The world is within striking distance of enforcing the first legally binding treaty to protect vast areas of waters beyond national jurisdictions that cover two-thirds of the planet’s surface, a historic step that would place biodiversity in the long-lawless high seas under international law for the first time. Nineteen countries ratified the High Seas Treaty […] Continue reading ->
Three days after removing all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory group, United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has made eight new appointments – at least half of whom have spoken out against the handling of COVID-19 and vaccines. The new appointees to the Advisory Committee […] Continue reading ->
Governments have been advised to impose ‘sin taxes’ on tobacco, alcohol and other unhealthy products to offset the severity of cuts to official development assistance (ODA), World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a tuberculosis meeting on Thursday. His statements came two days after the administration of US President Donald Trump […] Continue reading ->
Most countries’ climate action plans refer to the health benefits of adaptation and mitigation strategies, such as reduced air pollution, but few actually track them. And as World Environment Day is observed Thursday, global climate commitments remain extraordinarily weak.  Only 21 countries out of the 195 parties to the UN Paris Agreement have submitted updated […] Continue reading ->