The call for urgent global action to protect the planet echoed strongly at the COP30 Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil, as the International Rights of Nature Tribunal has issued what it describes as A New Pledge for Mother Nature.
At a side event marking the close of its sixth international session, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal declared that the time has come for governments and individuals to recognize that nature itself has the right to exist, thrive, and regenerate.
The Tribunal expressed concern over the alarming rate at which species are disappearing, and also called for greater recognition of Indigenous communities, and demanded that the Amazon rainforest be treated as a living subject of rights, not a resource for exploitation.
The Tribunal also denounced deforestation, fossil fuels, and large-scale mining, urging a shift to renewable energy that benefits both people and the planet.
They also called on the United Nations to adopt the pledge as a blueprint for international environmental law.
Among the judges were representatives from across the world all united in one message that protecting nature is not an option but essential for survival.
