OMNI CLIMATE MEMO
MONDAYS, #175, APRIL 22, 2024. Compiled by Dick Bennett.
EARTH DAY
ADAPTING INSTITUTIONS FOR THE CLIMATE
Education
Unions
Law
Debt
This Earth Day 2024, Become an
Environmental Steward and Advocate of EQUAL JUSTICE in EDUCATION
NEA EdAction edaction@mail.nea.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com Thu,
Apr 18 
Hi there, As Earth Day
approaches, we recognize that climate justice is at the heart of education
justice. Not only do severe weather
events interrupt instruction time and destroy school buildings, but extreme
temperatures can make classrooms too hot or too cold for students to
learn. These effects are felt most strongly in under-resourced
communities, where schools don’t have the infrastructure to withstand these
increasing pressures. We know that you care about the future of our
communities and the planet they depend on. That is why we have worked with
leading experts to gather the tools you need to foster climate justice.
There are many ways to combat climate change while advancing equity and
environmental justice. From writing letters to your representatives to
bringing the Green New Deal to your school, your voice is key to
the protection of our planet.
Together we will transform our school
systems to face the climate crisis and make sure all students have the right to
a safe and good education—no matter their ZIP code or the color of their
skin. In solidarity, The NEA
EdAction Team
P.S. Want to talk to students about environmental stewardship? Check out this Earth Day Activity Guide.
UNIONS
Bus Drivers Strike With Climate Activists In 57 German Cities
By Berit Ehmke and
Yanira Wolf, Labor Notes. Popular Resistance.org (4-10-24). Public transit workers across Germany have
broken new ground by coordinating our contracts—nearly all of them nationwide
have expired over the last four months—and shutting down bus systems with
strikes in 57 cities. To add to the pressure, we’ve done something new for our
union and for Germany: we’ve formed an alliance between local transport
workers and climate activists, including the students who have been leading
massive school walkouts. The devastating effects of climate change are already
rocking Germany: major heat waves, flooding, and water shortages. -more-
LAW
Climate: ECHR Judges Side With Swiss Group In Rights Ruling
By
Deutsche Welle. Popular Resistance.org (4-10-24). The European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) on Tuesday delivered rulings in a group of
landmark climate change cases aimed at making national governments meet
treaty obligations to cut greenhouse emissions. In one of the three cases,
it upheld a complaint by a group of elderly Swiss women
that government failures to properly oversee emissions did violate their
human rights. While activists have enjoyed past success in domestic proceedings, the
verdict marks the first time an international court made
such a ruling on climate change. -more-
FINANCIAL: REORGANIZING DEBT
Report: Debt-For-Nature Swaps Could
Help Fight Climate Crisis
By
Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Popular Resistance.org
(4-17-24). According to a new analysis
by the International Institute for Environment and Development, more than $100
billion of developing countries’ debt could be made available to spend on
nature restoration, protecting ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs and
climate change adaptation. The research is part of IIED’s “hidden handbrakes”
campaign, designed to reveal and explain unseen obstacles to climate action.
“Many of the countries most threatened by rising temperatures have huge debt
burdens, and are forever paying interest to wealthier nations.” -more-