Insights

Toward a Spiritual Awakening: The North America Global Ethical Stocktake

Clara Chavez-Ives & Rosie Semlyen November 3, 2025

“Our survival depends on a spiritual transformation, as much as a technical revolution.” SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Potawatomi writer and scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer gave this advice during the North America Dialogue of the Global Ethical Stocktake on September 19, 2025, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In the lead-up to the annual UN climate conference (COP30), where countries negotiate actions and commitments to

Changing Paradigms, Protecting Nature: Ecocide in International Law

Allegra Lovejoy October 8, 2025

As the global environmental crisis intensifies, new environmental law paradigms are gaining momentum, offering stronger tools to protect the natural world as well as ensure justice and accountability. Among these emerging approaches is the growing movement to recognize ecocide as an international crime, which has advanced alongside efforts to establish legal rights of nature. Both movements seek to enshrine in law values that many people hold dear, but are not

UN Plastics Treaty Falters as World Struggles to Break Free from Plastic

Rosie Semlyen September 25, 2025

From August 5–15, 2025, government delegates, scientists and civil society representatives reconvened in Geneva to resume the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), tasked with developing the world’s first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution. Hopes were high in 2022, when the international community voted for Resolution 5/14—an ambitious global agreement addressing the full life cycle of plastics, from production and design to disposal. But by the close

On the Road to Balance

Karenna Gore September 2, 2025

I recently traveled to Brazil to take part in a number of events and meetings related to the project I am working on: the Global Ethical Stocktake (GES). One thing I noticed immediately is that the GES goes by a different name there. They call it the “Balanço Global Ético,” and sometimes just say “o balanço” or “the balance.” This brought to mind the image of a balance sheet with one side

Bridging Science, Indigenous Knowledge and Faith: New Pathways for Environmental Justice and Climate Action

Gregory Simpson & Tory Field August 28, 2025

The communities most affected by environmental injustices have long recognized what academic institutions are only now beginning to acknowledge: the most pressing ecological challenges cannot be solved solely through the sciences. Addressing these challenges requires relying on multiple ways of knowing, drawing on a convergence of knowledge systems that honors both empirical data and the lived experiences of those most affected by environmental degradation. A significant challenge in exploring different

Top UN Court Sets New Ethical Climate Precedent in International Law

Clara Chavez-Ives & Rosie Semlyen August 6, 2025

On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a groundbreaking advisory opinion on climate change. For the first time, the United Nations’ top court unanimously affirmed that states are legally obligated under international law to take meaningful action to address the climate crisis, and that failure to act on climate protection could violate international law. While advisory opinions are not legally binding, they carry significant legal and