Reports

The Amazon Rainforest-Sized Loophole in Net Zero

How net zero pledges can lead to false solutions for Amazon rainforest and climate protection

Trading forest protection for continued greenhouse gas emissions presents a false and dangerous "solution" to the climate crisis. Instead, emissions must be drastically reduced, forests must be protected for their own sake, Indigenous forest stewardship must be recognized and respected, and the root causes of deforestation – namely commodity extraction and production in forests – must be halted.

Banking on Amazon Destruction

How European and U.S. banks fund the oil and gas industry despite environmental and social risks driving the Amazon over the brink

In Amazon Watch and Stand.earth’s latest report, Banking on Amazon Destruction, researchers compare the Environmental and Social Risk (ESR) policies of target banks to their actions. Together, we are calling on banks to exclude all types of finance (including investment) for any company engaging in the oil industry in the Amazon, setting markers to end new financing by 2022 and existing financing by 2025.

2021-2025 Strategic Plan to Protect and Defend the Amazon

In honor of Amazon Watch's 25th anniversary, our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan builds upon 25 years of work to protect the Amazon rainforest and defend the rights, lives and territories of Indigenous peoples. We commit to work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and a growing global movement calling for urgent action to permanently protect the Amazon, defend the defenders, and advance climate justice.

Investing in Amazon Crude II

How the Big Three Asset Managers Actively Fund the Amazon Oil Industry

Three of the world's largest asset managers – BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – with trillions of dollars under their control, invest in oil companies with horrific environmental and human rights records across the Amazon Basin. Right now, these asset managers hold a large amount of risk by actively contributing to Indigenous and human rights abuses, forest destruction, biodiversity loss, and climate chaos. The "Big Three" can't claim to be climate champions while steering client money into oil drilling in the rainforest.

Complicity in Destruction III

How Global Corporations Enable Violations of Indigenous Peoples' Rights in the Brazilian Amazon

This new report, published by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples in partnership with Amazon Watch, reveals how a network of leading international financial institutions is linked to conflicts on Indigenous lands, illegal deforestation, land grabbing, the weakening of environmental protections, and the production and export of conflict commodities.

Brazil's Burning Season: The Facts About Amazon Fires

In August of 2019, images of the Amazon rainforest on fire shocked the global consciousness. The Amazon is on fire once again this year, and for most this is undebatable. Nasa, Inpe, and MAAP all publish monthly reports outlining the deforestation and subsequent fires destroying the Amazon. Yet, the Bolsonaro administration has launched a public relations offensive, attempting to assuage international criticisms. They are propagating a series of lies, which require the following fact-checking.

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.

Amazon in Crisis 2020

The Amazon and our global climate are in crisis. Following rampant deforestation and fires that ravaged the Amazon rainforest last year, the Amazon is now facing a tipping point of ecological collapse. The Amazon is also facing a humanitarian crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading exponentially across the region, with the potential of ethnocide of Indigenous peoples if immediate and ongoing action is not taken. While the challenges may seem daunting, we still have time to shift from "tipping point to turning point" for the Amazon, the global climate and all of humanity.

Investing in Amazon Crude

The Network of Global Financiers and Oil Companies Driving the Amazon Toward Collapse

This report outlines in detail the ways that five of the world's most powerful financial institutions are actively contributing to climate change by providing debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the Amazon. It highlights key examples of on-the-ground Indigenous resistance to oil extraction, which is not only terrible for the climate but also a major financial risk for these institutions.

Building People Power to End Investment in Amazon Crude

Building People Power to End Investment in Amazon Crude is a 4-page refresher for activists who want to better understand the role that major financial institutions play in escalating the climate crisis. It includes detailed data from the latest Amazon Watch research on the total debt and equity financing provided by five major firms to companies extracting crude oil from the western Amazon and directly violating Indigenous rights in the process.