"Biden’s pitiful offer of $12 million to protect the Brazilian, Colombian, and Peruvian Amazon shows the value of Bolsonaro. It is shameful that the United States offers this amount, given the scale of complexities in this region."
Corporate Accountability
The Anti-Chevron Movement Gains New Allies
Activists, workers, and shareholders push company to act on climate and human rights during Annual General Meeting season
Chevron’s reputation as a price gouger, gross polluter, environmental racist, and greedy corporate behemoth with an army of unscrupulous lawyers and greenwashing PR firms grows worse by the day.
Chevron Uses AGM to Disregard Human Rights, Climate, Congress, and Billions It Owes to Communities
Chevron faced a barrage of shareholder proposals as well as opposition to the election of directors Ron Sugar and Michael Wirth, and failed to respond to the most pressing questions from shareholders about its practices.
Davos: Indigenous Leaders Call on Banks to Stop Funding Amazon Oil Expansion
Scientists and international organizations also calling for banks to follow lead of BNP Paribas and align with the Exit Amazon Oil and Gas platform
On the heels of World Biodiversity Day and in connection to an upcoming panel on the Amazon at Davos, tipping point scientists, Indigenous leaders, and international organizations are calling on banks and financial institutions that have gathered for the World Economic Forum in Davos to end financing for oil expansion in the Amazon.
Community Protest Saturday at Chevron Richmond Refinery on 9th Annual Global Anti-Chevron Day
Saturday, May 21, 2022, is the 9th annual Global Anti-Chevron Day. Communities in Richmond, CA affected by Chevron will join other communities around the world to share their stories about the impact of the oil company’s environmental destruction and human rights violations in advance of Chevron’s annual shareholder’s meeting on May 25, when the...
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Science Group, Community Leaders, and Shareholder Advocates Discuss Chevron's Track Record on Financial Risk
Leaders share insights and guidance on how shareholder actions advance corporate accountability, ahead of Chevron annual stockholder meeting
In advance of Chevron’s Annual General Meeting of shareholders,scheduled for May 25, community advocates, shareholder groups, and corporate accountability experts held an online briefing for investors, the public, and the media.
GeoPark Oil Company (GPRK) a High-Risk Investment, Report by Human Rights and Environmental Organization Details
Risk alert based on recent field mission outlines the social, political, legal, environmental, and reputational risks for GeoPark’s operations in the Colombian and Ecuadorian Amazon
GeoPark's current attempts to expand operations into the Colombian and Ecuadorian Amazon are creating serious human rights and environmental challenges for the company and risks for investors, Amazon Watch detailed in a 19-page risk alert published today, coinciding with GeoPark’s quarterly earnings call for investors.
Statement on BNP Paribas Pledge to End New Financing for Amazon Oil Drilling
Bank involved in industry deals worth $13.3 billion. Move follows investigation by Stand.earth and Amazon Watch pushing firm to take a lead role in excluding Amazon oil and gas.
“BNP Paribas’ decision to stop financing new oil production in the Amazon is the first of its kind and a major milestone for us as Indigenous peoples. This decision affirms what we have been calling for – that financing oil extraction in the Amazon is putting our lives, lands, and cultures at risk, and the health of our entire planet, and must...
Four Ways Wall Street’s Annual General Meetings Impact the Amazon
During AGM season, consumers and shareholders can pressure corporations to change policies to respond to the climate and guarantee respect for human rights
We’re in the middle of the AGM season, which means corporations and financial institutions – including many complicit in Amazon destruction – will gather investors to discuss key business strategies and annual performance. Amazon Watch has historically strategized around these meetings to pressure them and demand accountability.
Frontline Leaders Call on BlackRock and Vanguard to Adopt Indigenous Rights and Deforestation Policy
BlackRock and Vanguard have opportunity to implement concrete climate policy addressing land rights, deforestation, and human rights abuses in portfolios
“The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is a threat to humanity and to the natural systems on which it depends. Indigenous Peoples are the best protectors of the Amazon, and we will continue to defend our rights and our territories from the extractive industries and threaten Indigenous Peoples and the rainforest.”
