A/77/549 affordable heating and electricity. 46 In the Arctic, Indigenous peoples such as the Inuit and Sami are faced with rising sea levels and the total destruction of their livelihoods owing to changing climate patterns. 47 26. In one submission 48 it was noted that European research on environmental justice is focused almost exclusively on the issue of income inequality. Race and ethnicity are largely absent, and data disaggregated on these bases is not collected. The submission provided examples of such omissions in Germany, notwithstanding the persisting evidence of environmental racism against Rom*nja and Sinti*zza. In the submission it is also noted that a number of German studies reveal that polluting industries are more frequently located in cities and neighbourhoods with higher proportions of migrants. These national and European studies show that the correlation between a migration background or non-German citizenship and environmental pollution is more significant than the correlation between socioeconomic status or income and environmental pollution. 27. In one submission it was reported that, in the United Kingdom, racially and ethnically marginalized groups are disproportionately subjected to higher levels of air pollution than white British people, and more susceptible to pollution health impacts. Furthermore, the placement of waste incinerators disproportionately affects racially and ethnically marginalized groups. 49 28. In one submission 50 it was reported how the military occupation by Israel of the Occupied Palestinian Territories contributed to the ecological devastation and transformation of the Palestinian territories, and continues to deny Palestinians their fundamental right to self-determination, including regarding indigenous Palestinian approaches to mitigating climate impacts. Israeli settler expansion into Palestinian territories has led to the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages. 51 In addition to the devastation caused by this destruction, native trees have been eliminated in favour of European pine trees. In the submission tax incentives were reported that encourage high-polluting industry to relocate to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with immense, documented genotoxic effects for Palestinian resident s. Furthermore, the submission reported the pretextual use of environmental considerations to justify further Israeli settlement of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 29. Extensive pollution of the air and water has also caused the higher incidence of serious diseases among Palestinians. Environmental protection policies have allegedly been used to justify the use of land by occupation authorities. It is reported in the submission that Israel has been using the claim of protecting nature reserves to confiscate more land for the purpose of building additional settlements, via a practice which has been described as “greenwashing”. It is also reported in the submission that 91 per cent of the total water of the West Bank is being expropriated solely for Israeli settler use, while Palestinians face serious water insecurity. 52 OHCHR has reported that: “Israeli authorities treat the nearly 450,000 Israeli settlers and 2.7 million Palestinians residing in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) under two distinct bodies of law, resulting in unequal treatment on a range of issues including access to water”. 53 Indeed, Israeli practices and policies in the Occupied __________________ 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 22-24043 Submission from European Network against Racism. Ibid. Submission from the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Submission from Sealey Huggins (Greenpeace, Confronting Injustice: Racism and the Environmental Emergency). Submission from Al-Haq. Communication No. JAL ISR 2/2022. Submission from Al-Haq. See A/HRC/48/43. 9/24