2011 http://www.foei.org Friends of the Earth International press releases from 2011 daily 1 2012-10-17T08:06:10Z Climate: disastrous "Durban package" accelerates onset of climate catastrophe http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-disastrous-durban-package-accelerates-onset-of-climate-catastrophe DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 13 DECEMBER 2011 – The UN climate talks in Durban were a failure and take the world a significant step back by further undermining an already flawed, inadequate multilateral system that is supposed to address the climate crisis, according to Friends of the Earth International. Developed countries engaged in a smoke and mirrors trick of delivering rhetoric but no action, failed to commit to urgently needed deep emissions cuts, and even backtracked on past commitments to address the climate crisis, said Friends of the Earth International.

The outcome of the Durban talks, heralded by some as a step forward, in fact amounts to:

  • No progress on fair and binding action on reducing emissions
  • No progress on urgently needed climate finance
  • Increased likelihood of further expansion of false solutions like carbon trading
  • The further locking in of economies based on polluting fossil fuels
  • The further unravelling of the legally-binding international framework to deliver climate action on the basis of science and equity.

 
While there was resistance from developing countries to the destructive proposals on the table in Durban, the final Durban outcome amounts to:
 

  1. A new “Durban Platform” which will delay climate action for a decade.
    Instead of implementing the existing, ambitious and equitable negotiating roadmap that was agreed in Bali four years ago, a new process to launch negotiations for a new treaty was agreed in Durban. The “Durban Platform” will delay much needed climate action for a decade.
  2. A substantial weakening of the Kyoto Protocol.
    The Kyoto Protocol is the only existing international framework for legally-binding emissions reductions by rich industrialised countries. These countries are responsible for three quarters of the emissions in the atmosphere despite only hosting 15% of the world’s population.  The second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol has still not been formally agreed and would only cover the European Union and a handful of other developed countries.
  3. Drastically insufficient targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
    Taken alongside the expansive loopholes agreed to in Durban that serve to help countries avoid emissions cuts, these paltry pledges actually mean a likely net increase in emissions between now and 2020.
  4. A shift of the burden for climate action to developing countries, which have done the least to cause global warming, have the least resources to combat it, and face the additional burden of having to address pressing poverty alleviation and development needs.
  5. Absolutely no progress on urgently-needed, new and additional public finance for developing country climate action and adaptation measures to protect vulnerable communities from climate impacts. The Green Climate Fund was approved but with no means by which to fill the coffers and a provision agreed to that could allow multinational corporations and private financial actors to directly access the fund.
  6. The increased likelihood of new opportunities for carbon trading, a destructive false solution to the climate crisis which locks in climate inaction, drives land grabbing and displacement of communities, and could contribute to another global financial collapse.


“Developed countries, led by the United States, accelerated the demolition of the world’s international framework for fair and urgent climate action.  And developing countries have been bullied and forced into accepting an agreement that could be a suicide pill for the world,” said Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

“On the eve of the climate talks, hundreds of families in Durban lost their homes and some even their lives in devastating flooding. From the Horn of Africa to Thailand to Venezuela to the small island state of Tuvalu, hundreds of millions of people are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis they did not create. The lack of progress in Durban means that we are even closer to a future catastrophic 4 to 6 degrees Celsius of warming, which would condemn most of Africa and the small island states to climate catastrophe and devastate the lives and livelihoods of many millions more around the world” he continued.

Who is to blame?

The disastrous Durban outcome is attributable to a combined effort by the governments of rich industrialised countries, most notably the US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and the European Union.  The United States is most to blame, as it has been the most powerful driver in the dismantling of the legally-binding framework for developed country emissions reductions. It refused to take on emissions reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, and has attempted to replace this system with a weaker, ineffective system of voluntary pledges.

Canada, Japan, Russia, Australia and New Zealand have pursued a similar agenda of trying to escape their legal and moral obligation to act first and fastest to cut their emissions. Canada, Japan and Russia have refused outright to emissions cuts under the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period, and Australia and New Zealand have made their commitments conditional, leaving the European Union and a handful of other developed countries covered by the agreement in Durban.

The European Union, heralded as a climate leader and the saviour of the Durban talks, had an agenda filled with false promises. The EU was a key architect of the new “Durban Platform” that will delay action for ten years, lock in low ambition and deliver a weaker, less effective system than the Kyoto Protocol. The EU’s strategy in Durban was to split the group of developing countries and force emerging economies like India and China, with hundreds of millions of people still below the poverty line, to take on unfair responsibilities for tackling the climate crisis. The EU also blocked progress in closing dangerous loopholes in existing emissions targets, and was the principle driver of the push to expand destructive carbon trading.

The huge influence of corporate polluters and other corporate and financial vested interests over the positions of governments is the underlying reason why Durban’s outcome was so disastrous. The pressure and influence of these interest groups undermines the ability of ordinary citizens and civil society to hold our governments to account for their action on climate and their positions in the international climate negotiations.

“Developed country governments have connived to weaken the rules that require their countries to act on climate whilst strengthening the rules that allow their corporations to profit from the crisis” said Bobby Peek of groundWork / Friends of the Earth South Africa.

“After bailing out the banks, rich countries at the climate talks refused to commit a single new dollar for climate finance for developing countries. They  insisted on allowing multinational corporations and global financial elites to directly access the Green Climate Fund, and pushed through the opening up of further possibilities for speculation via the dangerous carbon market bubble. It is clear in whose interests this deal has been advanced, and it isn’t the 99% of people around the world,” he continued.

Destructive proposals

Many developing country negotiators expressed growing concerns as the talks progressed. The Africa Group (comprising the 54 countries in Africa), India, Venezuela, Bolivia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Nicaragua and a number of small island states all pushed back against the destructive proposals being advanced. But developing countries were coerced into having to accept a “take it or leave it” package to save the Kyoto Protocol and the Green Climate Fund and failed to stand strong and united against the disastrous final outcome of the talks. One of the most vocal critics, India, caved at the last minute to demands by the US and other developed countries that provisions to safeguard an equitable approach to tackling the climate crisis be excluded from the Durban agreement.  

