CliMates’ Judicial review – Case n°3: The Erika case

And the birth of the “purely ecological damage”

This article is part CliMates’ Judicial Review.

© Marine Nationale

In this article, let’s have a look back on one of the most important French environmental legal sagas of the past few years: the Erika oil spill. Of special interest is the judgment of the French Cour de Cassation rendered on 25^th September 2012.

In 1999, the tanker Erika sank in the French Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”), off the coast of French Brittany, dumping 30,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil into the sea and leading to one of France’s worst environmental disasters.

World Oceans Day 2018 – 4sea’s look back and outlook between COP23 and COP24

This article is part of the 4sea project.

When 4sea started its work about one year ago we wanted to shed light on the mysteries of the ocean. We raised awareness and understanding of the consequences of climate change on the ocean by articles, videos and workshops. In the international climate change conference we worked on the Ocean Pathway Partnership and showed why and where to give the oceans a home in UNFCCC.

Ocean Energy and Innovation: 2018 is key for the wave and tidal energy sectors development in Europe

This article is part of the 4sea project.

European leadership in ocean energies

European companies in the wave and tidal energy sectors count among the leaders in the market. In 2014, around 50% of global wave and tidal energy companies were from the European Union (EU) (European Commission, 2014). Such renewable energy sources are central to reduce electricity production emissions in the European Union, at a time when it is necessary to cut global emissions drastically if we want to follow a path of 2°C or less (2°C of global average temperature at the surface of the Earth, as mentioned in the COP21 Paris Agreement). As a consequence, innovation should be fostered by public and private support.

Engineering the oceans

 This article is part of the 4sea project.

Most of us who care about the oceans know well the threats posed by climate change – of rising seas, disappearing coral reefs and changing circulation. Less well known, however, are the threats posed by our attempts to solve the climate crisis. In our efforts to curb the problems associated with the greenhouse effect, it is very possible that we could accidentally make them worse.

The prime suspect? A proposed ‘solution’ to the climate crisis known as geoengineering – the idea to meddle with environmental processes in an attempt to slow down climate change. This term covers a range of ideas, from making ecosystems take up more carbon from the air, to artificial cooling, to collecting and storing carbon dioxide to keep it out of the atmosphere. Unsurprisingly due to the ocean’s vital role in the climate system, most of these schemes either centre on altering aspects of the marine environment, or would be likely to cause large side effects.

The New Disney’s Commitment: Ocean Protection In The Movie “Dolphins”

 This article is part of the 4sea project.

Let’s dive into the heart of the ocean to discover a mysterious world full of colors and marine species. After Disney’s African Cat, Chimpanzee it is now Dolphins which sends a message about wildlife protection. Recently released in the end of march this year, the movie was directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill. It took them 400 days across 10 countries to make the movie – and it is absolutely worth it!

Moroccan youth and waste sorting

This article is written by the Waste Management project.

Mastering waste management can greatly reduce the impact of climate change. In fact, waste is responsible for 4 % of the world’s GHG emissions, the same impact as of civil aviation[1]. Waste management is also related several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as good health and well-being (3), sustainable cities and communities (11) and climate action (13).

Gender and Youth on the political agenda for Climate Empowerment

This article is written by Mathilde Thonon.

Bonn, May 2018, the 6th Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) unfolds in a packed auditorium. National delegates and members from the civil society are joining forces to shape the outcome of a 3-hours workshop.

Hold on a minute, what is that odd acronym that seemingly invigorates the participants of this 48th UNFCCC intersession? The term ACE dates back to the COP21 to refer, more intelligibly, to the Convention Article 6 crafted in Rio in 1992.