Search Climate Insights Directory

A coalition of international and Scottish organizations is calling on the Scottish Government to challenge the Batang Toru dam project in Indonesia. The project, developed by SDIC Power and its Edinburgh-based subsidiary Red Rock Power, threatens the Tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest great ape. The letter highlights environmental risks, human rights abuses, and the contradiction between the project and Scotland's biodiversity and just transition commitments.

Mighty Earth argues that the Belém Declaration, the outcome of the inaugural Amazon Summit, misses a critical opportunity to combat deforestation by ignoring the role of the meat industry. The author highlights that land conversion for pasture accounts for approximately 80% of the region's deforestation and notes the lack of a unified regional target date for achieving zero deforestation. The document calls for the implementation of a public farm-level traceability system and the use of mobilized climate finance to regulate agribusiness land use to prevent the Amazon from reaching an irreversible tipping point.

The Belém Declaration, signed by eight Amazonian countries, is criticized by Mighty Earth for ignoring the meat industry, which is responsible for approximately 80% of deforestation in the region. The author argues that the document lacks a collective regional target for zero deforestation, relying instead on disparate national goals, and calls for a public traceability system to hold global food companies accountable.

Mighty Earth clarifies that it is an advocacy NGO, not a financial institution, and is campaigning against the Batang Toru dam and Martabe gold mine expansion in North Sumatra. The organization argues that the Batang Toru dam is unnecessary due to sufficient local electricity supply and poses risks to the Tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest great ape, and local communities. Mighty Earth also disputes claims that it is indifferent to the Martabe gold mine, stating it has spent years advocating against the mine's expansion into orangutan habitats. The document calls for a comprehensive conservation and restoration plan for the Batang Toru ecosystem to support Indonesia's broader success in reducing deforestation.

Mighty Earth argues that the Batang Toru hydropower plant and the potential expansion of the Martabe gold mine threaten the Tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest great ape. The organization denies claims that it offered financing schemes or has a business interest in the region, asserting its role as an independent NGO advocating for a moratorium on projects impacting the species and the implementation of a comprehensive conservation and restoration plan.

The document argues that Japan's use of biomass co-firing and coal-to-biomass conversion is greenwashing that prolongs the life of inefficient coal plants and destroys forest ecosystems. It highlights that 31 coal-fired units in Japan already co-fire with biomass and that wood pellet imports increased 61-fold over the last decade to 4.41 million tons in 2022. The signatories claim that treating biomass as "carbon neutral" ignores lifecycle emissions and that METI's accounting methods allow inefficient plants to appear efficient. The NGOs urge the Japanese government to exit coal regardless of co-firing, stop supporting biomass power plants using non-waste fuels, and account for biomass combustion emissions at the plant and national levels.

An investigation by Mighty Earth, Repórter Brasil, and Ecostorm found that Tesco's UK meat products are linked to illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The report traces soy from the Santa Ana farm in Mato Grosso, which used illegal fires to clear 400 hectares of forest in 2022, through Cargill's logistics network to UK suppliers Avara and Pilgrim's UK. The authors argue that Cargill's monitoring systems are flawed, allowing 'grain laundering' where illegal soy is mixed with legal crops. Despite public pledges to be deforestation-free by 2025, Tesco continues to source heavily from Cargill, which has a 2030 target. The report also criticizes proposed UK due diligence legislation for failing to cover 'legal' deforestation, potentially making the UK a leakage market for soy that does not meet EU standards.

Mighty Earth's October 2022 investigation reveals that Carrefour continued to sell beef from suspended JBS slaughterhouses in Brazil, particularly through its Atacadão and Sam's Club stores. Despite public claims of suspending suppliers in Rondônia, the group's supply chain remains heavily dependent on JBS, with 27% of identified beef products coming from ten slaughterhouses linked to recent deforestation. The report also highlights illegal fires at the Fazenda Rondon property supplying JBS and criticizes Carrefour's 2026 strategy as lacking ambition and transparency regarding both beef and soy sourcing.

Mighty Earth argues that the agribusiness soy roadmap fails to address the climate and nature crisis because it allows companies to set their own deforestation cut-off dates by 2025 rather than enforcing immediate action. The organization claims this approach undermines Brazil's environmental agenda and ignores demands from supermarkets for a 2020 cut-off date, warning that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point after losing over 2 billion trees in four years.

