Katie Surma
@katiesurma.bsky.social
Journalist at Inside Climate News covering human rights and the environment, and the rights of nature movement
Panama’s president announced at the U.N. General Assembly that his country will lead an international push for a universal declaration on the rights of nature. insideclimatenews.org/news/2409202...
At the UN, Panama Champions a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature - Inside Climate News
Panama’s center-right president called on world leaders to adopt a new non-binding treaty, building on his nation’s own national rights of nature laws.
insideclimatenews.org
At least 124 environmental defenders were killed in 2025. Organized crime, extractive industries and authoritarian governments all contributed to the violence, a new report says. insideclimatenews.org/news/1509202...
An Environmental Defender Is Murdered Every Three Days - Inside Climate News
At least 124 people were killed in 2025 for protecting their homelands, forests, farms and waterways from pollution and other harms, according to a new report.
insideclimatenews.org
The US is deepening military and mining ties across Latin America. In territories targeted for mining, locals fear violence and environmental destruction. insideclimatenews.org/news/0909202...
The US Wants Minerals from South America. Its Environmental Defenders Fear What Comes Next. - Inside Climate News
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s push for minerals and militarization raises fears about the violence more mining could inflict on local communities and critical ecosystems.
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An Argentine environmental group and war veterans have filed a lawsuit to block a British-Israeli offshore oil project near the Falkland Islands, citing Argentina’s sovereignty and rights of nature violations insideclimatenews.org/news/0209202...
Lawsuit in Argentina Challenges British-Israeli Oil Project Near the Long-Disputed Falkland Islands - Inside Climate News
The complaint alleges the oil operations pose severe risks to Atlantic and Antarctic ecosystems while unlawfully exploiting Argentine resources.
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The Amazon holds 10% of Earth’s known species and one-third of its plants. But with about one-fifth deforested, scientists warn it’s reaching an irreversible tipping point. Governments are pushing oil and mining extraction anyway. insideclimatenews.org/news/0109202...
The Amazon’s Defenders Declare a State of Emergency - Inside Climate News
As governments push oil and mining expansion, thousands of Indigenous leaders and activists gathered in Ecuador to chart another path.
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A Florida sheriff’s office investigation into deaths of more than 50 sloths detailed emaciated, dehydrated animals, but said there was no evidence of a crime. insideclimatenews.org/news/2008202...
More than 50 Sloths Died at a Florida Wildlife Attraction. Officials Say No Crime Occurred. - Inside Climate News
The investigation details emaciated, dehydrated animals and concerns about Sloth World’s operations, but concluded there was no evidence of criminal neglect or abuse.
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A secretive arbitration system lets companies force big payouts over governments’ climate policies. ExxonMobil is using it to challenge an EU climate solution the company promotes. insideclimatenews.org/news/2807202...
ExxonMobil Uses Corporate Arbitration System to Challenge Climate Solution It Promotes - Inside Climate News
The oil giant has filed a notice of dispute under an energy treaty about the European Union’s carbon capture and storage requirements.
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The global mining industry says more extraction of rare earth minerals is necessary to fight climate change. But a new report says conventional industries, AI and defense are driving much of the demand. insideclimatenews.org/news/1407202...
AI, Defense Spending Fuel the Rush to Mine Minerals, Report Says - Inside Climate News
The global mining industry says more extraction of rare earth minerals is necessary to fight climate change. But a new report says conventional industries, AI and defense are driving much of the deman...
insideclimatenews.org
What did Florida regulators do as dozens of sloths died at a planned Orlando tourist attraction? Virtually nothing, internal emails reveal.
Florida Regulators Stood by as Dozens of Sloths Died, New Records Reveal - Inside Climate News
Internal emails obtained by Inside Climate News show the state of Florida saw no need to stop the unfolding mass deaths of sloths at a planned Orlando tourist attraction.
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What did Florida regulators do as dozens of sloths died at a planned Orlando tourist attraction? Virtually nothing, internal emails reveal. Read our latest on Sloth World: insideclimatenews.org/news/0907202...