“Ordinary people have once again been let down by governments. Behind the failure in Durban lies the huge influence of corporate polluters and the disproportionate power of the rich developed world. The noise of the vested interests has drowned out the voices of ordinary people in the ears of our leaders“, said Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice Coordinator at Friends of the Earth International

“It is clear that right now our governments cannot do the job we need them to do. But outside the negotiating halls, in our universities, our workplaces, and on the streets, vibrant movements are coming together to build a fair and better world. It is in this growing movement – of workers, women, farmers, students, Indigenous Peoples, and others affected by this greedy economic system – where we can find hope of solutions to the climate crisis” she continued.

WHERE NOW FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE?

Friends of the Earth International believes that we need to radically transform our global economy to create a more just and sustainable world. We need dramatic cuts in emissions on the basis of science and equity and a transformation in our economies to make this a reality. 

 

Developed countries also have a moral and legal obligation to honour their climate debt and provide adequate public finance to developing countries to develop sustainably and protect the vulnerable from climate impacts. 

 

A strong and fair UN agreement on climate is essential, and to get it we will work with others to strengthen the movement for justice in all countries and hold our governments to account to ensure that politics works for people and the planet, not for profit.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth International media line: +31-20- 622 13 69 (Dutch number) or email: media@foei.org

 

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or email: nnimmo@eraction.org
 
Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: +27 824 641 383 or email: bobby@groundwork.org.za

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice & Energy Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International  +44 79 12 40 65 10 email: sarah.clifton@foe.co.uk

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate talks climate 2011-12-13T14:55:00Z News Item Reaction to Durban climate talks http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/reaction-to-durban-climate-talks Commenting on the UN climate talks which ended today in Durban, South Africa, Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice Coordinator of Friends of the Earth International said: “Ordinary people have once again been let down by our governments. Led by the US, developed nations have reneged on their promises, weakened the rules on climate action and strengthened those that allow their corporations to profit from the climate crisis.

The Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding framework for emissions reductions, remains in name only, and the ambition for those emissions cuts remains terrifyingly low.  The Green Climate Fund has no money and the plans to expand destructive carbon trading move ahead.  Meanwhile, millions across the developing world already face devastating climate impacts, and the world catapults headlong towards climate catastrophe.

It is clear in whose interests this deal has been advanced, and it isn’t the 99% of people around the world.  The noise of corporate polluters has drowned out the voices of ordinary people in the ears of our leaders.“

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice & Energy Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International  +44 7912 406510 or email: sarah.clifton@foe.co.uk

Friends of the Earth International media line: +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate 2011-12-11T06:42:46Z News Item Reaction to today's protest at the UN climate talks http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/reaction-to-todays-protest-at-the-un-climate-talks DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, December 9, 2011 -- Commenting on today’s protest at the UN climate talks attended by hundreds of climate justice activists from many organisations in support of a strong and fair agreement to protect Africa and the world, Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International said: "The people have spoken loud and clear: we need climate justice now and this means urgent action.  Yet the politicians inside the talks are once again failing to deliver. If urgent, ambitious action is not taken the lives of millions will be in peril."

 

"Developed countries are responsible for this crisis. They must now stop trying to protect their polluters. They must commit to the ambitious emissions reductions the science and justice tell us we need to avoid catastrophic climate change."
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org
 
Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 (0) 71 63 92 542 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org
 
Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: +27 (0) 824 641 383 or email: bobby@groundwork.org.za

]]> No publisher PhilLee 2011-12-09T17:10:00Z News Item Climate talks: corporate pressure is undermining real action http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-talks-corporate-pressure-is-undermining-real-action DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 8 December 2011 – One day before the close of the UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa, Friends of the Earth International released the second in a series of case studies highlighting how polluting companies, multinational corporations and financial elites are seeking to undermine government action on climate change [1]. The new case study released today [2] looks at the lobbying activities and political agenda of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the international carbon trading business association which represents a range of energy-intensive industries and global financial actors and their interests.

 

The IETA is extremely active in the international climate negotiations, carrying out lobby activities and side events aimed at promoting the uptake and expansion of carbon trading globally.

 

Carbon trading is a false solution to the climate crisis.  All existing and planned carbon trading schemes are based on offsetting – an escape hatch for industrialised countries and polluting industries from the deep and urgent emissions reductions that are needed to stop the climate crisis getting worse.[3]

 

The new series of case studies aims to expose how, in the area of climate policy and beyond, government positions have been increasingly hijacked by narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and industries which are seeking to profit from the climate crisis.  This corporate and elite capture of political decision-making is a key factor in the failure of governments to take urgent action to avoid catastrophic climate change.

 

The key findings of the case study released today include that:

The IETA’s president Henry Derwent is a former British civil servant who only underwent a ‘cooling off’ period of 6 months before commencing lobbying activities targeting the British government, despite the best practice requiring a minimum period of two years.

The IETA has registered 159 lobbyists to attend the COP 17 climate talks in Durban South Africa, including financial speculators, and representatives from banks, carbon consultancies and energy companies.

The IETA is pushing for the continuation of the failed Clean Development  Mechanism, an escape hatch for developed country emissions reductions which is contributing to the locking in of polluting industry and dirty development paths, and negatively impacting local communities and their environment.

The IETA is also pushing for the creation of dangerous new carbon trading mechanisms that would lock in further delays in emissions cuts, as well as the further deregulation of the global carbon market.

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice & Energy Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International said: “IETA has a clear political agenda to capitalise on the climate crisis and expand the dangerous false solution of carbon trading. A great deal of evidence now shows that carbon trading is not working, but the IETA ignores this and invests significant resources to try and convince governments to expand the global carbon market.”

