Le lobby d’Anglo American pour l’énergie polluante et ses fausses solutions pour le climat

The report exposes the dual nature of Anglo American's operations: the severe human rights and environmental impacts of its El Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, and its strategic lobbying within the UNFCCC and other international bodies to maintain a fossil-fuel-based energy model. It argues that the company promotes 'false solutions'—such as carbon markets and carbon capture and storage (CCS)—to avoid structural changes and continue profiting from pollution. The authors call for the removal of corporate privileged access to climate negotiations and the end of public subsidies for polluting energies.

• The El Cerrejón open-pit coal mine in Colombia, partially owned by Anglo American, causes severe water scarcity and health issues. The mine consumes 17 million litres of water per day, while local residents in Alta Guajira consume an average of only 0.7 litres per day. Pollution of water and air has led to respiratory and ocular diseases among local indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and peasant communities.
• Anglo American's operations in La Guajira, Colombia, involve the forced displacement of communities and the desecration of cultural sites. The Colombian national army is used to protect the mine's interests, resulting in abuses and the expulsion of residents from lands, sometimes without any resettlement.
• The company employs 'greenwashing' through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies to mask structural socio-ecological conflicts. These include funding wind farm feasibility studies that do not significantly reduce emissions from coal extraction and using biodiversity offsets to replace destroyed areas with 'equivalent' ones, ignoring the unique value of original biodiversity.
• Anglo American exerts significant influence over the UNFCCC, particularly during COP17 in Durban, where it held a 'leadership role' with 17 delegates. The company used this access to promote the eligibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) within the Clean Development Mechanism and to argue that a coal-free energy future is not feasible.
• The company promotes 'false solutions' to the climate crisis that allow it to continue polluting while appearing green. These include the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), where Anglo American received approximately 43 million euros in free emission credits between 2010 and 2011, and REDD+ mechanisms.
• Anglo American operates through a complex network of industry lobby groups to influence policy. This includes EUROMINES (pushing for shale gas and the ETS), the International Council for Mining and Metals (ICMM), the International Energy Agency Clean Coal Centre (IEACCC), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

APA

Ortiz, L., Sabido, P., Tansey, R., Forero, L. F., Urrea, D., & Shaw, S. (2014). Le lobby d’Anglo American pour l’énergie polluante et ses fausses solutions pour le climat. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/19-foei-corporate-capture-report-fr-lr.pdf

Chicago

Ortiz, Lucía, Pascoe Sabido, Rachel Tansey, Lyda Fernanda Forero, Danilo Urrea, and Sara Shaw. Le lobby d’Anglo American pour l’énergie polluante et ses fausses solutions pour le climat. Friends of the Earth International, 2014. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/19-foei-corporate-capture-report-fr-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ortiz |first1=Lucía |last2=Sabido |first2=Pascoe |last3=Tansey |first3=Rachel |last4=Forero |first4=Lyda Fernanda |last5=Urrea |first5=Danilo |last6=Shaw |first6=Sara |title=Le lobby d’Anglo American pour l’énergie polluante et ses fausses solutions pour le climat |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=November 2014 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/19-foei-corporate-capture-report-fr-lr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ortiz2014lobby, author = {Ortiz, Lucía and Sabido, Pascoe and Tansey, Rachel and Forero, Lyda Fernanda and Urrea, Danilo and Shaw, Sara}, title = {{Le lobby d’Anglo American pour l’énergie polluante et ses fausses solutions pour le climat}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/19-foei-corporate-capture-report-fr-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }