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The Scientists’ Letter on the Copenhagen Commitment for Tropical Forests
Scientists advocate for the U.S. to provide $1 billion for REDD+ to protect tropical forests, citing their role in carbon storage and biodiversity.
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Document type: Statement
Your public support for congressional action on global chemical pollutants
The document is a formal request to the U.S. government to support strong TSCA reform and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The signatories argue that the 1976 TSCA limits the EPA's ability to regulate dangerous chemicals and that the U.S. remains a non-party to the POPs treaty due to a lack of implementing legislation. They urge the administration to use the proposed TSCA overhaul to provide the EPA with the tools to address persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, thereby allowing the U.S. to lead internationally in eliminating global chemical pollutants.
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Document type: Statement
Letter from the Green Economy Coalition to G-20 Ministers of Finance
The Green Economy Coalition argues that fossil-fuel subsidies drive climate change and obstruct sustainable development by distorting the cost of low-carbon energy. While welcoming the G-20's September agreement in Pittsburgh to phase out these subsidies over the medium term, the Coalition calls for greater urgency and specific measures to protect the welfare of the poorest during the reform process.
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Document type: Statement
Don't Sacrifice the Tongass for the Trees
Earthjustice is calling on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to block timber sales in the Central Kupreanof and Sue areas of the Tongass National Forest and to end a Bush-era exemption that prevents the Roadless Rule from protecting the forest.
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Document type: Statement
From Bangkok to Copenhagen
Friends of the Earth criticizes the United States for obstructing international climate negotiations in Bangkok by suggesting that pollution reduction targets be made voluntary and the Kyoto Protocol be dismantled. The statement argues that wealthy countries, as the largest historical polluters, must lead emission reductions and support developing nations to prevent catastrophic climate destabilization.
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Document type: Statement
Groups Call on President Bush and Congress to Fight Global Warming, Not the War in Iraq
The document is an open letter from a coalition of environmental groups urging President Bush and Congress to redirect resources from the Iraq War toward addressing global warming. The authors argue that the U.S., as the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, must lead a shift toward renewable energy and energy efficiency. They highlight the urgent threats of melting ice sheets in Greenland and methane release from the Siberian tundra, noting that the war in Iraq has already cost at least $400 billion.
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Document type: Statement
Statement of Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder on Oil Spills in Indian Ocean, Philippines, Lebanon
The statement highlights recent oil spills in the Indian Ocean, the Philippines, and Lebanon, as well as leaks in Alaska, to illustrate the environmental risks and pollution associated with oil production and use.
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Document type: Statement
Statement on Coal-to-Liquid Subsidies and Senate Energy Bill
Friends of the Earth opposes a proposed $10 billion compromise and mandates for liquid coal in the U.S. Senate's energy policy debates, claiming that liquid coal is incompatible with global warming reduction goals and would represent a failure of leadership by Democrats.
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Document type: Statement
Communities Affected by Global Warming Speak Out
Friends of the Earth has released a report titled “Voices from Communities Affected by Climate Change,” documenting first-hand experiences of climate impacts from diverse groups including indigenous peoples and small-scale fisherfolk across multiple continents. The organization uses these testimonies to call for a roadmap toward a post-Kyoto agreement in 2012, emphasizing that wealthy nations must lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and financing adaptation for poorer communities. The document highlights the need for climate justice through a moratorium on fossil fuel extraction, the promotion of energy sovereignty, and the fulfillment of UNFCCC obligations for wealthy countries to fund adaptation in developing nations, which may require an additional $50–100 billion annually.
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Document type: Press release
Technical Paper In Support of Listing Waterton-Glacier as a World Heritage Site in Danger Due to Proposed Coal Open-Pit Mining and Coalbed Methane Extraction in the Flathead River Headwaters
The document details the conservation values of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the surrounding Crown of the Continent ecosystem, specifically the transboundary Flathead River basin. It assesses the risks associated with two primary industrial threats: coalbed methane (CBM) extraction, exemplified by BP Canada's Mist Mountain Project, and open-pit coal mining, specifically the Lodgepole Coal Mine proposed by Cline Mining Corp. The paper argues that these activities would cause severe, irreversible damage to water quality, critical fish spawning habitats for bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, and migratory corridors for rare carnivores like grizzly bears and wolverines. It emphasizes a critical lack of baseline environmental data and highlights the cumulative stress from other external threats such as highway expansion and logging.