“The story of IETA in the climate negotiations is replicated across many environmental policy areas. Instead of listening to corporate interests, governments should prioritise the interests of ordinary people and communities around the world.  They must commit to the ambitious emissions cuts that we need to tackle the climate crisis in line with justice and equity, and ignore the pressure for inaction and dangerous distractions that is coming from polluting industry and other parts of the corporate world” she continued.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Climate Justice & Energy Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International  +27 (0) 76 35 98 845 (South African number valid only until Dec.10)

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The first case study, released on Wednesday 6 December, exposed the climate positions and practices of the South African energy giant Sasol and can be accessed online at:

http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/corporate-capture/exposing-the-corporate-capture-of-un-institutions

[2] The IETA case study released today can be accessed online at
http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/corporate-capture/exposing-the-corporate-capture-of-un-institutions

[3] A background briefing on carbon trading is online at
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/dangerous_obsession.pdf

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate 2011-12-08T13:28:49Z News Item Climate agenda of South African energy giant Sasol exposed http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-agenda-of-south-african-energy-giant-sasol-exposed DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 7 December 2011 – Polluting companies and multinational corporations are exerting pressure on government climate policies and seeking to undermine global action on the climate crisis, Friends of the Earth International warned today. The world's leading grassroots environmental organisation today released the first of a series of case studies [1] highlighting how government positions and policies on climate change and other environmental issues are being increasingly hijacked by narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and companies which are seeking to profit from the climate crisis.
 
The first of these case studies outlines the practices and positions of South African energy giant Sasol, which was exposed today as releasing 61.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually and is the world leader in coal-to-liquid technology.  [2]
 
Sasol is just one of the major corporations that seek to influence governments before and during the UN climate negotiations.  The company has representatives on the South Africa government’s official delegation to the climate talks taking place in Durban this week.
 
The UN talks are attended by hundreds of lobbyists from the corporate sector, many of whom try to ensure that the outcomes of the negotiations promote the interests of big business over the protection of the environment and the wellbeing of people and communities.
 
In the case study launched today, Friends of the Earth International reveals Sasol's close ties with the South African government and the areas in which it is seeking to influence national and international level policies on climate change.
 
Sasol has faced heavy criticism for levels of air and water pollution at its Sasolburg coal to liquid plants, which have had severe impacts on the local populations' health.
 
According to Sasol’s own figures, for the year ended June 2011 the company's direct carbon dioxide emissions for its operations in South Africa amounted to 11 per cent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
 
However, Sasol is highly regarded by the South African government, who sees it is an innovative leader in technology and industry.
 
According to Bobby Peek of groundwork/Friends of the Earth South Africa:
 
"Sasol is a key supplier of energy in South Africa and is promoting climate inaction and false solutions which allow it to continue to profit from pollution.  Sasol has no right to be on the South African delegation representing its dirty agenda in a process which is supposed to be about finding clean, urgent and effective solutions to the climate crisis.”
 
Friends of the Earth International chair Nnimmo Bassey said:
 
“The climate policies of governments around the world are being increasingly hijacked by narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and industries which are seeking to profit from the climate crisis.  This corporate and elite capture of decision-making at the national level is key to why governments are failing to make progress in the international climate talks and deliver the urgent economic transformation we need to avoid absolute climate catastrophe”
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Sharon Pillay,  Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundwork media officer + 27 (0) 72 25 77 317 or email media@groundwork.org.za
 
Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: +27 (0) 824 641 383 or email: bobby@groundwork.org.za
 
Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 (0) 71 63 92 542 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org
 
Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org
 

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The Sasol case study released today is online at 
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2011/how-corporations-rule-sasol-and-south-africas-climate-policy/view
 
[2] More information in today’s Independent Online story ‘Sasol tops list of emitters” online at
 http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/sasol-tops-list-of-emitters-1.1193640

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate corporate power 2011-12-07T15:58:57Z News Item Climate talks: Durban inaction a recipe for climate catastrophe http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-talks-durban-inaction-a-recipe-for-climate-catastrophe DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 7 December 2011 – Friends of the Earth International has issued strong warnings against climate inaction at the UN climate talks in Durban, and blamed industrialised countries like the US, Canada, Japan and Europe for seeking to unravel existing agreements under the guise of a “new mandate” for the climate negotiations. As global leaders arrive today for the final three days of talks, the international grassroots environmental organisation has pointed to the highly destructive agenda of developed countries, including the EU, which

have so far failed in Durban to propose any ambitious emission reductions and any suitable finance and technology support to developing countries.

 

Friends of the Earth International has called on developing countries to resist the push from the rich industrialised world to tear up existing commitments.  A new mandate - which means not implementing existing obligations – would lock in ten years of inaction and set the world squarely on a course for climate catastrophe.

 

“Rich countries must hear loud and clear that Africa won’t pay for their crisis.  Developed countries are trying to kill the Kyoto Protocol. They want to turn back the clock to 1997 and shift responsibility for the climate crisis they created onto the developing countries already bearing the brunt of climate change.  Anything less than strong legally-binding emissions reductions for developed countries under a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol must be understood for what it is – a mandate to burn Africa and our people” said Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

 

“This talk of a new treaty is a ruse to distract the world from the failure of developed countries to deliver on their existing commitments to cut emissions.  We don’t need a new mandate, a mandate already exists.  A new mandate will open the door to climate deregulation where polluters continue to pollute, speculators profit from pollution, and the rest of the world carries the burden of the climate crisis” said Meena Raman of Friends of the Earth Malaysia.

 

The EU has driven the call for a new mandate but it is advancing a wider agenda of rich industrialised countries like the US, Japan and Canada to escape from the current system of legally-binding emissions reduction targets for those countries which have caused the climate crisis -- and shift responsibility onto developing countries.  Meanwhile, countries are using the international climate negotiations to drive forward false and dangerous solutions to climate change like the expansion of carbon trading.

