Agrofuels
Land grabs and human rights violations exposed in Liberia ahead of global development summit
MONROVIA, LIBERIA, February 1st, 2013 – Palm oil companies are grabbing more than 1.5 million acres of land in Liberia and are violating the human rights of local communities, warn Liberian NGOs including Friends of the Earth Liberia (SDI - Sustainable Development Institute), Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU) and Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev).
Investors must stop land grabbing, say civil society groups
LONDON (UK), November 30, 2012 – Major farmland investors such as banks and pension funds must stop facilitating land grabs, say civil society groups [1] on the eve of a global farmland investment conference in London on 3-5 December. [2]
Food Crisis Talks: Governments Should Scrap Biofuels, Not Push GM Crops
ROME (ITALY) / LONDON (UK), October 16, 2012 – As Governments gather in Rome today, World Food Day, to discuss the global food price crisis, Friends of the Earth International warns in a new report [1] that agriculture donors such as the United States and United Kingdom are pumping money into genetically modified (GM) crops at the cost of farming methods better suited to tackling hunger.
New report uncovers land grab in Uganda
WASHINGTON DC / BRUSSELS (BELGIUM) / KAMPALA (UGANDA) 23rd April 2012: Released on the eve of a World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty [1], a new report reveals widespread violations of people’s rights and environmental destruction from a land grab initially funded by the World Bank in Uganda. [2]
meat and forest products consumption fuel inequalities in global land use
NEW REPORT: Europe and United States import millions of hectares of virtual land BRUSSELS (BELGIUM) / LONDON (UK), October 10, 2011 – More than 60 per cent of land consumed in Europe is imported while US demand for imported land increased by 100 Million hectares between 1997 and 2004, new research published today by Friends of the Earth reveals. [1]
EUROPE'S BIOFUELS PLANS DRIVING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, NOVEMBER 8, 2010 - Plans to increase the use of biofuels in Europe over the next ten years will require up to 69 000 square kilometres of new land worldwide and make climate change worse, a new study reveals today [1]. The report finds that an area over twice the size of Belgium will need to be converted into fields and plantations – putting forests, natural ecosystems and poor communities in danger, if European countries do not change their plans for getting petrol and diesel from food crops by 2020.
WORLD BANK LAND GRAB REPORT COMMENT: BIOFUELS CAUSE LAND GRABS
BRUSSELS (BELGIUM) 8 September 2010 -- Commenting on a new World Bank report published today in which the Bank backs the practice of nations selling vast agricultural lands to foreign investors [1], Mariann Bassey, African food and agriculture coordinator for Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria said: “Rural communities and the environment in poor countries are being ignored in the rush for our land and resources."
eu-brazil biofuels deal: "land-grabbing charter"
Brussels/Maputo, Mozambique, July 14 – Friends of the Earth Europe has strongly criticised an agreement expected to be announced today by EU and Brazilian leaders to expand biofuels in Mozambique. The agreement to promote biofuels in Africa to power European cars is described as "immoral and perverse."
European Transnationals Accused of Rights Violations in Latin America
Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2010 – On the eve of the May 18 Europe-Latin America and Caribbean Summit, Friends of the Earth International and other organizations will present cases of serious rights violations committed by European corporations in Latin America and promote alternatives to the food, climate and financial crisis.
world bank accused of promoting land grabbing
WASHINGTON, US, April 27, 2010 – Friends of the Earth International warned today that voluntary principles on land acquisitions announced by the World Bank and supported by the UN will legitimize and promote land grabbing in Asia, Africa and Latin America. [1]
'CERTIFIED' PALM OIL NOT A SOLUTION
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA November 3, 2009 -- Certifying palm oil is not a solution to the environmental damage and human rights violations caused by oil palm plantations, said Friends of the Earth International today during the meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Malaysia.
Halt to Palm Oil Investments Welcomed
Jakarta, Indonesia, September 11, 2009 -- Friends of the Earth International welcomed the announcement by the IFC, the World Bank's private sector arm, that it will stop all palm oil investments.
NEW REPORT CASTS DOUBT OVER BIOFUELS ‘WONDER CROP’ JATROPHA
LONDON (UK) / MBABANE (SWAZILAND), 28 May 2009 -- Biofuels produced from the crop jatropha may be competing with food production for land and water, according to a new report released today by two Friends of the Earth groups as the Jatropha World Summit begins in Ghana.
World Forests Rapidly Disappearing
ROME, ITALY, MARCH 16 -- In a reaction to the alarming data released today in the 2009 State of the World’s Forests report by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Friends of the Earth International and the Global Forest Coalition, two leading networks of environmental and Indigenous Peoples' Organisations, called on world governments to take immediate action to halt deforestation and forest degradation.
MALAYSIAN PALM OIL GREENWASH REPORT
PENANG (MALAYSIA) / BRUSSELS (BELGIUM), October 7, 2008 – Malaysian palm oil exported for use in food, biofuels and cosmetics is far from 'green' – contrary to claims by Malaysian palm oil producers – shows the new report “Malaysian Palm Oil: Green Gold or Green Wash?” released today by Friends of the Earth groups.
real price of agrofuels revealed
Brussels (Belgium) / Porto Alegre (Brazil) / Montevideo (Uruguay), 10 September 2008 -- The rapid development of agrofuels in Latin America looks set to increase big business profits but it is not benefiting local people, according to a new report released by Friends of the Earth International.
Biodiversity Plan of Inaction Condemned
BONN (GERMANY), May 30, 2008 -- Friends of the Earth International expressed its alarm at the failure of the latest United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity talks to take any meaningful steps against the dangerous loss of biological diversity.
Banks Financing Agrofuels
Many major European banks are funding the rapid expansion of agrofuel production in Latin America, leading to large scale deforestation, increasing human right abuses and threatening food sovereignty, according to a new report released today.
European crimes face Latin American trial
Environmental and human rights violations committed by European companies in Latin America are being examined at a people's tribunal in Lima, Peru this week (13-16 May).
Corporations threaten biotech talks
A last minute attempt by six biotech giants to undermine international negotiations on biotech crops was condemned today by environmental group Friends of the Earth International as a proposal to ‘privatise international law’.