Florida Regulators Stood by as Dozens of Sloths Died, New Records Reveal - Inside Climate News
Internal emails obtained by Inside Climate News show the state of Florida saw no need to stop the unfolding mass deaths of sloths at a planned Orlando tourist attraction.
insideclimatenews.org
It's an honor to be a finalist for the John B. Oakes Award, along with my colleagues Nick and Georgina, and our broader ICN team. journalism.columbia.edu/oakes
John B. Oakes Award | Columbia Journalism School
The John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, which carries a $5,000 prize, is given annually for news reporting that makes an exceptional contribution to the public’s understand...
journalism.columbia.edu
The latest from the Rights of Nature beat at Inside Climate News
Inside Climate News@insideclimatenews.org · 3mo agoCourts in Colombia and Bangladesh made history by recognizing rivers as legal persons. So why are these waterways still being polluted?
Landmark court rulings in Colombia and Bangladesh gave rivers a voice, but a new report says legal systems built on profiting off the planet are blocking transformational change. insideclimatenews.org/news/0207202...
Rights of Nature Laws Are Coming Up Against Legal Systems Designed for Destruction - Inside Climate News
Landmark court rulings in Colombia and Bangladesh gave rivers a voice, but a new report says deep-seated issues are blocking transformational change.
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More Living Shorelines Could Come to States Bordering Chesapeake Bay If the Region’s Senators Get Their Way As Virginia, Maryland and Delaware face more floods, their elected officials want to use federal dollars to deploy natural mitigation techniques. insideclimatenews.org/news/0107202...
More Living Shorelines Could Come to States Bordering Chesapeake Bay If the Region’s Senators Get Their Way - Inside Climate News
As Virginia, Maryland and Delaware face more floods, their elected officials want to use federal dollars to deploy natural mitigation techniques.
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A new report finds environmental defenders increasingly face “economies of violence”—a mix of government officials, corporations, criminal groups and security forces benefiting from extractive industries and land development.
Environmental Defenders Remain Among World’s Most Targeted Activists - Inside Climate News
A new report found that environmental defenders are increasingly encountering overlapping networks of government officials, corporations, criminal groups and private security forces.
insideclimatenews.org
A Trump-backed candidate is projected to win Colombia’s presidential election, and he’s promised to unwind the country’s landmark climate policies.
A Trump Ally’s Rise in Colombia Could Mean the End of Landmark Climate Policies - Inside Climate News
Abelardo de la Espriella, the apparent winner of the presidential election, has vowed to expand oil, gas and mining production, alarming activists in the world’s deadliest country for environmental de...
insideclimatenews.org
A Trump-backed candidate is projected to win Colombia’s presidential election, and he’s promised to unwind the country’s landmark climate policies insideclimatenews.org/news/2206202...
A Trump Ally’s Rise in Colombia Could Mean the End of Landmark Climate Policies - Inside Climate News
Abelardo de la Espriella, the apparent winner of the presidential election, has vowed to expand oil, gas and mining production, alarming activists in the world’s deadliest country for environmental de...
insideclimatenews.org
A new report finds environmental defenders increasingly face “economies of violence”—a mix of government officials, corporations, criminal groups and security forces benefiting from extractive industries and land development. insideclimatenews.org/news/2206202...
Environmental Defenders Remain Among World’s Most Targeted Activists - Inside Climate News
A new report found that environmental defenders are increasingly encountering overlapping networks of government officials, corporations, criminal groups and private security forces.
insideclimatenews.org
As Florida grapples with the fallout from sloth deaths at a planned tourist attraction, a separate exotic animal exhibitor whose sloth-encounters business was shuttered by New York courts is attempting to relaunch his operations in South Florida insideclimatenews.org/news/1706202...
A Sloth Exhibitor Shut Down by New York Wants a Florida Comeback—and Florida Licensed Him - Inside Climate News
Larry Wallach’s commercial exotic animal business was shuttered by New York courts and federal regulators declined his application to exhibit animals. Now he’s pitching a new sloth encounter business ...