 

“It is clear what is driving this agenda.  More and more countries are coming to the international climate talks with one objective in mind: to defend and advance the economic interests of their polluting industries and multinational corporations and resist the global effort for a strong and fair agreement to tackle climate change. Many civil society groups are calling Durban a conference of polluters.  We cannot let the polluters win  and lock in a decade of inaction on the climate crisis.  Africa must stand strong on behalf of the people of Africa and the people of the world,” said Bobby Peek of Friends of the Earth South Africa.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email:media@foei.org

 

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 (0) 71 63 92 542 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10), email:nnimmo@eraction.org

 

Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: +27 824 641 383 (South African mobile), email:bobby@groundwork.org.za Meena Raman, Friends of the Earth Malaysia:+27(0)72 26 18 870 (valid until Dec. 9)]]> No publisher PhilLee climate 2011-12-07T13:37:07Z News Item New report: world's first big ‘REDD’ project violating indigenous people rights http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/new-report-worlds-first-big-2018redd2019-project-violating-indigenous-peoples-rights DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 6 December, 2011 – While the governments of countries such as Australia are busy with forest projects that promote false solutions such as carbon offsetting, the UN climate talks in Durban are failing to address the urgent problem of deforestation, said Friends of the Earth International today. Government negotiators are expected to decide in Durban on ways to finance projects under the mechanism known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

According to a new report released today by Friends of the Earth International, the world’s first large scale REDD project is failing to deliver its promised benefits. [1] 

Friends of the Earth International believes that the project is an ineffective solution to tackling climate change and that current REDD projects take the world further away from stopping deforestation and forest degradation.
 
In response to proposals being debated in Durban that will include forests in the carbon markets, Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme, said:
 
“Forest offsets are diverting attention from the real measures needed on the ground to halt deforestation.  Our report shows that REDD is failing to address the drivers of deforestation and failing to respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.  Commodifying forests for the benefit of dirty corporations in wealthy countries who are unwilling to reduce their own emissions will do nothing to solve the climate crisis.  Even worse, REDD projects like the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership are violating the rights of Indigenous Peoples and causing damaging tensions on the ground.” 
 
Kate Horner of Friends of the Earth US said:  


“With the rules currently on the table in Durban, REDD has no environmental credibility and will negatively impact the rights of communities. With these rules, REDD offset credits will also perversely incentivize loggers and road-builders. Despite the fact that the price of carbon is crashing, many countries still suffer the delusion that the carbon market could deliver significant financing for forest protection projects in developing countries. Even if there was a forest carbon market, which there isn’t, the vast majority of benefits would be captured by consultants, not those most in need,” she added.

The report released today by Friends of the Earth International exposes an Australian carbon offsetting project in the Central Kalimantan area of Indonesia. [1]

The report 'In the REDD,' was researched by campaigners in Friends of the Earth Indonesia and Australia who examined the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership (KFCP), the world's first large scale REDD pilot project, which was set up between Australia and Indonesia. 

The report shows that the project does not guarantee Indigenous Peoples rights, conflicts with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has created confusion among local groups, and faces ongoing opposition from local people.

According to the new report, the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership fails to take into account the rights of Indigenous and local forest dependent people. It is also failing to contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as palm oil firms involved are illegally clearing land in nearby areas, which are supposed to be under a deforestation moratorium. Finally, it allows Australian companies to carry on polluting while hiding behind offset credits from the REDD scheme.

The report states that community groups repeatedly expressed concerns that their rights are not being respected and that the project will not address the relevant drivers of deforestation. In June 2011, a statement signed by 25 mantir adat (custom keepers) from the Kapuas District called for the KFCP to be stopped. They raised concerns that the site for the project was decided between the Australian and Indonesian governments without local consultation; that no written assurances that land tenure rights would be respected have been given; that the project implementation is bringing unrest and internal conflict to the community; and that they were doubtful about the promises made by the project.

Friends of the Earth International believes that:

  • Trading forests for pollution diverts attention from real measures to reduce emissions and prevent deforestation.
  • Trading forests for pollution threatens Indigenous Peoples and local communities who depend on them for survival.
  • Agreements on deforestation should be designed to stop deforestation and forest degradation and not simply to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions. 
  • Forests must be kept out of carbon markets.

 

CONTACTS IN DURBAN

Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme, Tel: +27 720403445 (South African number valid only until Dec.10)
 
Kate Horner, Friends of the Earth US, Tel: + 27 762210491 (South African number valid only until Dec.10)
 
Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org
 

CONTACT IN INDONESIA

Teguh Surya, Friends of the Earth Indonesia / WALHI:  email:  teguh.surya@gmail.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The report  'In the REDD,'  in online at http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2011/in-the-redd-australias-carbon-offset-project-in-central-kalimantan/view

A briefing on carbon trading and REDD is available online at http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2011/our-climate-is-not-for-sale-say-no-to-carbon-trading-expansion-at-cop-17/view

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate biodiversity forests 2011-12-06T08:38:40Z News Item CLIMATE TALKS: SUSTAINABLE, SMALL-SCALE, AND PEASANT AGRICULTURE NEEDED TO COOL DOWN THE EARTH http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-talks-sustainable-small-scale-and-peasant-agriculture-needed-to-cool-down-the-earth DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 5 December 2011-- The UN climate talks in Durban have reminded the world that agriculture is responsible for almost one fourth of the world's emissions of greenhouse gases. However, they are failing to expose industrial agriculture as the culprit and small-scale agroecological food production as the only solution to the problem, said Friends of the Earth International today.

In Durban today Friends of the Earth campaigners marched with two hundred peasant farmers, members of the international peasant movement 'La Via Campesina', to denounce the model of industrial agriculture as one of the main drivers of climate change and to expose the aggressive land grabbing tactics of agribusiness globally. [1]

The March with the global peasant movement celebrates 'the Agroecology and Food Sovereignty day to Cool Down the Earth', a symbolic action to demand respect for the cause of peasants and small food producers globally.

“The climate and food crisis can be addressed through food sovereignty, basically promoting sustainable peasant agriculture and small-scale food production,” said Martin Drago, Food Sovereignty coordinator at Friends of the Earth International.