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Document type: Report
REVIEW OF MARPOL ANNEX VI AND THE NOx TECHNICAL CODE
The document presents findings from the 'Corbett and Winebrake Study', which estimates that particulate matter (PM) from ocean-going ships caused approximately 60,000 premature deaths globally in 2002. The study indicates that these deaths are expected to increase by 40% by 2012 (or 2020 in some case analyses) due to growth in shipping traffic. Regional analysis shows that Europe and the Mediterranean, East Asia, and South Asia are the most heavily impacted areas. The document argues that the societal cost of these deaths exceeds $300 billion annually based on US EPA valuations, far outweighing the costs of emission reductions. Consequently, it urges the IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases to recommend stringent emission limits for the amended MARPOL Annex VI.
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Document type: Statement
EC Appeal in Brazil-Retreaded Tyres
The Center for International Environmental Law and WWF European Policy Office express concern over the European Commission's appeal of the WTO Panel report in the Brazil-Retreaded Tyres case, arguing that the report's interpretation of WTO law supports the ability of members to protect health and the environment. The organizations request that the EC either withdraw the appeal or limit its scope, and further call for increased transparency in the proceedings through the contemporaneous disclosure of pleadings and the web casting of hearings.
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Document type: Statement
Legislation to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
The document advocates for the adoption of the Solis bill (H.R. 4800) to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in the United States. The signatories argue that the Solis bill ensures timely EPA action, adopts a health-based regulatory standard, and respects state-level protections. In contrast, they claim the Gillmor bill (H.R. 4591) would weaken safeguards by introducing cost-benefit standards and preempting state regulations.
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Document type: Statement
Open letter to Tony Blair on climate change
An open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for the UK to lead on climate change by upholding the Kyoto protocol, pressuring the United States to join international action, and committing significant funding to help poor nations adapt to climate impacts to prevent increased world poverty.
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Document type: Statement
HEARINGS ON THE DIESEL EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACT OF 2005
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) advocates for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2005 (DERA), a proposed $1 billion federal grant and loan program to reduce diesel fine particle (PM2.5) emissions. CATF highlights that diesel exhaust causes 21,000 premature deaths annually and that existing engines will remain in service for decades, necessitating funding for retrofits, rebuilds, and repowerings to meet air quality standards and provide immediate climate benefits by reducing black carbon.
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Document type: Statement
Link
This report by Friends of the Earth International asserts that environmental rights—including the right to a sustainable lifestyle, a healthy environment, water access, and food security—are integral to human rights. It details specific conflicts, such as the Ava Guarani's struggle for ancestral lands in Argentina, the impact of Shell's pollution in Curaçao, and the fight against GMO contamination in Mexico. The text criticizes neoliberal economic globalization for enabling multinational corporations to operate with impunity, often displacing indigenous populations and degrading ecosystems. It calls for a new ethics of environmental justice and the implementation of legally binding international conventions to protect marginalized communities from environmental aggression.
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Document type: Report
New Energy for America Jobs, Security & Prosperity for the 21st Century
The document records a multi-sector call for a U.S. transition to clean energy, arguing that government investment and regulation can simultaneously drive economic growth, reduce oil dependence, and address climate change.
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Document type: Report
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
The document defines 'ecological debt' as the cumulative responsibility of industrialised countries for environmental destruction caused by their production and consumption patterns. It argues that the Global North has exceeded its 'environmental space' through looting, damaging natural environments, overusing greenhouse gas sinks, dumping toxic waste, and biopiracy. To address this, the text advocates for a 'popular education' approach—rooted in the work of Paulo Freire—to build solidarity between Scottish communities facing environmental injustice and those in the Global South. The handbook includes local Scottish examples of debt repayment (such as the Jubilee Scotland and Slow Food movements) and international case studies illustrating ecological debt in banana production, hydroelectric projects in Uganda, industrial agriculture in India, mining in Canada, and oil extraction in Ecuador. It concludes with a toolbox of interactive games designed to facilitate workshops on resource consumption and global inequality.
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Document type: Guide
Letter to USTR's Ambassador Zoellick to Oppose the Initiation of Investment Negotiations within the World Trade Organization
The document urges the United States Trade Representative to oppose the initiation of investment liberalization negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting in Cancun.
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Document type: Statement
choques con empresas gigantes
The report by Friends of the Earth International details 22 campaigns against multinational corporations across various sectors—including mining, oil, logging, and biotechnology—that are accused of destroying biodiversity and harming local communities. It highlights the failure of corporate self-regulation and 'greenwashing' strategies, specifically criticizing the outcomes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the approach of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit. The document calls for the recognition of 'ecological debt' owed by Northern industrial nations to the Global South and demands a binding legal framework to ensure corporate accountability, including the right of communities to be consulted and to receive compensation for damages.
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Document type: Report