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Aruba Embraces the Rights of Nature and a Human Right to a Clean Environment

Inside Climate News · By Katie Surma · last updated
A draft constitutional amendment would make the Carribean nation the second country in the world to recognize that nature has the right to exist.

By Katie Surma

Aruba’s government is moving to enshrine twin environmental rights in its constitution that would recognize that nature has inherent rights and also affirm a human right to a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” aligning the country’s government with a growing environmental movement that recognizes humans are interdependent with the natural world. 

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State of Play

Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates. 

Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.

The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21). 

Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29

 

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