Eye on the Amazon

February 14, 2019 – We have eleven years. Eleven years to take bold climate action towards a world not powered by fossil fuels. For our indigenous partners fighting oil and gas extraction on their ancestral territories, there is no time to spare: further expansion of this dirty infrastructure will destroy their land, livelihoods, and way of life.

February 12, 2019 – In the remote, roadless rainforest territories along the border between Ecuador and Peru, over a dozen indigenous nationalities have launched an initiative to permanently protect about 60 million acres from industrial extraction and stop the drivers of deforestation. Dubbed the Amazon Sacred Headwaters, the initiative seeks to present a united front against the pressures on these indigenous territories and address climate change by keeping forests standing and fossil fuels in the ground.

January 18, 2019 – On Wednesday, we got some incredible news: the CEO of the world's largest investment firm announced he was radically shifting the company's priorities, including moving money out of fossil fuels because they cause climate change and pressuring the companies it owns to align with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet soon our cheers turned to sighs: the letter was a hoax, created by the culture-jamming artists known as the Yes Men.

January 10, 2019 – Despite efforts to curb corruption, President Moreno is following the same oil-stained playbook that helped get Ecuador into a cycle of debt and dependency. He has green-lighted new drilling in Yasuní National Park and plans to open up areas in the country's roadless southern rainforest, still hoping that Ecuador can drill its way to prosperity.

Brazilian social movements and their allies brace for an assault on rights and environmental protections

January 1, 2019 – The inauguration of right-wing zealot Jair Bolsonaro to Brazil's presidency ushers in a dangerous era for human rights, environmental safeguards, and the rule of law in the world's fourth-largest democracy.

December 24, 2018 – Last week, Ecuador's Energy Minister, Carlos Pérez García, announced that – at least for now – the government will not pursue oil drilling in the "buffer zone" protected areas of Yasuní National Park, reversing plans revealed last month in a leaked draft decree. This is an important victory for our collective work to keep fossil fuels in the ground from California to the Amazon!