"Small-scale farming not only improves food security and food sovereignty but also helps to combat climate change by tackling two principal sources of greenhouse gas emissions: food transportation over large distances and industrial agriculture," he added

"We are denouncing soil carbon markets, and the so called “Climate Smart Agriculture” being pushed at the UN climate talks as false solutions to the climate crisis," said Nnimmo Bassey, the Chair of Friends of the Earth
International. "Instead of tackling the root causes of agriculture’s contribution to climate change, these false solutions heat up the planet," he added.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Martin Drago, Food Sovereignty coordinator at Friends of the Earth International: Tel: + 27 (0) 727875169 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10)

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or +27 (0) 71 63 92 542 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org

Boaventura Monjane, La Via Campesina press office: boa.monjane@viacampesina.org or +27 (0)73 65 09 229 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10)

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] La Via Campesina ia an international movement of peasants, small- and medium-sized producers, landless, rural women, indigenous people, rural youth and agricultural workers.

Food sovereignty involves the promotion of local production, genuine agrarian reform and the defence of indigenous peoples’ territories. It relies on ecologically sensitive production models rooted in peasant and indigenous knowledge. In these models, transnational corporations, chemical pesticides and genetically modified crops have no place.

La Vía Campesina first introduced food sovereignty in 1996. Numerous social movements and non-governmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth International, have embraced the concept in their efforts to change agriculture and food policy everywhere.

Millions of peasants and small-scale farmers from all over the world who are organized in La Vía Campesina and who refuse to disappear, along with millions who care about the planet and humanity, see in food sovereignty a new path and a necessary way forward.

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate talks climate 2011-12-05T09:25:00Z News Item WILL AFRICA LEAD THE WORLD WHERE RICH COUNTRIES HAVE FAILED? http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/will-africa-lead-the-world-where-rich-countries-have-failed DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 2 December 2011 – Continued strong and united leadership by African governments is essential at the UN climate talks in South Africa if the world is to have a chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, Friends of the Earth International warned today. The global grassroots environmental federation condemned the inaction and intransigence of the industrialised world at the Durban climate talks, and the developed countries’ tactic of trying to escape their responsibilities for climate action by unravelling previous agreements and calling for a “new mandate” for the UN climate negotiations.

Friends of the Earth International’s assessment of the talks so far is:

  • Led by the US, Canada and Japan, developed nations are trying to shift their responsibilities for deep and drastic emissions cuts onto developing countries in Africa and elsewhere. Developing countries are suffering the most from the climate crisis and have done the least to cause the problem. 
  • Developed countries are trying to kill the existing framework for legally binding emissions reductions - the Kyoto Protocol - and replace it with a disastrous ‘bottom-up’ voluntary approach.  The European Union has joined this push with a proposal for a so-called “new mandate” this week in Durban.
  • Developed countries are trying to carve out new business opportunities for their financial elites and multinational corporations to access funds earmarked for climate action by developing countries. These funds are supposed to go fund sustainable development and urgently needed measures to protect poor and vulnerable communities from the devastating impacts of climate change.
  • Only the Africa Group of countries – one of the regions already facing the worst impacts of the climate crisis – is showing leadership in the negotiations and holding industrialised countries to their previous commitments. 


“We are already one week into the talks and still there has been no discussion on the most important issue here in Durban: when and with what level of urgency the rich industrialised countries who are responsible for the climate crisis are going to reaffirm their commitment to legally binding emissions cuts in line with science and equity. 

 

"So far, developed countries acted in the interests of their multinationals and financial elites. The world’s eyes are  now on the governments of Africa to show leadership where the rich governments have abjectly failed,” said Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

“On Saturday thousands of people will march on the streets of Durban to demand climate justice.   African leaders must hear their call and stand strong in the interests of our peoples and the people of the world,” he continued.

“Developed countries are busy trying to rearrange the deckchairs as the planet is about to sink. By opening the door to a deregulation of the UN climate agreement, they will begin a race to the bottom whose first victims will be the billions of people in the poorest and most vulnerable countries of Africa and the small islands,” said Asad Rehman of Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“The EU must ensure that Durban does not lock the world into an ineffective global agreement that will give a green light to polluters to continue putting their economic interests before the people and the planet. The EU must stop its talk of new mandates and deliver in Durban under the existing mandate it is committed to: the continuation of the Kyoto protocol and its binding emissions cuts,” he added.

“South African President Jacob Zuma must stand with Africa and be uncompromising on what Africans have agreed must happen if our continent is not going to burn. We need deep and drastic binding emissions cuts by the rich countries and real, public climate finance, not a mandate for a new wave of financial colonialism through a private sector “facility” in the new Green Climate Fund,” said Bobby Peek of Friends of the Earth South Africa.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Rich developed countries are responsible for three quarters of all emissions historically whilst hosting only 15% of the world’s population. Africa’s historical contribution to global emissions is negligible.

The most fractious issue in the negotiations is the future of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.  Whilst the targets in the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol are extremely weak and full of dangerous loopholes like carbon trading, the Protocol itself provides the only existing international framework for legally binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The first period of emission cuts agreed under the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. A new round of emission cuts must be agreed in Durban to avoid gaps between the first and second periods.

Canada, Japan and Russia are determined not to commit to a second period of emission cuts under the Protocol unless all major economies – including China and the United States – agree to the same legal terms.

The US is reneging on its promise to take on comparable binding emissions reductions and instead pushing for a complete dismantling of the framework of legally-binding emissions reduction targets and its replacement with a totally inadequate voluntary pledge and review system where countries would decide their own emissions cuts on a national basis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 (0) 71 63 92 542 (South African mobile valid only until Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org

Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: +27 (0) 824 641 383 or email: bobby@groundwork.org.za

Asad Rehman , Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland: +27 (0) 76 67 94 011 223 (South African number valid only until Dec.10)

]]> No publisher PhilLee 2011-12-02T12:11:07Z News Item DEVELOPED NATIONS – LED BY US, UK AND JAPAN - TRY TO TURN GREEN CLIMATE FUND INTO GREEDY CORPORATE FUND http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/developed-nations-2013-led-by-us-uk-and-japan-try-to-turn-green-climate-fund-into-greedy-corporate-fund DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, Dec. 1, 2011— Today 163 civil society organisations from 39 countries released a letter exposing an attempt led by the US, the UK and Japan to turn the Green Climate Fund into a “Greedy Corporate Fund” at UN climate talks in South Africa. [1] The Green Climate Fund was created to support people in developing countries – people who are the most affected by the climate crisis but are the least responsible for it.

