NEWS GLEAMS | UN General Assembly Calls for Cease-Fire in Gaza; Gov. Inslee Announces Climate Change Investments

A roundup of news and announcements we don't want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

by Vee Hua 華婷婷

United Nations General Assembly Calls for Cease-Fire Resolution; United States Votes Against

On Dec. 12, the 193 countries of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted on a resolution for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. It passed overwhelmingly, with 153 countries voting in favor, 10 countries voting against, and 23 countries abstaining. It is the second time the UNGA has voted on a similar resolution. The first passed on Oct. 27, 2023, and called for a humanitarian truce; 120 countries voted in favor, 14 countries voted against, and 45 abstained. Such votes by the UNGA are not binding by international law, but are symbolic and measure global opinions on key issues.

The 10 countries who voted against the UNGA cease-fire resolution were the United States, Israel, Australia, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay. Those who abstained were largely European countries, as well as some in South America, Africa, and Oceania.

The UNGA vote was called by Arab nations after a similar one failed in the more powerful and legally binding United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC consists of 15 countries, including 10 rotating non-permanent members and five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. In the structure of the UNSC, any of the permanent members have veto powers. The cease-fire resolution nearly passed in the UNSC, with 13 countries voting in favor and the United Kingdom abstaining — but the United States vetoed it.

The Dec. 8 UNSC vote was prompted by U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, who invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter for the first time in his tenure. The invocation was a rare move that allowed him to place special emphasis on a situation that he sees as not just a contained conflict, but one with potential implications and threats to international peace and security. It also forced the situation to be addressed by the UNSC, to which Guterres urged a humanitarian cease-fire.

Eight weeks into the war, the largely internally displaced and homeless population of Gaza is currently facing threats from floods, airborne and waterborne diseases, starvation, and dehydration. The current death toll, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, is estimated at over 18,000, though experts have suggested those numbers may be an undercount. "Our monitoring suggests that the numbers provided by the Ministry of Health may be under-reporting as they do not include fatalities who did not reach hospitals or may be lost under the rubble," the U.N. human rights office spokesperson told Reuters.

At least 275 Palestinians have also been killed in the occupied West Bank, which is not governed by Hamas but the unaffiliated Palestinian National Authority. Arrests and home raids continue on a daily basis, as well as the destruction of lands, homes, and cultural objects, including the recent destruction of the "Jenin Horse," which was created by a German artist and served as a symbol of Palestinian resilience.

Revised death tolls for Israeli citizens following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas have fallen from the initial estimate of 1,400. The revised numbers stand at about 1,200. At least 136 hostages are still being held by Hamas and affiliate groups in Gaza, though their whereabouts are unknown. Initially, 240 were taken by Hamas, but dozens were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during the temporary truce in late November.

Gov. Jay Inslee Announces $941M in Climate Investments

Gov. Jay Inslee's newly released 2024 climate agenda includes $941 million in investments that are designed to combat climate change, expand transportation infrastructure, and create new jobs related to clean energy. The funds, presented in his 2024 supplemental budget, come from a surplus from projected funds earned from the State's cap-and-trade program, which began in early 2023 and taxes corporations for carbon pollution, then reinvents those funds in environmental programs. The proposals will be considered by State lawmakers beginning on Jan. 8.

"It would add to the $2.1 billion already allocated by lawmakers during the 2023 session for the next two years toward climate and clean energy projects," reported The Seattle Times.

In his introduction to the new investments, Inslee highlighted policy proposals designed to hold oil companies accountable for price transparency, move away from methane gas, and strengthen the cap-and-trade program. Other projects include the electrification of school buses and boats used by tribes, investments in clean energy and workforce development, fish passage projects for salmon, and treatment for stormwater runoff. All contribute to the State's Climate Commitment Act (CCA) investments, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to 95% below 1990 levels.

"The biggest slice of the proposed nearly $1 billion-sized pie this year would go toward environmental justice projects, such as distributing energy vouchers for low- and moderate-income Washington residents, improving school air ventilation systems and cleaning up the air in low-income and overburdened communities," wrote The Spokesman-Review. "Inslee's plan proposed $322 million worth of investments in environmental justice."

Yet the cap-and-trade program, in particular, has received some pushback from environmental justice groups. As reported by Real Change News in March 2023, "Debolina Banerjee and Katrina Peterson, of the progressive environmental justice group Puget Sound SAGE, argued that cap-and-trade policies are a poor way to measure the human cost of climate change. Worse, that they're ultimately a boon for corporations, creating a new financial product to resell and allowing polluters to continue polluting."

Specifics of Inslee's energy and environmental policies can be seen on the governor's website, including information about the cap-and-trade program and his policy to move Washington State to clean electricity by 2045.

📸 Featured Image: Results of voting by the U.N. General Assembly on a resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas war at U.N. Headquarters in New York on Oct. 27, 2023. Photo via lev radin/Shutterstock.com.

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