No Escape: #ClimateChange is a growing threat to people already fleeing war

12 November 2024

"People forced to flee war, violence and persecution are increasingly finding themselves on the front line of the global climate crisis, a new report warns, exposing them to a lethal combination of threats but without the funding and support to adapt.

"The report, released today by #UNHCR, the #UNRefugeeAgency, in collaboration with 13 expert organizations, research institutions and refugee-led groups, uses the latest data to show how climate shocks are interacting with conflict, pushing those who are already in danger into even more dire situations.

"Of the more than 120 million forcibly #displaced worldwide, three-quarters live in countries heavily impacted by climate change. Half are in places affected by both conflict and serious climate hazards, such as #Ethiopia, #Haiti, #Myanmar, #Somalia, #Sudan and #Syria.

"According to the report – No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Conflict and #ForcedDisplacement – by 2040 the number of countries facing extreme climate-related hazards is expected to rise from 3 to 65, the vast majority of which host displaced people. Similarly, most refugee settlements and camps are projected to experience twice as many days of dangerous heat by 2050.

“ 'For the world’s most vulnerable people, climate change is a harsh reality that profoundly affects their lives,' said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, #FilippoGrandi. 'The climate crisis is driving displacement in regions already hosting large numbers of people uprooted by conflict and insecurity, compounding their plight and leaving them with nowhere safe to go.'

"For example, the devastating conflict in Sudan has forced millions of people to flee, including 700,000 who have crossed into #Chad, which has hosted refugees for decades and yet is one of the countries most exposed to climate change. At the same time, many who fled the fighting but remained in Sudan are at risk of further displacement because of #SevereFlooding that has blighted the country.

"Similarly, 72 per cent of #Myanmar’s refugees have sought safety in #Bangladesh, where natural hazards such as #cyclones and #flooding, are classified as extreme.

" 'In our region, where so many people have been displaced for so many years, we see the effects of climate change before our very eyes,' said #GraceDorong, a #ClimateActivist and former refugee living in #SouthSudan. 'I hope the voices of the people in this report help decision-makers to understand that if not addressed, forced displacement – and the multiplying effect of climate change – will get worse. But if they listen to us, we can be part of the solution, too.' "

https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/no-escape-climate-change-growing-threat-people-already-fleeing-war

#ClimateRefugees #War #Genocide #Flooding #ExtremeHeat #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #USAID #NoHumanIsIllegal #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #ExxonKnew #BPKnew

Start with the #TrumpAdministration, puh-lease! Give #Trump a taste of his own litigious medicine!

Top UN court says countries can sue each other over climate change

by Esme Stallard and Georgina Rannard
BBC News Climate and Science
July 24, 2025

"A landmark decision by a top UN court has cleared the way for countries to sue each other over climate change, including over historic emissions of planet-warming gases.

"But the judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday said that untangling who caused which part of climate change could be difficult.

"The ruling is non-binding but legal experts say it could have wide-ranging consequences.

"It will be seen as a victory for countries that are very vulnerable to climate change, who came to court after feeling frustrated about lack of global progress in tackling the problem.

"The unprecedented case at the International Court of Justice (#ICJ) was the brainchild of a group of young law students from low-lying #PacificIslands on the frontlines of climate change, who came up with the idea in 2019.

"One of those students, #SiosiuaVeikune from #Tonga, was in #TheHague to hear the decision.

" 'I'm lost for words. This is so exciting. There's a ton of emotions rushing through us. This is a win we take proudly back home to our communities,' he told BBC News.

" 'Tonight I'll sleep easier. The ICJ has recognised what we have lived through - our suffering, our resilience and our right to our future,' said Flora Vano, from the Pacific Island #Vanuatu, which is considered the country most vulnerable to #ExtremeWeather globally.

" 'This is a victory not just for us but for every frontline community fighting to be heard.'

"The ICJ is considered the world's highest court and it has global jurisdiction. Lawyers have told BBC News that the opinion could be used as early as next week, including in national courts outside of the ICJ.

"Campaigners and climate lawyers hope the landmark decision will now pave the way for compensation from countries that have historically burned the most fossil fuels and are therefore the most responsible for #GlobalWarming."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce379k4v3pwo

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/ZCwvm

#ClimateChangeIsReal #ExxonKnew #ExxonLied #BPKnew #CorporateColonialism #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy

Top UN court says countries can sue each other over climate change

The decision from the world's highest court has been welcomed by developing nations at most risk from climate change.

