this to us who do not understand why exactly this is the case. Another very interesting fact is that AGRICULTURE is the 3rd (or, fourth, depending on the way we calculate) largest sector contributing to greenhouse gases (which warm our planet), following the energy sector and transportation. Industry is one big player as well. This is why transforming our global energy market into a more sustainable one is so essential. When our energy markets are transformed, other sectors will follow, as a more or less natural consequence. With the research I have conducted in the past years, I have found out that hydroelectric power (which is quite common e.g. here in Finland), is not really a sustainable solution either, despite of being called “a sustainable energy source”. The problem with hydroelectric power is that it changes the natural course of e.g. rivers, and thus affects the natural fish stock in a country where it is widely applied. Anne-Maria Yritys 2017.

Anthropogenic i.e. Human-Caused Climate Change

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“Human-caused climate change: Majority of climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the “greenhouse effect” – warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space”. (NASA. Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet).

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The European Union Committed To Tackling Climate Change

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“European Commission: The EU has long been committed to international efforts to tackle climate change. At European level a comprehensive package of policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been initiated through the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP).”

Climate Change Education Must Be Increased

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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Paris Agreement 2015/Art. 12 “Parties shall cooperate in taking measures, as appropriate, to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information, recognizing the importance of these steps with respect to enhancing actions under this agreement.” (United Nations 2015. Adoption of the Paris Agreement).

Mobilization Of Climate Finance Important To Tackle Climate Change

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change (12)

Paris Agreement 2015/Art. 9. 3 “As part of a global effort, developed country Parties should continue to take the lead in mobilizing climate finance from a wide variety of sources, instruments and channels, noting the significant role of public funds, through a variety of actions, including supporting country-driven strategies, and taking into account the needs and priorities of developing country Parties. Such mobilization of climate finance should represent a progression beyond previous efforts.” (United Nations 2015. Adoption of the Paris Agreement).

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