Katie Surma

Reporter, Pittsburgh

Katie Surma is a reporter at Inside Climate News focusing on international environmental law and justice. Before joining ICN, she practiced law, specializing in commercial litigation. She also wrote for a number of publications and her stories have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times and The Associated Press, among others. Katie has a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, an LLM in international rule of law and security from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, a J.D. from Duquesne University, and was a History of Art and Architecture major at the University of Pittsburgh. Katie lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jim Crowell.

Aruba Considers Enshrining the ‘Rights of Nature’ in Its Constitution

By Katie Surma

Lawsuit Asserting the ‘Rights of Salmon’ Ends in a Settlement That Benefits The Fish

By Katie Surma

The UN Wants the World Court to Address Nations’ Climate Obligations. Here’s What Could Happen Next

By Katie Surma

A ‘Rights of Nature’ Fact-Finding Panel to Investigate Mexico’s Tren Maya Railroad for Possible Environmental Violations

By Katie Surma

Eduardo Mendúa, Ecuadorian Who Fought Oil Extraction on Indigenous Land, Is Shot to Death

By Katie Surma

Director Marcos Colón Takes an Intimate Look at Three Indigenous Leaders’ Fight to Preserve Their Ancestral Connection to Nature in the Amazon

By Katie Surma

Study Documents a Halt to Deforestation in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest After Indigenous Communities Gain Title to Their Territories

By Katie Surma

In the Amazon, Indigenous and Locally Controlled Land Stores Carbon, but the Rest of the Rainforest Emits Greenhouse Gases

By Bob Berwyn, Katie Surma

Nearly 200 Countries Approve a Biodiversity Accord Enshrining Human Rights and the ‘Rights of Nature’

By Katie Surma

Their Lives Were Ruined by Oil Pollution, and a Court Awarded Them $9.5 Billion. But Ecuadorians Have Yet to See a Penny From Chevron

By Katie Surma

Two Towns in Washington Take Steps Toward Recognizing the Rights of Southern Resident Orcas

By Katie Surma

Lawyers Press International Court to Investigate a ‘Network’ Committing Crimes Against Humanity in Brazil’s Amazon

By Katie Surma

Mil Milhas na Amazônia, para Mudar a Maneira como o Mundo Funciona

By Katie Surma

Countries Want to Plant Trees to Offset Their Carbon Emissions, but There Isn’t Enough Land on Earth to Grow Them

By Katie Surma

Celebrating Victories in Europe and South America, the Rights of Nature Movement Plots Strategy in a Time of ‘Crises’

By Katie Surma

A Thousand Miles in the Amazon, to Change the Way the World Works

By Katie Surma

In Pivotal Climate Case, UN Panel Says Australia Violated Islanders’ Human Rights

By Katie Surma

At a Global Conference on Clean Energy, Granholm Announces Billions in Federal Aid for Carbon Capture and Emerging Technology

By Katie Surma

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