From the landmark verdict in the George Floyd case to the ongoing human rights concerns in China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority, and from the deteriorating health of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny to Brazil’s pledge to curb deforestation, the world is witnessing significant developments. Additionally, global climate efforts are gaining momentum as key players like the USA, China, and the EU set ambitious targets to combat greenhouse gas emissions. Join us as we delve into these impactful events shaping our world today.
USA
“Today, we’re able to breathe again”.
On Tuesday, the former officer Chauvin was found guilty of all charges in the case of George Floyd. Ben Crump, the lawyer of the Floyd family called the judgement a “historical moment” and Biden described it as “relieving” and “important”. The civil rights organization ACLU agrees, that the ruling is a “crucial step forward”, but also demands to see the George Floyd case as just the beginning of something bigger, since the “systems” that allowed the police officer to “murder Floyd” are still “completely intact”.
CHINA
Since 2016 more than one million Uyghurs, a muslim minority, have been detained or placed in so-called re-education camps. While human right activists have been calling out the startling situation in the region Xinjiang for over 4 years, the Chinese government keeps on defending the actions as “necessary” in order to protect China from religious extremism and terrorisim. As global attention gradually catches up with the events, an increasing number of countries, including the USA, Canada and the Netherlands, are denouncing China of committing a “genozide” on the Uyghurian minority, and putting pressure on the chinese authorities to immediately change the treatment of the minority.
RUSSIA
The jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny finally has been transferred to a hospital for prisoners as external concerns over his rapidly deteriorating health has been growing for weeks. Navalny has been on a hunger strike since March 31, demanding “proper medical care” and an examination by an independent doctor of his choice. The US government threatened Russia with consequences and punishment in the form of sanctions if Navalny died in “the responsibility of the Russian government”.
BRAZIL
After months of intense pressure, the brazilian environment minister has announced that the country would end the deforestation of the rainforest in exchange for 1 billion dollar, and could already reduce it by up to 40% by the end of this year, “if such compensation were already starting in may”. Environmental organizations are warning global authorities saying that the Bolsonaro government can’t be trusted without seeing “real results” and therefore claiming brazilian authorities to be fully transparent.
WORLD
Biden has invited a total of 40 countries, including the 20 largest economies, to virtual pre-talks about the climate summit this year in November.
The USA announced to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 aiming to fulfill the Paris Agreement from 2015. China pledged to reach the peak of its emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The EU has officially committed itself to reducing greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030 and to an economy without new climate burdens by 2050. Even though this sounds very promising, especially because China seems to be slowly committing to a more climate friendly economy, experts agree that much more needs to be done around the world by 2030 if global warming should remain below two degrees.