 

But at the climate negotiations this week developed countries are trying to allow multinational corporations and financiers to directly access GCF financing.

 

This means companies could bypass developing country governments and their national climate strategies to get to public money.

 

“Turning the Green Climate Fund into a Greedy Corporate Fund would be shameful, yet this is what is being attempted at the Durban climate talks,” said Meena Raman from Third World Network.”

 

“Led by the US and the UK on behalf of Wall Street and The City, this attempt to hijack developing countries’ funding is outrageous. Communities need this money to address climate change and to finance their own development – without repeating the same mistakes that the rich countries have made,” said Karen Orenstein from Friends of the Earth US.

 

“The role of private investment in financing climate activities must be decided at the national and sub-national levels in line with countries’ priorities, not corporate bottom lines. The move to allow the private sector to go directly to the Green Climate Fund for money undermines the possibility of a democratic, participatory process for meeting the needs of communities struggling to fight climate change,” said Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development.

 

Few adaptation measures in developing countries will be attractive to the private sector, as they will not generate revenue. Some key mitigation programs may also not be financially lucrative.

 

Groups also warned against closed door negotiations on the Green Climate Fund by South Africa, the US, and other developed countries.

 

“Whatever happens in Durban must be fully transparent. We are deeply concerned by reports that South Africa is informally consulting behind closed doors on the Green Climate Fund decision,” said Bobby Peek of groundwork / Friends of the Earth South Africa. “This will greatly undermine the legitimacy, and ultimately the effectiveness, of the Green Climate Fund.”

 

The concerns expressed in the letter come on top of the long-held rejection by many in civil society of any role for the World Bank in the Green Climate Fund.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Meena Raman, Third World Network, Mobile: + 27 (0) 72 26 18 870 (valid only until Dec. 9)

 

Lidy Nacpil, Jubilee South Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Tel: + 27 (0) 767342705 (valid only until Dec. 9)

 

Karen Orenstein, Friends of the Earth US: Tel: + 27 (0) 72 04 32 655 (valid only until Dec. 9)

 

Bobby Peek, groundWork/Friends of the Earth South Africa, Tel: +27 (0) 82 46 41 383

 

Murray Worthy, World Development Movement, Tel: +27 (0) 83 96 89 917

 

Janet Redman, Institute for Policy Studies, Tel: +27 (0) 713861216 (valid only until Dec. 9)

 

NOTES TO EDITORs

[1] A copy of the letter is online at

http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/b8/c/895/2/12-1-11_priv_sect_facility_GCF_lett_FINAL_w_sigs.pdf

 

A background briefing highlighting key considerations for the debate on the Green Climate Fund is online at:

http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/c4/5/896/2/GCF-COP17-key-considerations.pdf

 

Sponsoring organizations include

ActionAid, Campaign to Reform the World Bank, Friends of the Earth International, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Jubilee South - Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Institute for Policy Studies, World Development Movement.

 

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate 2011-12-01T09:15:00Z News Item UN CLIMATE TALKS: STRONG CONCERNS OVER AGENDA OF DEVELOPED COUNTRIES http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/un-climate-talks-strong-concerns-over-agenda-of-developed-countries-1 DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 28 November 2011 – Friends of the Earth International has expressed strong concerns over the agenda of the US and a number of other developed countries at the UN climate talks in Durban from 28 November to 9 December. The global grassroots environmental federation is calling on other governments to stop these countries from undermining the globally-agreed framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to ensure stronger targets for legally binding emissions cuts in line with science and equity.

The most fractious issue in the negotiations is the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.  Whilst the greenhouse gas emissions targets in the current phase are extremely weak and full of dangerous loopholes
like carbon trading, the Protocol itself provides the only existing international framework for legally binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. [1]

Rather than strengthen the emissions targets and cut out the loopholes to galvanise real action on climate emissions, the US, Japan, Canada and other developed countries are pushing to scrap the agreed, legally-binding framework to cut emissions and replace it with a voluntary ‘pledge and review' approach.

This would put the world squarely on track to catastrophic global warming. These rich, industrialised countries are concealing their deadly agenda with calls for a new mandate for a totally new climate treaty to take effect as far away as 2020. [2]

“Durban could be where the greatest crime against humanity is committed. The blind greed and self-interest of developed countries could literally pass a death sentence on the peoples of Africa”, said Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

“The US, Japan and other rich countries are using the climate talks to advance the narrow, profit-driven interests of their polluting industries, multinational corporations, and financial elites. Developing countries must resist this ruinous agenda, and the EU must prove its climate leadership or take its share of responsibility for what could be a disastrous outcome in Durban. The world can no longer stand by whilst they sell out our future” he continued.

“To tackle the climate crisis we need a transformation in our unjust and unsustainable economies and their basis in dirty, polluting fossil fuels. In South Africa, it was the power of peoples’ struggle that defeated apartheid.  Once again our communities need to organize, mobilise and help build not just a new South Africa but a new just and sustainable world that puts the interests and needs of ordinary people and communities
first,” said Bobby Peek, director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork.

“Here in Durban delegates are already feeling the pressure from the many civil society voices who chose to demand climate justice from outside the talks,” he added.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] Developed (Annex I) countries are responsible for three quarters of historic emissions despite only hosting 15% of the world´s population. Because of their historical responsibility for climate change they have a moral and legal obligation under the climate convention to cut their emissions first and fasted and finance action by developing countries.

The first period of emission cuts agreed under the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. A second commitment period must be agreed in Durban to avoid gaps between the two periods.

Canada, Japan and Russia are determined not to commit to a second period of emission cuts under the Protocol unless all major economies – including China and the United States – agree to the same legal terms.

