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Toxic partnership
The report argues that the ACC-CEFIC proposal for regulatory cooperation under TTIP is designed to benefit the chemical industry by slowing the regulation of toxic substances, undermining democratic processes, and prioritizing trade over public health and environmental safety.
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Document type: Report
Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest
Friends of the Earth and members of Congress are seeking a Government Accountability Office review of the State Department's environmental impact assessment for the Keystone XL pipeline. The request follows allegations that the review vendor, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), failed to disclose financial and professional ties to TransCanada and other oil interests, thereby compromising the integrity of the review process.
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Document type: Statement
COMMENTS ON THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS’ DRAFT AIR QUALITY OFFSET POLICY
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for several environmental justice organisations, submitted comments on the Department of Environmental Affairs' (DEA) Draft Air Quality Offset Policy. The CER and its clients oppose the use of offsets in principle, arguing they serve as a "cheap option to avoid compliance" with emission standards and could undermine the constitutional right to a healthy environment. The submission highlights significant gaps in the draft policy, including a lack of clear criteria for determining offsets, poor institutional capacity for monitoring and enforcement, and failure to address equity and distributional effects.
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Document type: Statement
South Africa – Fracking: another chip at our democracy
An anti-fracking coalition in South Africa opposes Minister Susan Shabangu's plan for shale gas exploration in the Karoo, describing it as an extractive process that benefits a small elite while threatening the natural environment and ignoring the needs of local residents for agrarian transformation and basic services.
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Document type: Statement
Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch
The document critiques the EBRD's draft Environment and Social Policy for removing commitments to international human rights law, limiting transparency, and failing to implement robust human rights due diligence. It specifically highlights concerns regarding forced evictions, the definition of indigenous peoples, and gaps in the Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM).
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Document type: Statement
The Ambiguous March to Equity
The report critiques the draft EU Regulation on Access and Benefit Sharing, highlighting concerns over its temporal scope, the potential for 'regressive' interpretations of sovereign rights, and a 'light touch' administrative approach that may fail to ensure effective compliance with the Nagoya Protocol.
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Document type: Report
Carbon Market Watch reaction to leaked 2030 Council Conclusions
Carbon Market Watch warns that a leaked draft of the 2030 Council Conclusions contains 'technical loopholes' that could reduce the effective EU greenhouse gas emission reduction target from 40% to as low as 26%. The organization specifically criticizes the potential banking of 'phantom pollution rights' (surplus allowances), the use of afforestation offsets for agriculture, the dynamic allocation of free permits to industry, and the possible inclusion of transport fuels in the EU ETS.
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Document type: Statement
Position sur REDD (Réduction des émissions dues à la déforestation et à la dégradation des forêts)
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) opposes the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) system, whether market-based or publicly funded. FoEI argues that REDD treats forests as mere carbon stocks, which ignores their social and cultural value and creates perverse incentives for deforestation. The document highlights risks such as the criminalization of traditional forest management, the displacement of communities, and the failure of carbon offsets to permanently reduce emissions. Instead of financial incentives, FoEI proposes strengthening the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, supporting collective forest management, and demanding that industrialized nations reduce fossil fuel emissions without relying on offsets.
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Document type: Statement
La nature n’est pas à vendre !
A collective declaration by 136 organisations opposing biodiversity offsets, arguing that nature cannot be traded as a commodity and that such mechanisms facilitate financial speculation and the avoidance of stricter environmental legislation.
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Document type: Statement
FINAL SUBMISSIONS
The document analyzes the draft Investment Chapter of CETA, concluding that it provides foreign investors with the most investor-friendly rights ever drafted by the Canadian government. The author highlights six technical issues—including the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) provision, Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET), and the 'right to regulate' clause—that collectively increase the risk of investor-state disputes and may discourage the implementation of future environmental and public health measures.
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Document type: Briefing
CER Comments on the Proposed Technical Regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation published by the Minister of Mineral Resources under s.107 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 on 15 October 2013
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides a detailed critique of the proposed Technical Regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation published by the South African Minister of Mineral Resources on 15 October 2013. The CER argues that the regulations are non-binding guidelines rather than enforceable laws, lack sufficient environmental impact assessment requirements, and fail to provide for meaningful public participation or access to information. The document suggests that fracking-specific regulations should be promulgated under a broader suite of environmental laws, including NEMA, NEMWA, and the National Water Act, rather than solely under the MPRDA.
