DOWNLOAD PDF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The United States stands at a pivotal moment in the history of clean water protection. More than fifty years after the Clean Water Act established the national goal of making all waters fishable and swimmable, recent legal decisions and rulemaking have dramatically weakened the Act by
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
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
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, which met in November in Baku, Azerbaijan, climate finance took center stage. Climate finance has been a significant focus of international climate negotiations since 2009. As a virtual delegate to COP29 representing the Episcopal Church, I paid close attention to the dialogues
DOWNLOAD PDF SUMMARY: The overabundance of plastics has contributed to global challenges, such as climate change, plastics pollution and a rise in health problems. It has also posed ethical concerns, as a result of its connection to fossil fuels, the widespread misinformation about recycling and the placement of petrochemical facilities
DOWNLOAD PDF SUMMARY: The momentum for recognizing the human right to a healthy environment has grown significantly over the past several decades. It has been recognized by national, local and international jurisdictions around the world, but in the U.S., only three states have integrated it into their constitutions. The right
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