High Expectations from ‘Nature Based Solutions’ during the Climate Action Summit Background This one-day event in New York is intended to spur new commitments from countries, and greater overall ambition in achieving under-two-degree warming pathways. Peter Riggs, from the international network CLARA, tells how to evaluate the commitments. By Peter Riggs
Who Benefits from False Climate Solutions? By distracting from real imperatives, unfeasible solutions to climate change, such as geoengineering, allow the climate crisis to continue to escalate, disproportionately affecting those who have contributed the least to the problem. The truth is that no technological silver bullet can save us from ourselves. By Karin Nansen on Project Syndicate
Michael’s Story: Where is Your Museum? Everywhere! In times when discriminatory and derogatory language is still a daily routine in many countries, exhibitions showcasing same-sex desire or other non-normative life paths are crucial to re-write our own history. A museum in Colombia without formal museum space offers its own contribution. By Michael Andrés Forero Parra
Sumitra's Story: Enter the Archive – Experience the Closet! The Closet is a space that is both safe, a site of trauma as well as a construct which ‘needs’ to be broken out of. Placing the Closet in a gallery is an attempt to create a pocket of space that allows outsiders entry into its cruel existence. By Sumitra Sunder
Houssem’s Story: How to make Wikipedia more queer in all languages? Wikipedia has a limited amount of content directly or indirectly related to LGBTI+ topics. Moreover, this content is not available in all languages and therefore not accessible for people around the world. The Write for rights project sought to redeem this situation. By Houssem Abida
Chanathip’s Story: Retrieving Memory of a Trans Child through Re-reading My School Report Cards Who is missing from the historical record? How can private collections of documents contribute to the formation and growth of queer archives and what can these items tell us about the societies they originate from? This is a professional and personal journey through private documents and how they portray societal relations towards trans children in Thailand. By Chanathip Suwannanon
A Geoengineering Trojan Horse For fossil-fuel companies, the promise of geoengineering is the ideal excuse to continue with business as usual. Rather than allow the industry to continue to act in its own interest, the world must establish a strong, democratic regulatory mechanism, which includes the option to ban certain technologies outright. By Silvia Ribeiro on Project Syndicate
Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet The plastic pollution crisis is a significant and growing threat to the Earth’s climate. Greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. pdf
The Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission: From a Human Rights to a Political Project Analysis The final report of the Tunisian Truth Commission (IVD) was presented to the public on March 31, 2019. Yasmin Hajer has followed and researched the process over the years. In her contribution, she explains how the coming to terms with the past was appropriated by the various political parties and how they tried to influence it. By Yasmine Jamal Hajar