BBC News

#Hurricanes Have Left Their Mark on #Louisiana’s #Wetlands

2023

Excerpt: "Oil and gas exploration, oil spills, rising sea levels, and subsidence also contribute to land loss in the region. Potter found that, in addition to tropical storms, oil pollution left behind from the #DeepwaterHorizon spill in 2010 contributed to wetland degradation in Barataria Basin. The presence of oil likely damaged the marsh’s vegetation above and below the ground, reducing the stability of the surrounding soil and making the marsh more vulnerable to erosion. Heavily oiled wetlands experienced more loss than those that were less polluted, according to Potter. He noted that oil residues were still present in the basin in 2023."

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152778/hurricanes-have-left-their-mark-on-louisianas-wetlands

#BP #Environment #WaterIsLife #BPLied #BPIsNotSorry #BPKnew #BigOilAndGas
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe
#ThanksBigOil #Oiligarchy #Louisiana #GulfStates #CleanUpYourMessBP #ClimateChange

Hurricanes Have Left Their Mark on Louisiana’s Wetlands

Scientists have been tracking how strong storms have eaten into the Gulf state’s coastline.

The Oil Company Behind the #DeepwaterHorizon Spill Wants to Do a Massive, Risky Drilling Project in the Gulf

July 11, 2025

"What’s happening: #BP, the company behind the worst #OilSpill in U.S. history, is asking the Trump administration to allow it to drill a new, #UltraDeepwater project in the #GulfOfMexico.

"Why it matters: BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 killed 11 people and released 4.9 million barrels of oil that blanketed the Gulf shoreline. It wiped out horrific amounts of marine life, cratered local economies, and left Gulf communities burdened with everything from health issues to unemployment.

"The conditions around BP’s new proposed project, #Kaskida, could make it even more dangerous than the Deepwater Horizon. Kaskida would be in greater depths, where equipment would have to withstand higher pressures and temperatures.

"BP lacks experience operating this type of well and had not met required qualifications for using this drilling technology at the time of its application. It also vastly underestimates the impacts of another oil spill. We’re telling the government not to give BP another chance to contaminate the Gulf and disrupt coastal communities."

#Environment #WaterIsLife #BPLied #BPIsNotSorry #BPKnew #BigOilAndGas
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe
#ThanksBigOil #Oiligarchy
#Louisiana #GulfStates
#CleanUpYourMessBP

Fifteen years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, environmental impact is still felt along the Gulf Coast

Fifteen years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the environmental impact is still felt along the Gulf Coast.

AP News

'Planet Wreckers': 4 Rich Nations Plotting Nearly 70% of New Oil and Gas Over Next Decade | Common Dreams

This is not just hypocrisy," said one climate campaigner. "It is a death sentence for communities on the frontlines of the #ClimateCrisis."

Brett Wilkins
Jun 16, 2025

"Four wealthy nations—the #UnitedStates, #Canada, #Norway, and #Australia—account for the majority of planned oil and gas expansion over the next decade, according to new data published by #OilChangeInternational on Monday, the first day of the #BonnClimateChangeConference in Germany.

"Oil Change's analysis, titled #PlanetWreckers, notes that if those four #GlobalNorth nations stopped their planned new oil and gas extraction, 32 billion tons of carbon pollution would stay in the ground instead of being burned and released into the atmosphere, where they fuel planetary heating. That's the equivalent of three times the annual global emissions created by burning coal.

" 'A handful of the world's richest nations remain intent on leading us into disaster. This is not just hypocrisy. It is a death sentence for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis,' Oil Change International global policy lead Romain Ioualalen said in a statement Monday.

"It is sickening that countries with the highest incomes and outsized historical responsibility for causing the climate crisis are planning massive oil and gas expansion with no regard for the lives and livelihoods at stake," Ioualalen added."

Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/oil-change-report-planet-wreckers

#Oligarchy #Oiligarchy #BigOilAndGas #DrillBabyDrill #LeaveItInTheGround #CorporateColonialism #FossilFuels #Fracking #Oil #Pollution #Drilling #Ecocide #USPol #CanadaPol #PetroState #ThanksBigOil #ClimateCatastrophe #BPKnew #ExxonKnew #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #OilUpTheSwamp #ExtractiveIndustries #NoPipelines #RenewablesNow #FossillFuel #NoJobsOnADeadPlanet

'Planet Wreckers': 4 Rich Nations Plotting Nearly 70% of New Oil and Gas Over Next Decade | Common Dreams

"This is not just hypocrisy," said one climate campaigner. "It is a death sentence for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis."

