Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine intensifies as UN demands withdrawal
According to the Ukrainian rescue service, over 2000 civilians have been killed during the first week of Russia’s invasion, with hundreds of buildings such as hospitals being damaged or destroyed since the conflict began on the 24th of February. An emergency session of the UN’s general assembly has been called, in which 141 member states voted to condemn Russia, demanding that military forces are withdrawn. 35 countries abstained, while Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria voted against the resolution. A week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Russia has yet to achieve its aim of overthrowing Ukraine’s government; Russia has faced unprecedented international backlash, with crippling sanctions.
A million civilians reported to have fled Ukraine
Over one million citizens have fled Ukraine, many crossing to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia. In the UK, Johnson has said the UK could take in 200,000 Ukrainian refugees, having eased its visa requirements. While the UN also estimates that at least 160,000 people in Ukraine who have fled the war are displaced within their own country, the EU believes this figure could reach 7 million as the crisis escalates. An appeal is being launched by the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee to provide aid to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict. 15 leading aid charities have also joined together to request public donations, which the U.K. Government will double up to a total of £20 million.
To do our bit in the WHS community, we can donate via WHS’s own fundraising campaign, or to charities such as the British Red Cross, Nova Ukraine, and the International Rescue Committee.
2022 IPCC climate report released
Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption to the natural world and affecting the lives of billions of people yearly, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released this week.
“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction”, said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. However, there are glimmers of hope. The report stresses nature’s potential to reduce climate risks and improve people’s lives – restoring ecosystems and conserving at least a third of the planet’s land and oceans would help absorb huge quantities of carbon. Equally, cities can provide opportunities for climate action, such as green buildings, reliable supplies of clean water and renewable energy.
World leaders agree to development of ‘historic’ legally binding treaty on plastics
World leaders, environment ministers and other representatives from 173 countries have this week agreed to develop a legally binding treaty on plastics. The resolution, agreed at the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, calls for a treaty covering the “full lifecycle” of plastics, to be negotiated over the next two years. It has been described by the head of the United Nations Environment Program as the most important multilateral environmental deal since the Paris climate accord. The agreement hopes to alleviate the ‘epidemic’ of plastic waste, especially focusing on the role consumers and businesses in developed countries. Christina Dixon, from the Environmental Investigation Agency: “This resolution finally recognises that we cannot begin to address plastics in our ocean and on land without intervening at source. Fundamentally, the plastics tap must be turned off if we are serious about tackling the problem.”