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Document type: Report
Open letter to Dr Jim Yong Kim, President concerning IFC investment in the financial sector
An open letter from civil society organisations to Dr Jim Yong Kim arguing that the IFC's action plan for financial sector lending fails to address critical gaps in accountability and risk management. The authors highlight that the IFC cannot currently determine if financial intermediary investments cause harm to the environment or local communities, despite these investments accounting for nearly 20 per cent of World Bank Group annual commitments. They call for a fundamental rethink of the IFC's investment strategy, including independent input and participatory consultation with affected communities.
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Document type: Statement
COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BILL, B49-2013
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), supported by the Environmental Monitoring Group and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, submitted comments on the draft Infrastructure Development Bill (B49-2013). The CER argues that the Bill violates Constitutional rights, disregards national environmental policies, and undermines the legal framework for sustainable development and integrated environmental management in South Africa.
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Document type: Statement
Friends of the Earth U.S. statement on COP19 Warsaw walkout
Friends of the Earth U.S. supports the walkout of climate activists from COP19 in Warsaw, arguing that developed countries, particularly the U.S., have failed to take necessary action to combat the climate crisis and are instead protecting corporate polluters.
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Document type: Statement
Statement on Brussels round of TTIP negotations
Friends of the Earth opposes the TTIP investment chapter, asserting that investor-state arbitration would allow energy companies to sue governments over climate and environmental regulations, thereby protecting fossil fuel interests and threatening democratic decision-making.
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Document type: Statement
Open letter regarding authorization and approval letter for CDM project 2716 grid connected energy efficient power generation
A coalition of organizations requests transparency regarding EDF Trading's involvement in CDM project 2716 and calls for the project's approval to be withdrawn. The letter cites a Ministry of Environment and Forest report indicating that the project fails to meet sustainable development criteria, harms local fishing and pastoralist communities, and causes significant air pollution. Additionally, the authors argue that the project lacks additionality and relies on a flawed crediting methodology that was suspended in 2011.
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Document type: Statement
Unpublished letter to Economist responding to 12 Oct 2013 cover story “How to lose €500 billion,”
The author contends that European electric utilities' financial losses result from failed investment strategies and a failure to adapt to disruptive renewable technologies rather than the technologies themselves. The letter highlights the macroeconomic benefits of renewables in Germany, the technical feasibility of high renewable penetration in Denmark, Spain, and Portugal, and the global trend of non-hydro renewables outproducing nuclear power. It suggests that utilities need new revenue models, such as bidirectional value tariffs, to survive the transition to a decarbonised, distributed energy system.
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Document type: Statement
On the Twentieth Anniversary of the Inspection Panel
The author asserts that the World Bank's shift toward 'transformational' projects and greater risk-taking increases the necessity of the Inspection Panel to protect marginalized communities. The text argues that the Bank must update its social and environmental policies to include human rights risk assessments and shift its management approach from denying responsibility to focusing on outcomes and fixing problems identified by the Panel.
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Document type: Statement
OPEN LETTER re: Appointment of Richard Goodman
A group of scientists, including representatives from Scientists for Global Responsibility, argues that the appointment of Richard Goodman as Associate Editor for Biotechnology at the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology introduces a pro-GM bias. They cite Dr. Goodman's former employment at Monsanto and his involvement with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) as evidence of a conflict of interest. The authors claim that Monsanto has a history of using litigation and intimidation to suppress anti-GM views in media and government, and they argue that this appointment violates the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines regarding the disclosure of editorial interests.
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Document type: Statement
The financial sector’s hostile take over of nature
The statement by Friends of the Earth International warns that treating nature and forests as financial assets leads to environmental destruction and social injustice. It specifically critiques the promotion of industrial tree plantations as carbon sinks, arguing that they lack the biodiversity of native forests and cause community displacement and human rights violations.
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Document type: Statement