A recent study published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences offers a comprehensive examination of factors driving the Arctic amplification, while also comparing quantitative results from multiple studies. The review highlights the complex interactions of various drivers, including local feedbacks, atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, and aerosols. It also underscores significant uncertainties in quantifying their contributions and emphasizes the need for more reliable data and improved models to enhance understanding and predictions of Arctic climate change.

The study highlights the transformative potential of the Rights of Nature, which views nature as a rights-bearing entity, not merely an object of regulation and subjugation by extractive industries. The Llurimagua case—a dispute over a mining concession in Ecuador’s cloud forest—illustrates this approach, providing a unique opportunity to rethink Earth system governance.

The paper was authored by a diverse team of researchers from the University of Vermont, Universidad de los Hemisferios, Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios, Coordinadora Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones para la Defensa de la Naturaleza y el Medio Ambiente (CEDENMA), and the Garrison Institute.  

Key Findings of the article:

Nature's Rights: Ecuador's recognition of Nature's Rights represents a monumental shift in Earth system governance, embedding humans within dynamic ecological processes and advancing Earth system law more pluralistically.

Community Action: The resistance to mining in Intag Valley exemplifies the power of community action and international solidarity in pursuing planetary health equity and justice.

Pluriversality: The concept of pluriversality challenges the Core’s hegemony of knowledge, emphasizing care, stewardship, and equitable coexistence with all life forms.

Legal Precedents: The Llurimagua case, involving two frog species and the Junín community, sets a robust legal model for harmonizing the ecosphere and ethnosphere, ensuring the health of both people and the planet.