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Necropsy reports from sloths imported by a planned Orlando tourist attraction document stressed animals riddled with bacteria, parasites and viruses. Scientists say the situation is a warning about the threat the booming wildlife trade poses to human health. insideclimatenews.org/news/0706202...
Mass Sloth Deaths in Florida Show Why the Wildlife Trade Is a Pandemic Risk - Inside Climate News
Necropsy reports from sloths imported by a planned Orlando tourist attraction document stressed animals riddled with bacteria, parasites and viruses. Scientists say the situation is a warning about th...
insideclimatenews.org
Following an Inside Climate News investigation into the deaths of dozens of imported wild sloths, Florida officials have temporarily halted sloth imports into the state. insideclimatenews.org/news/1305202...
Florida Temporarily Bans Sloth Imports After Dozens Die at Orlando Business - Inside Climate News
The move follows an Inside Climate News investigation revealing that most of the wild sloths imported by the planned tourist attraction Sloth World died.
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NEW: Florida officials have launched a criminal investigation into Sloth World following the deaths of dozens of wild sloths imported for the planned tourist attraction. insideclimatenews.org/news/0105202...
Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into Sloth World After Dozens of Animal Deaths - Inside Climate News
Most of the wild sloths imported by a planned tourist attraction in Orlando did not survive.
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The Florida-based animal attraction Sloth World has sent 13 surviving animals to a local zoo days after an Inside Climate News Investigation revealed that more than 31 sloths had died in the company’s care. insideclimatenews.org/news/2404202...
After Mass Deaths at ‘Sloth World,’ 13 Surviving Animals Are Transferred to a Florida Zoo - Inside Climate News
A planned Florida animal attraction that imported dozens of wild sloths has sent 13 surviving animals to a local zoo, days after an Inside Climate News investigation revealed that more than 31 sloths ...
insideclimatenews.org
This year’s Goldman Environmental Prize cohort is the first in the award's history to be composed entirely of women. Among the recipients is Colombian activist Yuvelis Morales Blanco, recognized for her grassroots mobilization against fracking.
Rights of Nature Defender Wins Goldman Prize for Protecting Colombia’s Magdalena River From Fracking - Inside Climate News
Yuvelis Morales Blanco, 24, helped halt fracking along Colombia’s largest river and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. She’s faced death threats and exile for her advocacy.
insideclimatenews.org
This year’s Goldman Environmental Prize cohort is the first in the award's history to be composed entirely of women Among the recipients is Colombian rights of nature activist Yuvelis Morales Blanco, recognized for her grassroots mobilization against fracking insideclimatenews.org/news/2004202...
Rights of Nature Defender Wins Goldman Prize for Protecting Colombia’s Magdalena River From Fracking - Inside Climate News
Yuvelis Morales Blanco, 24, helped halt fracking along Colombia’s largest river and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. She’s faced death threats and exile for her advocacy.
insideclimatenews.org
“Sloth World” in Florida is importing sloths from the wild for its not-yet-open tourist attraction. At least 31 have died. Read more in our latest investigation, which I co-reported with @katiesurma.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/1604202...
At ‘Sloth World’ in Florida, Wild Sloths Have Died by the Dozens - Inside Climate News
The animals, highly susceptible to illness when removed from their habitat, have been kept in a warehouse. More than 31 have died.
insideclimatenews.org
A new Florida animal attraction is importing wild sloths from South America. As dozens die, the business continues to acquire more.
At ‘Sloth World’ in Florida, Wild Sloths Have Died by the Dozens - Inside Climate News
The animals, highly susceptible to illness when removed from their habitat, have been kept in a warehouse. More than 31 have died.
insideclimatenews.org
A new Florida “Sloth World” attraction is importing animals highly prone to illness when removed from their habitat. More than 31 have died. From @insideclimatenews.org's @katiesurma.bsky.social & @kileyprice.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/1604202...
At ‘Sloth World’ in Florida, Wild Sloths Have Died by the Dozens - Inside Climate News
The animals, highly susceptible to illness when removed from their habitat, have been kept in a warehouse. More than 31 have died.
insideclimatenews.org