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The document highlights the intersection of public health disparities and electoral access in Arizona, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for voting reforms. It identifies systemic health inequities affecting Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities and links these to a lack of adequate political representation. To improve the 2020 election, the Union of Concerned Scientists recommends implementing automatic and same-day registration, expanding voting centers in rural and tribal lands, and improving the verification and tracking of mail-in ballots.

The document asserts that current US voting conditions are inadequate for a pandemic, citing primary election failures in states like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida. It advocates for universal vote-by-mail, automatic and online registration, and expanded early in-person voting to protect voters and ensure electoral integrity.

Over 20 organizations have initiated legal actions to protect the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which have reduced toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants by 96 percent. These actions include challenging an EPA rule that reversed the finding that regulating hazardous air pollutant emissions from these plants is 'appropriate', and intervening in a lawsuit filed by Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC to defend the MATS rule against the coal industry.

Friends of the Earth International condemns the systemic police violence and state-authorized killings of Black individuals in the United States, specifically citing the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. The organization links this violence to environmental racism and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities. It further criticizes the Trump administration's perceived support for white nationalism and the militarization of national life, arguing that such actions encourage repressive regimes worldwide. The statement calls for the United States to address its historical injustices rooted in slavery and genocide and to respect the democratic rights of protest, expression, and association.

Friends of the Earth International issues a statement condemning systemic police violence, environmental racism, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black populations in the United States. The organization criticizes the Trump administration's perceived shift toward fascism and militarism, while calling for the correction of historical injustices related to African enslavement and indigenous genocide. The statement affirms solidarity with Black communities and protesters worldwide in the struggle against systemic racism.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) identifies three factors driving the adoption of open science in Latin America and the Caribbean: a high reliance on public funding for research, a long history of open access initiatives dating back to the 1970s, and the creation of regional governance tools like the Escazú Agreement. The document highlights the FAPESP foundation in Brazil as a successful public funding model and advocates for the reform of scientific publishing economic models, specifically criticizing article processing charges. It suggests that South-South cooperation, including learning from ASEAN countries and the African Open Science Platform, can strengthen the Global South's voice in the international science community.

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to Tokiso Dispute Settlement (Pty) Ltd regarding the management of Multi-Stakeholder Reference Group (MSRG) and Implementation Task Team (ITT) meetings for air quality priority areas in South Africa.

The Clean Air Task Force criticizes a proposed EPA rule that would change how the costs and benefits of Clean Air Act regulations are measured, claiming the move lacks statutory authority and is designed to limit environmental protections. The statement highlights that public health benefits typically outweigh compliance costs, citing an EPA study where benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments exceeded costs by over 30 to 1. The author characterizes this proposal as part of a broader deregulatory agenda under the Trump administration that ignores science and economic principles.

Natural Justice expresses solidarity with protesters in the United States and South Africa, arguing that environmental justice is inseparable from racial, economic, and social justice. The organisation condemns police brutality and the oppression of indigenous people and activists globally, asserting that the planetary crisis and climate change disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable.

The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) is urging the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to address critical water and sanitation shortages in more than 200 communities. The letter highlights failures in the DWS hotline, the lack of coordination via the National Disaster Water Command Centre, and the severe health risks posed to vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a detailed annexure of affected areas across several provinces, including the Western Cape, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Free State, where residents rely on polluted rivers, unreliable water trucks, or have no infrastructure at all.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) condemns systemic racism and police brutality in the United States, specifically citing the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. WRI President & CEO Andrew Steer argues that government leaders must address the gross inequality underlying these issues. WRI acknowledges that the environmental movement has historically failed to address these disparities and commits to ensuring that solutions for climate change, environmental degradation, and extreme poverty benefit disproportionately impacted communities of color.