Mighty Earth is calling on Groupe Carrefour to sever ties with major suppliers linked to deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado, specifically JBS, Bunge, and Cargill. The organization demands the adoption of a 'Zero Deforestation, Zero Conversion' policy by 2025 for beef and 2023 for soy, alongside a commitment to reduce animal product sales by 50% and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

Mighty Earth reports that the Japanese government has ended its overseas coal finance, leading to the cancellation of the Matarbari 2 coal power plant in Bangladesh. The organization attributes the project's failure to the withdrawal of Sumitomo Corporation as lead contractor on February 28, 2022, following a global campaign launched in December 2019. Roger Smith of Mighty Earth argues that Japan must now accelerate the retirement of existing coal plants without using 'duplicitous technologies' such as biomass, hydrogen, and ammonia.

Mighty Earth's analysis of satellite data and field research indicates that tropical forest destruction in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana remains high despite the 2017 Cocoa & Forests Initiative. The report highlights ongoing canopy loss in protected areas and a lack of transparent monitoring systems, calling for joint public monitoring and a shift toward agroforestry.

Mighty Earth argues that the European Commission's decision to exclude natural rubber from its proposed anti-deforestation law is based on an incomplete dataset that ignores processed rubber imports. The briefing highlights that rubber expansion has caused millions of hectares of forest loss in Southeast Asia and Africa, and warns that a projected 33% increase in global demand by 2030 will further drive biodiversity loss and carbon emissions.

NGOs report a 17% increase in Amazon deforestation in the first half of 2021 and warn that the Brazilian Amazon may now emit more carbon than it sequesters. The statement criticizes France's passive approach and calls for binding legislation to prevent the import of soy and beef linked to deforestation, as well as the blocking of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

Seven NGOs have called on the EU Commission to include leather as a key forest-risk commodity in new deforestation laws, arguing that cattle ranching is the primary driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and that the EU is a major market for this high-risk leather. The statement highlights that leather is a multibillion-dollar industry, with the Brazilian sector valued at over US$50 billion, and that non-meat products can account for up to 26% of large meatpackers' incomes. The NGOs point to the Italian tanning industry's heavy reliance on Brazilian leather and the exposure of major European car manufacturers to deforestation through suppliers like JBS Couros. They argue that including leather in the legislation would reduce the EU's role in driving deforestation and encourage the industry to adopt zero-deforestation sourcing and traceability.

Analysis of 2020 vessel tracking and manifest data reveals that a small number of mega-traders dominate U.S. cocoa imports through opaque networks and 'cocoa-laundering' via third countries. The report highlights how 43% of cocoa from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire passes through Europe and significant volumes from Peru and Ecuador funnel through Panama and Colombia, diverting revenue from producers. It identifies systemic obfuscation in import data, including the use of multiple company name variations by traders like Barry Callebaut to hide market dominance, and calls for U.S. legislative action to restrict imported deforestation and improve traceability.

A coalition of NGOs and organisations is calling on the European Commission to expedite the adoption of two key legislative proposals: one to reduce the risk of deforestation and forest degradation linked to EU market products, and another on sustainable corporate governance. The authors express concern over reported delays extending beyond the summer recess of 2021 and a lack of official explanation from the Commission. They argue these measures are essential for the European Green Deal, human rights, and global biodiversity, noting strong support from the European Parliament, the Council, and over 1.1 million citizens in public consultations.

Mighty Earth alleges a significant gap between Sumitomo Corporation's public commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and its actual business practices. The report highlights Sumitomo's role in importing wood pellets from the US and Canada, which it claims destroys old-growth forests and increases CO2 levels. It also criticizes the company's ongoing development of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, noting that these projects cause severe local pollution and human rights issues. Financially, the report notes that Sumitomo has suffered substantial losses from coal-related assets, arguing that the company must accelerate its transition to renewable energy to avoid further stranded assets and environmental destruction.

Mighty Earth responds to fatal mudslides at the Batang Toru hydroelectric dam site in Indonesia, calling for a moratorium on development. The organization highlights warnings about landslide risks due to terrain and rainfall, the project's threat to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, and the withdrawal of major international financiers.

The authors contend that while corporate pledges to reduce emissions are increasing, the decarbonization of heavy industry—which accounts for approximately 18% of global carbon emissions—requires significant government funding and regulatory support. They highlight the 'Global Framework Principles for Decarbonizing Heavy Industry' as a tool to coordinate these efforts and criticize the gap between the climate rhetoric and actual policy actions of leaders in the US, China, Japan, and India.