The perception of the environment has expanded in recent decades from fighting pollution to the management of natural resources. The increase in the world’s population from 1.5 billion at the beginning of the twentieth century to over eight billion today, together with a major shift in production and consumption patterns, has led to a doubling of the demand on resources. This requires proper and balanced management, coupled with fair distribution of natural resources, to ensure that these billions of people obtain their basic needs.
There is no typo in the title, as the subject of the article is indeed COP23 and not COP28. Despite the urgency of the challenges posed by climate change, the world faces other environmental problems that are no less important and cannot be ignored.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed satellite remote sensing data of tropospheric NO₂ concentrations from Copernicus’ Sentinel-5 dataset for September 2023. Though tropospheric values cannot be used to assess the air quality at the ground level, they provide insights at a global scale and useful information on areas not covered by ground sensor stations. Human Rights Watch reviewed air quality monitoring data provided by the AirNow Platform which contains historical data on PM2.5 concentration
The resounding downfall of the Dutch businessman, who claimed to be able to clean oceans from plastic, brought back to the forefront the need to verify projects that embellish upon the slogans of “circular economy” and “environmental protection”, to ensure that they adhere to the promises, principles, and goals that they proclaim. While it is normal for any type of commercial investment to make a profit, it is unacceptable to deceive people with false slogans and promises, just to achieve more profits.