David Peas, the Vice President of the National Federation of the Achuar of Peru, just sent us this personal message of gratitude and continued resistance.
Dirty Energy
Ecuador Makes History: Vote to Keep the Oil in the Ground in Yasuní Underway
Watch this video update from our Ecuador legal advisor, Nathaly Yepez, about the exciting referendum
The protection of Yasuní is crucial: It is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, and any invasions by oil and extractive activity could further destabilize our global climate and destroy the territory of the Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples.
The TNFD Shows That Global Corporations Will Not Solve the Biodiversity Crisis
“Scientific research has made clear that the biodiversity crisis will only be stemmed if we stop all new fossil fuels, reduce industrial livestock, and respect and center the leadership of Indigenous peoples, women’s organizations, peasants, and environmental defenders.”
“Worthless”: Chevron’s Carbon Offsets Are Mostly Junk and Some May Harm, Research Says
Exclusive: Investigation finds energy giant's efforts to offset its huge emissions rely on schemes with little impact
The Guardian | A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and in some cases may actually be causing communities harm.
10th Annual Global Anti-Chevron Day
From Australia to Argentina, Richmond to Ecuador, the Anti-Chevron community remains united
Anti-Chevron Day is not just about drawing attention to Chevron’s misdeeds, but also pointing out how many affected communities and their allies continue to support one another in resistance.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Amazon Watch Response to Petroperú
Under international standards, the impacted communities should have been consulted for the creation of Block 64 as well as all leasing contracts, which did not happen. As such, the “intercultural dialogue mechanisms” cannot be considered as complying with the international standards of FPIC.
New Video: Protecting the Right to Protest and Defeating Corporate Bullies
Corporations like Resolute and Chevron continue to use legal bullying to attack Earth Defenders and the climate justice movement
“We formed this task force to protect our rights – and yours – to speak out, criticize, and protest peacefully. From SLAPP suits to surveillance, we are here to defend your protest. Because democracy needs dissent.”
Sit-in Continues at Citi NY Headquarters Ahead of Climate Resolutions at Shareholders’ Meeting
“Last year, Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon met face-to-face with Citi’s leadership, and yet Citi has failed to address their demands to stop financing Petroperú and extractive projects that destroy their homes.”
The Right to Decide: U’wa Bring Case to Court After 25 Years
“As the U’wa Nation, we have a special mission for the Blue Planet, our Mother Earth, which is to defend her, protect her, safeguard her. Not just for the U’wa but for the whole world. This is the essence of the U’wa struggle from time immemorial.”
State Treasurers and Public Pensions Urged To Support Climate and Indigenous Rights Resolutions at Annual General Meetings
“Public pension fund officers have an obligation to protect their members from both the financial volatility and physical destruction of the climate crisis. They must do their job by voting yes on climate and Indigenous rights resolutions at bank and insurance shareholder meetings this spring.”
How We Leverage “Shareholder Season” for the Amazon
This April and May, the biggest financial backers of corporations that induce climate change and disregard rights will convene for their Annual General Meetings. We hope to push them to vote yes on important climate and Indigenous rights resolutions.
BlackRock’s Big Problem Responds to Larry Fink’s 2023 Letter
“Fink has again recognized that climate change risk is having a material impact in the world. However, he claims that BlackRock shouldn’t engineer outcomes related to climate change. This ignores the fact that maintaining the status quo is as much a choice as taking action.”
UN Human Rights Committee Calls on China for Mechanisms to Investigate and Punish Harmful Activities of Its Companies and Banks Abroad
"Having the Committee recommend that Chinese companies and banks be held legally responsible for human rights abuses arising from their operations abroad is not only a step forward in protecting Chinese investment, but also in guaranteeing human rights in any context of transnational capitalism."
China's Human Rights Obligations in Relation to Business Activities in Latin America
Chinese business activities in Latin America have increased at an unprecedented rate – impacting the Ecuadorian Amazon. Through the United Nations, those Latin American countries are granted processes to advocate for the respect of human rights, and when they are not, it provides external oversight to guide reparation and compliance.
At Any Cost? The Peruvian Government Launches a New Campaign to Attract Oil Investments in the Midst of the Crisis.
Is it prudent to invest in what will undeniably become a new front of social conflict and human rights violations in the north of the country, this time with Amazonian Indigenous people?
Solidarity With the Family of Eduardo Mendúa and CONAIE
Stop the stigmatization, criminalization, and violence against the Indigenous movement
“Amazon Watch expresses our deepest condolences and solidarity with the family and loved ones of Mendúa, and with the leadership and members of CONAIE. We join their demand for a thorough and rigorous investigation and acknowledgment of the root causes of his death. We consider it essential that Eduardo's widow and children find justice and the...