Citigroup AGM: Bank Called Out for Amazon Oil Financing
Report shows bank’s role in funding oil companies with ties to corruption, rights violations, pollution, and deforestation in the Amazon. Indigenous leaders, alongside human rights and environmental campaigners, calling for Citigroup to exit Amazon oil and gas.
“Oil drilling in our Amazon has brought contamination, disease, deforestation, destruction of our cultures, and the colonization of our territories. It is an existential threat for us and violates our fundamental rights as Indigenous peoples. We are calling for an end to all new extraction on our lands, and as our ancestors and science now affirm...
Steven Donziger Is Finally Free. Onward Toward Justice for the People of Ecuador!
Today, human rights lawyer Steven Donziger woke up free, marking the closure of the latest chapter in Chevron’s scheme to evade justice for its toxic dumping in Ecuador. Now all eyes turn back to the true crime – Chevron’s contamination from 1964-1992 in Ecuador and the company’s efforts to escape accountability.
Environmental Lawyer Targeted by Chevron Freed After More Than Two Years Under House Arrest
Steven Donziger represented Ecuadorians in a pollution lawsuit against Chevron. Then he ended up in the oil giant's crosshairs.
Gizmodo | After 993 days, Steven Donziger is finally free. On Monday, the embattled lawyer, who has been targeted by Chevron for years in a Kafka-esque court struggle, finished a six-month sentence, which came on the heels of more than two years under house arrest.
Stand.earth and Amazon Watch Deploy 75-foot Banner Demanding Gavin Newsom End Amazon Destruction
Massive banner drop in Sacramento spotlights California and Amazon oil connection and calls on Governor Newsom to take action
Sacramento, CA — Today, activists from Stand.earth and Amazon Watch deployed a 75-foot banner from Sacramento’s iconic Tower Bridge to demand California governor Gavin Newsom stand up to Big Oil and end California’s role in the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest.
Canadian Banks Injected $5.8 Billion into Mining Companies Tied to Forest Destruction and Human Rights Violations
Forests & Finance Coalition, Walhi, and MAM launched a preliminary dataset revealing the financial flows to several forest-risk mining companies that operate in the world’s three largest tropical forest basins. Banks from Canada, the United States, and Japan are among the largest financiers of mining companies in the tropics
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro is using a possible fertilizer shortage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine to justify his attempt to ram contentious legislation through Congress.
Petroperú’s Ongoing Threat to the Amazon
Intense market and supply chain conditions – due in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have led to increasing inflation around the world, and Peru has been no exception. Today, the controversial Talara oil refinery will be inaugurated and touted by the government as a solution to the current energy crisis. It is not.
Climate Finance Groups Call on Financial Institutions to Heed IPCC Report Urging World to Stop Using Fossil Fuels
Report comes ahead of shareholder votes on fossil fuel expansion at six largest U.S. banks and major insurance companies
“The latest IPCC report affirms what Indigenous peoples in the Amazon and across the world have been saying for decades: colonialism caused the climate crisis, and colonialism continues to worsen it today."
Protect the Amazon, Protect the Planet!
Last year, the International Energy Agency released the most comprehensive and groundbreaking study yet, outlining requirements to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C. It argued that if we are to meet those goals, there can be no development of new oil and gas fields and no new coal-fired power stations or coal...
Indigenous Communities Need Your Solidarity as Destructive Mining Bill Advances
Despite massive opposition, politicians in Brazil approved expediting a bill that could lead to the loss of over 16 million hectares of forests and cause irreversible destruction to Indigenous territories
Indigenous peoples have repeatedly mobilized to oppose Bill 191/2020, and polls show that 86% of Brazil’s public is against mining on Indigenous lands. The Munduruku refer to it as "the project of death that is dividing our people and bringing violence [against those who] fight to defend our land."