The US is reneging on its promise to take on comparable binding emissions reductions. Instead, it is pushing for a complete dismantling of the framework of legally-binding emissions reduction targets and for its replacement with a voluntary pledge and review system where countries would decide their own emissions cuts on a national basis.

[2] According to UNEP, the voluntary emissions reductions pledges submitted at the previous UN round of climate talks (COP 16 in Cancun) would put the world on track to a catastrophic 5 degrees of warming and
even higher for Africa.

 

CONTACTS

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only Nov. 28 – Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 716 392 542 (South African mobile valid only Nov. 28 – Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org

Bobby Peek, director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork:
Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa: +27 824 641 383 (South African mobile), email: bobby@groundwork.org.za

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information to report on the climate talks and the climate crisis with a 'climate justice' angle you can find a list of useful online resources here:

 

http://www.foei.org/en/media/climate-justice-resources/view

]]> No publisher PhilLee climate 2011-11-28T14:15:00Z News Item UN CLIMATE TALKS : STRONG CONCERNS OVER AGENDA OF DEVELOPED COUNTRIES http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/un-climate-talks-strong-concerns-over-agenda-of-developed-countries DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 22 November 2011 – Friends of the Earth International has expressed strong concerns over the stated agenda of the US and a number of other developed countries at the forthcoming UN climate talks in Durban from 28 November to 9 December [1].  

The global grassroots environmental federation is calling on other governments to stop these countries from undermining the globally-agreed framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to  ensure stronger targets for legally binding emissions cuts in line with science and equity.
 
The climate talks have been deadlocked since the beginning of the decade because of the failure of developed countries – those historically responsible for the bulk of the climate-changing emissions – to deliver on their moral and legal obligations for climate action.

Developed countries are obliged under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to cut their emissions first and fastest and to provide adequate public finance and technology transfer to developing countries.

But in the last two years the international negotiations have taken an even more worrying turn, with the US, Japan and others pushing to scrap the agreed, legally-binding framework for developed country emissions cuts and replace it with a voluntary ‘pledge and review' approach.  This would put the world squarely on track to catastrophic global warming [2]. 

“Millions of people around the world are already facing the impacts of the climate crisis.  Yet many developed country governments, who have it within their power to prevent the crisis from getting any worse, are acting with complete impunity.  And worse, many are using the climate talks to advance the narrow, profit-driven agenda of polluting industries, multinational corporations, and financial elites”, said Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Climate Justice and Energy Programme.

“To tackle the climate crisis we need a transformation in our unjust and unsustainable economies and their basis in dirty, polluting fossil fuels.  In South Africa, it was the power of peoples’ struggle that defeated apartheid.  Once again our communities need to organize, mobilise and help build not just a new South Africa but a new just and sustainable world that puts the interests and needs of ordinary people and communities first,” said Bobby Peek, director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork.

“Durban could be where the greatest crime against humanity is committed. The blind greed and self-interest of developed countries could literally pass a death sentence on the peoples of Africa”, said Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

“Developed countries must take the lead by committing to urgent and dramatic legally-binding emissions cuts, stop the drive for destructive false solutions like carbon trading, and repay their climate debt to developing countries.  Developing countries must resist the drive from the US, Japan and others towards climate catastrophe, and the EU must prove its climate leadership or take its share of responsibility for what could be a disastrous outcome in Durban. The world cannot wait any longer” he continued.


NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The most fractious issue in the negotiations is the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol.  Whilst the greenhouse gas emissions targets in the current phase are extremely weak and full of dangerous loopholes like carbon trading, the Protocol itself provides the only existing international framework for legally binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The first phase of emission cuts agreed under the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. A second phase must be agreed in Durban to avoid gaps between the two periods.

Canada, Japan and Russia are determined not to commit to a second period of emission cuts under the Protocol unless all major economies – including China and the United States – agree to the same legal terms.

The US is reneging on its promise to take on comparable binding emissions reductions. Instead, it is pushing for a complete dismantling of the framework of legally-binding emissions reduction targets and for its replacement with a voluntary pledge and review system where countries would decide their own emissions cuts on a national basis.

[2] According to UNEP, the voluntary emissions reductions pledges submitted at the previous UN round of climate talks (COP 16 in Cancun) would put the world on track to a catastrophic 5 degrees of warming and even higher for Africa

FOR MORE INFORMATION to report on the climate talks and the climate crisis with a 'climate justice' angle there is a media briefing and a list of useful online resources here


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Climate Justice and Energy Programme: or +27 763 598 845 (South African mobile valid only Nov. 22 – Dec.10) or +44-7912 40 65 10 (UK mobile), email: sarah.clifton@foe.co.uk

Bobby Peek, director of Friends of the Earth South Africa / groundWork: Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa: +27 824 641 383 (South African mobile), email: bobby@groundwork.org.za

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian mobile) or  +27 716 392 542 (South African mobile valid only Nov. 22 – Dec.10), email: nnimmo@eraction.org

Friends of the Earth International media line: +27 791 097 223 (South African number valid only Nov. 26 – Dec.10) or +31-6-5100 5630 (Dutch mobile) or email: media@foei.org

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno climática Kyoto climate climate talks 2011-11-22T12:45:00Z News Item IN SUPPORT OF THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/in-support-of-the-occupy-movement AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 17 November 2011 – The world’s largest grassroots environmental organization today spoke out in support of the Occupy protests and called for environmental activists and organizations around the world to join the movement to demand radical system change.
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), with member groups in 76 countries, issued a statement [1] in support of the Occupy movement at a time when many of the camps are being shut down by police.

“We offer our solidarity and our support, and we join this movement wholeheartedly,” reads the FoEI statement. “To save our communities and our environment, we stand united in calling for a profound transformation of the current globalized political economic system.”

The grassroots organization believes that tackling excessive corporate power and promoting economic justice are key to solving the environmental crisis, including the climate crisis.

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair, said:

“We are one with those who raise their voices against corporate greed and who speak out for social equity and real solutions to the crises we face.”

