Dave-Inder Comar

Climate change is being computed and processed through political and social systems that are stratified, exploitative, discriminatory and unjust

Without changing those political and social systems the responses to climate change will therefore be stratified, exploitative, discriminatory and unjust

"Nuremberg 2.0" is a concept trending on social media and one I support.

The rule of law is withering. Leaders are getting away with shocking criminal acts, domestically and internationally.

Holding the powerful to account—including Western leaders—is the only way to any kind of shared humanity.

Nothing about the current policy moment gives any sense of relief about the future.

Powerful countries seem content with returning to a pre-World War II world of Great Power rule.

The end of the stable period of the Holocene will remake planetary geographies.

We need new kinds of leaders 🙏

There are real consequences for democracy when governments decide to invest in war and defense instead of strengthening international law.

For example — is a false to argue 'the only choice' is to ramp up defense spending while at the same time gutting the UN and the International Criminal Court.

Is there anything preventing a local prosecutor from initiating a investigation of Epstein-related issues subject to their jurisdiction?

Are there any prosecutors pursuing any investigations at this time?

It is beyond disturbing to see powerful governments express concern about their national security in the Arctic while ignoring the speed and scale of climate disruption—a chief cause of a changing Arctic

Everyone is preparing for a blue ocean event but no one dares utter the words 'climate change'

'Sacrifice zones' are an essential concept in international climate law.

Areas of the planet are becoming increasingly uninhabitable from climate impacts and are being 'sacrificed' to an unjust and destructive status quo.

The Pacific, the Arctic, the Amazon—many fragile areas now at grave risk.

My work is in law, but I spend a lot of time thinking about 'the sacred' — categories of things considered intrinsically worthy of protection.

I wonder if we would be better policy advocates if we could align more with a sense of sacredness. E.g., national parks, biodiversity, future generations.

I'll be convening human rights experts and some of the world's leading scientists on climate tipping points at the UN Human Rights Council on March 6, in Geneva

We'll be hosting an official side event for States on climate tipping points and the impacts on human rights.

Reach out for more info 🌍

Stabilizing the climate is ultimately a political project—like decolonization or ending the slave trade

It will require a grand movement that can install new kinds of leaders who prioritize the planet and our human rights.

The same system that caused the crisis is not capable of solving it 🙏🏽

My goal is to finish my dissertation this year on climate change and the law of self-determination. Aspects I'm writing about:

Statehood and sea-level rise
Economic self-determination
Indigenous Peoples
Tipping points

I'd like my dissertation to act as a plan to return to a more habitable planet

The destruction of democratic norms is a mirror of the destruction of the climate and the natural world. Stabilizing the climate requires the end of empire.

The Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order (1974) was a visionary statement of a different world that had the backing of most of the world's governments.

We need this kind of visionary world building in addressing climate change and protecting human rights

Concerned about the Point of No Return? Today we published a paper on the risk of a hothouse Earth trajectory. You can read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1mbW49C~Iu...

Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware

Climate tipping points are just not something we are prepared to think about. But they are imminent, and there is some possibility we have greatly underestimated cascading impacts with respect to climate change.

The Earth is a truly wondrous place; if we were smart we would prioritize homeostasis

The "stable period" of the Holocene was exceptional in the human experience

As we return to a "chaotic period" caused by human greenhouse gas emissions, it is urgent to prepare a multi-century plan to return to climate stability; and which protects human rights

This is the urgent task of our time

In my scholarship I write about the need to envision a true global plan for a "post-Holocene" Earth.

Such a plan must prioritize environmental restoration, protect human rights, and restore planetary homeostasis. And enforce international law against planetary lawbreakers.

Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware

‘Point-of-no-return’: Lock-in of a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, warn scientists

- Continued global heating could set an irreversible course by triggering tipping points, but the public and politicians are largely unaware

#climatecrisis
Story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We are witnessing a return to the international order as it existed before World War II.

This was an era of Great Power rivalry, where war was a blunt instrument of global politics.

All of this is happening at a time of massive climate disruption.

Identifying points of cooperation is essential

We held our first Zoom last week bringing together human rights experts and climate scientists on the topic of climate tipping points.

Tremendous exchange of knowledge and real conversation on how we move forward.

Reach out if you'd like to be on the mailing list. We'll do more events soon

Climate disruption, environmental destruction, biodiversity collapse, and the breach of planetary boundaries are all related. Addressing this crisis must become the paramount goal of government at this time.

daveindercomar.substack.com/p/what-gover...

Democratic government is never a lost cause. Rebuilding our frayed democracies to address planetary threats, including climate change, is the most important project of our lifetimes, and probably the most important human project of the last 10,000 years.

This year, international legal experts concluded that States facing sea level rise should have resource entitlements and statehood preserved.

This is an important conclusion. It should open the door to larger conversations about accountability and reparation from high emissions States.

Climate "overshoot" represents a major crisis in politics and governance.

There is no plan at present for tipping points.

There is no discussion about climate stability writ large

Overshoot will require a level of crisis planning and discussion that we are largely unwilling to have at present.

In thinking about the just transition, two important precedents come to mind. The first is the movement to end trans-Atlantic slavery. The second is decolonization.

open.substack.com/pub/daveinde...

Ending global warming, and returning to a habitable planet, will require a political vision and political framework of deep-seated transformation. Abolitionism and decolonization are essential precedents.

daveindercomar.substack.com/p/the-vision...

Climate impacts aggravate pre-existing fault lines of exploitation and discrimination. Vulnerable communities bear disproportionate burdens.

The societies that ensure equal rights, non-discrimination, and democratic accountability are likely to be far more climate resilient than those that don't.

Gaza Faces Another Catastrophic Winter as Environmental and Humanitarian Devastation Mount - Inside Climate News While Israel restricts lifesaving aid and multiple reports show it violating the ceasefire, Gazans suffer flooded tents, starvation, pollution and disease.

Essential reading from @insideclimatenews.org about environmental devastation in Gaza.

insideclimatenews.org/news/1212202...

Digital Samsara Short update and note: It’s been a while since I’ve written on Medium! I’m currently writing about climate, politics, and human rights on…

I wrote this short post on the emergence of 'digital samsara' — a new system of suffering now being built, that is preventing us from taking care of each other and the planet.

I welcome any feedback ⭐

medium.com/@daveinderco...

Stabilizing the climate will require confronting deep-seated power imbalances in the international order.

It will require enforcing international law.

It will require courageous policy choices from less powerful and vulnerable States.