Common Dreams

BP is NOT SORRY!

"BP has announced it will cut its renewable energy investments and instead focus on increasing oil and gas production.

"The energy giant revealed the shift in strategy on Wednesday following pressure from some investors unhappy its profits and share price have been lower than its rivals.

"BP said it would increase its investments in oil and gas by about 20% to $10bn (£7.9bn) a year, while decreasing previously planned funding for renewables by more than $5bn (£3.9bn).

"The move comes as rivals #Shell and Norwegian company #Equinor have also scaled back plans to invest in green energy and US President Donald Trump's '#DrillBabyDrill' comments have encouraged investment in #FossilFuels."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3374ekd11po
#BPKnew #BigOilAndGas #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #ThanksBigOil #Oiligarchy #BPIsNotSorry #DeepwaterHorizon

ICYMI - From 2011: Secret memos expose link between #BigOil firms and invasion of #Iraq

Paul Bignell, Tuesday 19 April 2011

"Five months before the March 2003 invasion, Baroness Symons, then the Trade Minister, told #BP that the Government believed British energy firms should be given a share of Iraq's enormous oil and gas reserves as a reward for #TonyBlair's military commitment to US plans for regime change.

"The papers show that Lady Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf because the oil giant feared it was being 'locked out' of deals that Washington was quietly striking with US, French and Russian governments and their energy firms.

"Minutes of a meeting with BP, #Shell and BG (formerly #BritishGas) on 31 October 2002 read: 'Baroness Symons agreed that it would be difficult to justify British companies losing out in Iraq in that way if the UK had itself been a conspicuous supporter of the US government throughout the crisis.'

"The minister then promised to "report back to the companies before Christmas" on her lobbying efforts.

"The Foreign Office invited BP in on 6 November 2002 to talk about opportunities in Iraq 'post #RegimeChange'. Its minutes state: "Iraq is the big oil prospect. BP is desperate to get in there and anxious that political deals should not deny them the opportunity.'

"After another meeting, this one in October 2002, the Foreign Office's Middle East director at the time, Edward Chaplin, noted: 'Shell and BP could not afford not to have a stake in [Iraq] for the sake of their long-term future... We were determined to get a fair slice of the action for UK companies in a post-Saddam Iraq."'

Read more:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/secret-memos-expose-link-between-oil-firms-and-invasion-of-iraq-2269610.html
#BigOilAndGas #EndlessWars #BPKnew #Oiligarchy #AbolishTheMonarchy #NoWar #IraqWar #ShellOil

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq | The Independent

Plans to exploit Iraq's oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world's largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show.

The Independent

#BigOil firms knew of dire effects of #FossilFuels as early as 1950s, memos show

Newly unearthed documents contain warning from head of #AirPollutionFoundation, founded in 1953 by oil interests

Dharna Noor
Tue 12 Nov 2024 10.00 EST

"Major oil companies, including #Shell and precursors to energy giants #Chevron, #ExxonMobil and #BP, were alerted about the planet-warming effects of fossil fuels as early as 1954, newly unearthed documents show.

The warning, from the head of an industry-created group known as the Air Pollution Foundation, was revealed by Climate Investigations Center and published Tuesday by the climate website DeSmog. It represents what may be the earliest instance of big oil being informed of the potentially dire consequences of its products.

"'Every time there’s a push for #ClimateAction, [we see] fossil fuel companies downplay and deny the harms of burning fossil fuels,' said Rebecca John, a researcher at the Climate Investigations Center who uncovered the historic memos. 'Now we have evidence they were doing this way back in the 50s during these really early attempts to crack down on sources of pollution.'"

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/12/big-oil-fossil-fuel-warning

#GlobalWarming #GlobalBurning #ExxonKnew #BPKnew #ShellOilKnew #ExxonLied #ClimateCatastrophe

Big oil firms knew of dire effects of fossil fuels as early as 1950s, memos show

Newly unearthed documents contain warning from head of Air Pollution Foundation, founded in 1953 by oil interests

The Guardian

"The head of BP has imposed a hiring freeze and halted new offshore wind projects, in an apparent attempt to placate investors who are unhappy with the oil company’s green targets."

Wait till the fines start rolling in. #BPknew #makepolluterspay

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/27/bp-imposes-hiring-freeze-and-halts-new-offshore-wind-projects?CMP=share_btn_url

BP imposes hiring freeze and halts new offshore wind projects

New boss Murray Auchincloss reverses move away from fossil fuels, which had weighed on company’s share price

The Guardian