“In our struggles on the ground, around the world, it's clear that corporate interests have captured many of the spaces where people's interests should be served. Economic policies that prioritize profit over life have led us to the brink of catastrophic climate change; continuing with the same approach will only lead to more environmental destruction and inequality. This is system failure – we demand an alternative system with environmental and economic justice at its core,” added Bassey.

Next week a FoEI delegation will take this message to the UN climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa (Nov.28-Dec.9). FoEI will be demanding that negotiators stop prioritizing corporate interests and that industrialized countries drastically cut their carbon markets, without offsets or carbon trading, in order to address the climate crisis that threatens the lives and livelihoods of billions of people.


NOTES TO EDITORS

Read the full text of the FoEI statement here


FOR MORE INFORMATION

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair: nnimmo@eraction.org or call +234 803 727 4395 (Nigeria)

Dave Hirsch,Friends of the Earth US: dhirsch@foe.org or call:+1-202 222-0741(US)

Jagoda Munic, Friends of the Earth Croatia: jagoda@zelena-akcija.hr or call: +385 1 4813 097 or +385 98 1795 690 (Croatia)

Karin Nansen, Friends of the Earth Uruguay: urusust@gmail.com or call : + 598 98 466 398 (Uruguay)

Meena Raman, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, meenaco@pd.jaring.net or call: +41-22 90 83 550 or +60-12 430 0042 (Malaysia).

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno justice equality corporate power finance 2011-11-16T16:44:27Z News Item New Report Memory, Truth and Justice for Heroes in the Resistance against Mining Oil and Gas http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/new-report-victims-of-mining-oil-and-gas 10 November 2011 – Today, on the 16th anniversary of the murder of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa - a day of remembrance of the victims of mining, oil and gas - Friends of the Earth International releases a new report and renews its commitment to the struggle for justice for the communities who suffer the consequences of extractive industries.
The new report [1], released on November 10, is entitled 'Memory, Truth and Justice for Heroes in the Resistance against Mining Oil and Gas' and exposes the murders of many human rights and environmental activists all over the world for defending their rights and natural resources.

Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders were executed on 10 November 1995 for speaking out against the impact of Shell and other oil companies in the Niger Delta.

Nnimmo Bassey, the chair of Friends of the Earth International, from Nigeria, said:

“Ken Saro-Wiwa was a hero who died because of the world’s addiction to fossil fuels. His words still ring true in our ears today. This is why we set November 10 as a day of remembrance of the victims of mining, oil and gas. We demand that those who have orchestrated the murder of people for the sake of profits should be held to account. We also demand environmental justice and an end to fossil fuels: be it crude, tar sands or coal.”

Romel de Vera, coordinator of the Resisting Mining, Oil and Gas program of Friends of the Earth International, said:
“We condemn the fact that many governments favor and protect the interests of extractive industry corporations instead of the right of communities to land and resources. The list of community rights defenders, environmentalists and social activists killed in the course of their struggle against mining, oil and gas continues to grow even longer. On November 10, remembrance actions are held all over the world to commemorate their heroism and celebrate their lives and struggles, as well as to condemn the culture and cycle of death forced upon us by the extractives industry.”

Natalia Atz Sunuc, coordinator of the Resisting Mining, Oil and Gas program of Friends of the Earth International, said: “Many brothers and sisters have been murdered in Asia, Africa, and the Americas for defending life and their territories. We demand an end to the repression against those who defend life and an end to the criminalization of the people who defend their territories. The work of our heroes shall not be in vain”.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

IN AFRICA
Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of ERA-Friends of the Earth Nigeria and chair of Friends of the Earth International: nnimmo@eraction.org, +234 803 727 4395 (Nigeria)

IN ASIA
Romel de Vera, coordinator of the Resisting Mining, Oil and Gas program of Friends of the Earth International, meldevera@gmail.com, or Tel +632 92 81 372 (Philippines)

IN LATIN AMERICA
Natalia Atz Sunuc, coordinator of the Resisting Mining, Oil and Gas program of Friends of the Earth International: coordinacion@ceibaguate.org or Tel +502-47815617 (Guatemala)


NOTES
[1] The report can be downloaded from here

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno extractive affected peoples campaigners corporate power 2011-11-10T17:05:00Z News Item NEW REPORT: Community Rights Help Communities Win http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/new-report-community-rights-help-communities-win SAN JOSE', COSTA RICA, October 13, 2011 – A new report released today by Friends of the Earth International illustrates the importance of enforcing local community and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, featuring struggles of groups and communities from all continents. [1] "Community rights allow us to protect traditional knowledge and ownership, as well as our natural resources. By enforcing their rights communities can overcome local struggles and win. For instance with community-based forest governance local people can help protect their forests as well as the climate," said Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme.

 

Download the report

 

The report 'Communities Rights, Corporate Wrongs', features local struggles that have the defence and enforcement of community rights at their heart and includes the following cases:

  • The Subanon Indigenous communities in Mindanao, the Philippines who successfully worked together to halt a damaging mine
  • Indigenous communities in Sarawak, Indonesia displaced by a mega-dam having their case heard, thanks to legal support
  • Communities in Costa Rica mobilised against mining
  • Communities in Ogoniland in Nigeria resisting against oil giant Shell
  • Local communities, Indigenous Peoples and activists in the US and Canada resisting a tar sands oil pipeline that would stretch from Alberta to Texas.
  • Bagyeli Indigenous communities in Cameroon asserting their rights and demarcating ancestral territories.


The report also illustrates how community rights help strengthen 'community-based forest governance', the regulations and practices used by many communities for the conservation and sustainable use of their forests.

Community-based forest governance is communal and is traditionally identified with the protection of the forests - in contrast to their industrial and commercial exploitation, which contribute to deforestation, loss or livelihoods and biodiversity, and climate change.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme (Costa Rica) – Email: isaac@coecoceiba.org or Tel: + 506 8338 32 03 (Costa Rica)

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The report can be downloaded from
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2011/community-rights-corporate-wrongs/view

]]> No publisher PhilLee communities affected peoples corporate power neoliberalism 2011-10-13T10:53:02Z News Item