Human Rights and Chinese Business Activities in Latin America
New report by the Collective on Chinese Financing and Investments, Human Rights and the Environment examines 26 cases of rights violations perpetrated by Chinese companies and financiers across Latin America, over half of which are in the Amazon
As part of the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, more than 60 civil society organizations released a new report that evaluates 26 projects backed by Chinese companies and capital across nine Latin American countries. The investigation found a pattern of failure to comply with international standards on human rights and the environment...
Over 100 Environmental and Human Rights Organizations Join Amnesty International’s Call for Biden to Pardon Steven Donziger
Global human rights community calls for freedom for human rights lawyer Steven Donziger – unjustly detained for over two years according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
“More than four months since a discerning opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that found Steven Donziger’s detention to be arbitrary, U.S. judicial authorities have thus far failed to take any action to remedy the situation and implement the Working Group’s call to ensure Mr. Donziger’s immediate release.”
Letter Calling on President Biden to Immediately Pardon Human Rights Lawyer Steven Donziger
Steven Donziger’s prosecution is one more example of how far powerful interests are willing to go in their quest to silence those standing up for justice. They are trying to send a chilling message to environmental activists around the world that fighting against corporate interests can cost them their liberty and more.
What Are Carbon Offset Markets Selling? Not Solutions to Amazon Destruction
The world’s most notorious corporate greenwashers are once again targeting the rainforest to avoid actually reducing emissions
Corporate polluters have used offsets as an excuse to keep emitting, but there’s little evidence that offsets are actually slowing climate change. What’s more, offset programs have enabled land-grabbing and violations of Indigenous rights in the Amazon.
Bolsonaro Trying to Ram Through Mining Bill on False Pretenses; Canadian Mining Company to Profit.
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro is using a possible fertilizer shortage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine to justify his attempt to ram contentious legislation through Congress.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Exposed in New Report: How a Notorious Law Firm Enables Corporate Exploitation
A new report, "Unacceptable Shenanigans" - How Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Enables Corporate Exploitation, endorsed by ten national and international organizations, exposes how the notorious Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm abets human rights violations by multinational corporations the world over.
Citigroup “Climate Forward” Reputation Remains Tainted with Impacts of Fossil Fuel Financing in Amazon Rainforest
Report shows bank’s role in funding state-run oil companies with ties to corruption, rights violations, pollution, and deforestation in the Amazon. Indigenous leaders, human rights and environmental campaigners calling for Citi to exit Amazon oil and gas
Ahead of Citigroup Investor Day, environmental campaigners at Amazon Watch and Stand.earth are releasing a report spotlighting the bank’s exposure and central role in providing financing and investments of tens of billions to oil and gas companies in the Amazon.
U.S. Financial Institutions Are Complicit in the Destruction of the Amazon
New report exposes how mining companies and international investors drive Indigenous rights violations and threaten the future of the Amazon rainforest
“There must be a general understanding that Indigenous lands, traditional territories, and protected areas in the Amazon are not available for mineral exploration, nor should they be, both because there must be respect for our constitutional right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples over our territories, and because of our lands’...
BlackRock, Vanguard Among Financiers That Poured Billions into Companies Mining in Amazonian Indigenous Territories
New report by the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and Amazon Watch reveals main investors of eight large mining companies notorious for human rights violations and environmental pollution, including Vale, Anglo American, and Belo Sun, wish to explore Indigenous territories in Brazil.
Brasília, Brazil – Today the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), alongside environmental and human rights organization Amazon Watch, launched Complicity in Destruction IV: How mining companies and international investors drive Indigenous rights violations and threaten the future of the Amazon.
Complicity in Destruction IV
How Mining Companies and International Investors Drive Indigenous Rights Violations and Threaten the Future of the Amazon
In the latest edition of the Complicity in Destruction series, research by APIB and Amazon Watch found that international financiers, including BlackRock, Vanguard and Capital Group, poured USD $54.1 billion into eight large mining companies, including Vale, Anglo American, and Belo Sun.
