More About International Financial Institutions

The Amazon's Burning Season Is a Call to Action

In response to this worsening crisis, Amazon Watch is calling for an #AmazonCeasefire by mounting a communications, advocacy, and direct relief campaign alongside a coalition of Brazilian and global allies. We are shining a spotlight on the true drivers of today's crisis – from political delinquency to market complicity – while also targeting those responsible through effective activism. One such actor is BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, which plays a pivotal role in financially enabling the industries behind the Amazon burning season.

Trading in Pollution: European Banks Bankroll Billions in Amazon Oil

"I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of Indigenous peoples and communities without water, without food, and in devastating health conditions due to the pollution of the Coca and Napo rivers? It's time for the banks, companies, and consumers of the oil extracted in the Ecuadorian Amazon to acknowledge how their businesses affect our territories and way of life," said Marlon Vargas, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

European Banks Urged to Stop Funding Oil Trade in Amazon

Indigenous people in headwaters region say financing harms communities and ecosystems

Marlon Vargas, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, said: "I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of indigenous peoples and communities without water, without food and in devastating health conditions due to the pollution of the Coca and Napo rivers?"

European Banks Financing Trade of Amazon Oil to the U.S.

Groundbreaking report exposes a range of European banks have provided $10 billion USD in trade financing for over 155 million barrels of oil from the Ecuadorian region of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters to refineries in the U.S.

Why in the world would any bank that has policies on advancing human rights, sustainability, and climate change be financing the flow of oil from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region in Ecuador to US refineries? Makes you wonder if there's a little hypocrisy in play. Our report led by Stand.earth Research Group in partnership with Amazon Watch uncovered some serious findings.

European Banks Face Indigenous Calls to End Amazon Oil Trade

European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade in oil from the Amazon rainforest.

Calling for an Amazon Ceasefire

In simple terms, global finance is the oxygen on which the Amazon fires burn

A year ago, the world awoke to one of the worst environmental disasters in a generation, as São Paulo's afternoon sky was plunged into darkness by a dense plume of smoke from fires that raged across the Brazilian Amazon. The devastation of the rainforest was met with unprecedented global concern and media visibility. This year, as our societies grapple with the all-encompassing COVID-19 pandemic, the Brazilian Amazon has begun to burn yet again, fueled by explosive criminality and a political maelstrom emanating from Brasilia.

Forests and Human Rights: Principles for Asset Managers

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has no clear policy on forests, land, and human rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities

In light of BlackRock's commitments to center climate in its investment strategy and the responsibilities it has stemming from its continued financing of deforestation-linked commodities, the BlackRock's Big Problem campaign urges BlackRock and other asset managers to adopt policies on Forests, Land, and the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

BlackRock's Silence on Forest Destruction

It says all you need to know about its ineffective climate policies

After years of pressure from shareholders and legislators, BlackRock finally seemed ready to acknowledge the climate crisis in January, when it announced it would "place climate at the center of its investment strategy." On the surface, the move seemed to send a clear message that business as usual was over. Yet, it has been far from clear what practical good BlackRock's commitment to a "climate-centered" investment strategy does for the climate – or the future of life on earth.