Are Californians Destroying the Amazon? A Sebastião Salgado Exhibit Raises Hard Questions
Los Angeles Times | “If we want to protect our climate, if we want to stop the drought, stop the further climate chaos that we’re in, whether it’s fires or floods or droughts, we need to end our addiction to Amazon crude.”
Petroperú Will Seek Financing to Drill in Environmentally Conflicted Area
“Banks and asset managers should know that any investment in Petroperú represents a serious financial risk. The current government is trying to take advantage of political instability to speed up contested projects which have a history of extensive unremediated environmental impacts. The message is clear: the oil industry in Peru is a bad...
How We’re Ending Amazon Crude in 2023!
Indigenous movements are gaining political, judicial, and legislative victories setting the stage for keeping oil in the ground this year
There are several reasons to be optimistic about building momentum to further restrict plans to expand oil extraction in its Amazon and keep fossil fuels permanently in the ground, and Ecuador is a great example.
Biodiversity Can Only Exist With “Land Back”
"As Indigenous Peoples at CBD COP 15, we demand Indigenous-led solutions to the climate crisis and for our rights to be respected. Our peoples are the keepers of Biodiversity around the world. It is through our solutions that we will see the world through the climate crisis."
A Powerful Beacon of Hope in the Colombian Amazon
The Siona of Buenavista are a beacon of resistance against incursions of oil companies like GeoPark into their territories. Solidarity from Colombian and international allies can be crucial to their success.
Indigenous Delegation to Hold World Leaders Accountable for Increasing threats to Amazonian Biodiversity At COP15
Leaders from Brazil and Ecuador will be in Montreal to draw attention to extractive industries, especially mining, threatening the Amazon rainforest
Amazon Watch is traveling to 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) as part of an Amazonian Indigenous delegation of multiple coalitions and nations to draw attention to the extractive industries, especially mining, threatening biodiversity loss in the Amazon rainforest and threatening human rights across the biome.
Executives Refuse to Address Vanguard’s Complicity in Amazon Destruction
A Peruvian delegation of Indigenous and fishing community leaders came to the U.S. to share their first-hand account of Petroperú's impacts on their livelihoods
A Peruvian delegation of Indigenous leaders and fishing communities is in the United States right now, confronting investors on their rights to live free from the devastation caused by the oil company the investors are bankrolling, Petroperú.
Vanguard Ignores Request from Indigenous Leaders from Peru to Meet on Investment Risks to Amazon Rainforest and Rights
Indigenous and fishing community leaders traveled to the U.S. to highlight harms caused by oil company Petroperú's operations in the Peruvian Amazon and coast
Vanguard cannot continue doing business as usual! We ask Vanguard to adopt an Indigenous rights and deforestation policy because our lives, water, and rainforest are at stake. Until it takes concrete steps, it remains complicit in the destruction of the Amazon and our livelihoods.
Amazon Watch Response to Energy Transition Accelerator: Proposal Repeats Failures of Previous Carbon Markets
“The LEAF Coalition is already failing forests and Indigenous peoples, and this attempt to export its unaccountable, unjust model to the power sector is yet another iteration of the same old story: climate finance that should be delivered no-strings-attached to Indigenous communities and Global South nations is being made contingent on handing out...
UN Expert Group Affirms: “Net Zero” Is Incompatible with Fossil Fuels and Deforestation
Recommendations released at COP27 highlight greenwashing risks of "net zero," while falling short on carbon offsets and human rights
“Credible net zero plans require drastic emissions reductions, direct support for ecosystem protection, and robust respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities,” said Moira Birss, Climate Finance Director at Amazon Watch.
Latest Draft Shows That the TNFD’s Reputation as “the Next Frontier in Corporate Greenwashing on Nature” Remains Solidly Intact
Almost 18 months after the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) launched, its latest draft gives little reason to believe that the global corporations behind it can be trusted to develop a credible reporting system that would meaningfully shift business behavior on biodiversity.
First-Ever Regional Court Case Involving Rights of Uncontacted Peoples Awaits Verdict
The Inter-American Court of Human rights is evaluating the first-ever case concerning the rights of Indigenous communities in voluntary isolation
Mongabay | In the case Tagaeri & Taromenane Indigenous people vs the Ecuadorian state, lawyers representing the communities in voluntary isolation say the Ecuadorian state has failed to protect these populations and propelled the extractive industry in the area, putting pressure on the rainforest and increasing conflict between local communities.
A People’s Referendum Could Stop Drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park
Defenders of Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon, one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, have two new reasons to hope that oil drilling in the region could be imminently curtailed.
