Striking images showing environmental destruction aim to ‘inspire action’

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🗞️ Driving the news: A powerful photography exhibition titled “Photography 4 Humanity: A Lens on Climate Justice” was unveiled at the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit at the University of Oxford
• The exhibit, featuring 31 photographers from around the world, visually documents the environmental and human toll of climate change — from desertification in Morocco to plastic pollution in Myanmar — calling attention to the lived realities of those most affected

🔭 The context: Coinciding with World Environment Day (June 5), the summit — supported by UN Human Rights (OHCHR) — positions climate change as a human rights crisis
• The exhibition forms part of a broader strategy to engage policymakers, indigenous leaders, scientists, and artists in advancing climate action
• The images capture the disproportionate impact on low-income communities that contribute the least to emissions but face the greatest climate risks, such as flooding, erosion, and food insecurity

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: By putting faces to the effects of climate change, the exhibition aims to shift public discourse from abstract targets to tangible human consequences
• This reframing is critical for mobilizing empathy-driven policy, strengthening climate justice narratives, and holding institutions accountable
• As visual storytelling becomes a central tool in climate communication, such exhibitions foster deeper understanding and urgency for equitable action

⏭️ What's next: The summit’s outcomes are expected to influence global climate justice dialogue in the lead-up to COP30
• Organizers and partners like Fotografiska and Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative hope the exhibition will travel to additional venues to expand its impact
• Calls for integrating human rights into climate adaptation and financing strategies are gaining momentum, especially as vulnerable populations demand stronger representation in global negotiations

💬 One quote: “These are not sudden disasters, but slow-moving, relentless ones — shaping a new category of environmental refugees,” — Masood Sarwer, whose image from West Bengal captures the erosion of homes along the River Ganges

📈 One stat: According to the UN, climate change will displace more than 216 million people by 2050 if urgent action is not taken — making environmental displacement one of the largest humanitarian challenges of this century

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