The report documents a crisis where approximately 77,000 people in federally assisted housing live on or near Superfund sites, arguing that environmental racism has historically driven the siting of affordable housing in contaminated areas. It identifies critical failures in interagency coordination between HUD and the EPA, including a lack of resident notification and inadequate housing inspections. Through case studies in East Chicago, Portsmouth, and other cities, the report illustrates the health impacts of lead and arsenic exposure and the struggle for community-led relocation. It concludes with comprehensive recommendations for interagency accountability, mandatory hazard disclosure, and the integration of health interventions for exposed residents.

The document features presentations by Ruth Santiago and Dr. Greg Guannel on enhancing coastal resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Santiago argues against rebuilding the existing fossil-fuel-based power grid in Puerto Rico, proposing instead a transition to 'energy democracy' via rooftop solar and community-led energy systems. Dr. Guannel describes the update of the U.S. Virgin Islands' Hazard Mitigation Plan, emphasizing that resilience requires a holistic approach that combines physical infrastructure with social networks and natural systems, such as mangroves and aquifers, to protect the tourism-based economy and public health.

The document highlights the intersection of public health disparities and voting access in Arizona, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for administrative election upgrades. It recommends the adoption of same-day registration, improved vote-by-mail protocols, and the establishment of rural voting centers to protect marginalized communities and ensure a credible 2020 election.

The brief supports the Bag Waste Act's ban on plastic carryout bags but challenges specific DEC regulations that exempt 'reusable bags' made of plastic thicker than 10 mils. Amici argue this contradicts the legislative intent to ban 'any plastic carryout bags' and is arbitrary and capricious based on evidence that thickness thresholds fail to reduce plastic waste. The brief also rejects claims that the COVID-19 pandemic justifies invalidating the Act.

The Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) and the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA) argue that New Jersey waste incinerators are ineligible for Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) subsidies because they have consistently violated Clean Air Act permits. The authors claim that ratepayers have paid approximately $30 million in subsidies to these facilities between 2005 and 2019, despite legal requirements that eligible 'Class II renewable energy' sources must meet the 'highest environmental standards'. The document highlights that these incinerators are located in environmental justice communities and that the BPU and DEP have failed to provide the same level of oversight for in-state facilities as they do for out-of-state ones.

The Centre for Environmental Rights submitted two expert reports to the South African government detailing severe particulate matter (PM) limit exceedances and associated health impacts at Eskom's Kendal power station. Dr. Ron Sahu's analysis found 2,712 PM exceedances between April 2016 and March 2020, noting that electrostatic precipitators are failing. Dr. Andrew Gray's report estimates that emissions caused between 61 and 144 premature deaths annually between 2018 and 2019 and severely exceeded WHO air quality guidelines for SO2, PM2.5, and NOx in the Highveld Priority Area, particularly affecting sensitive receptors like primary schools.

The document analyzes a November 2019 survey of 1,303 U.S. adults to compare climate activism across generations. It finds that Millennials and younger adults (aged 18-38) are more likely than Generation X and Baby Boomers to support climate activists, engage in political action, and believe in collective efficacy. These trends are observed across political lines, with notable shifts among younger Republicans who are more likely than older Republicans to support climate activism and accept that climate change is human-caused.

The report finds that Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans in the U.S. are more likely to be 'Alarmed' or 'Concerned' about global warming and more willing to engage in climate activism than Whites. While a majority of Hispanics/Latinos view global warming as 'very important' to their 2020 vote, it ranks lower in priority for African Americans. The analysis suggests these differences are partly driven by higher exposure to environmental hazards and differences in political party identification.

Friends of the Earth International asserts that the COVID-19 crisis exposes and exacerbates systemic inequalities driven by a neoliberal, capitalist, and patriarchal system. The statement links the pandemic's severity to the destruction of ecosystems by agribusiness and extractive industries, the weakening of public health through privatization, and the disproportionate burden of care work on women. It demands a transition away from fossil-fuel-dependent economies, the abolition of investor-state dispute mechanisms, and the suspension of intellectual property rights for medical supplies to ensure global health equity.