A wave of uncertainty and concern has gripped Ecuador after right-wing President Lasso invoked Article 148, known as the “muerte cruzada” clause in the country’s constitution, dissolving congress and convening new elections.
Oil and Gas
“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 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.”
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
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.
Major U.N. Biodiversity Deal Recognizes Indigenous Rights but Lacks Critical Enforcement Measures
Democracy Now! | The landmark agreement seeks to halt the Earth’s sixth major mass extinction event, and Indigenous communities will have an increased role in protecting wildlife as part of the deal.
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.
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...
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.
Peruvian Indigenous Federation Joins Groups Urging CFTC to Rein In Voluntary Carbon Market Derivatives
On Friday, October 7th, a coalition of climate justice, Indigenous, and financial regulation advocacy organizations will demand that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigates and regulates carbon offset derivative trading to rein in misleading claims, fraud, and undisclosed risk and prevent the growth of systemic financial risk...
Amazon Watch Rebuts False Claims of Consultation with Indigenous Communities by Vanguard-Financed Peruvian Oil Company
Petroperú fails to allay the risks for investors, communities, and the climate of its planned expansion in the Amazon rainforest; Vanguard fails to respond
Oakland, CA – Today, Amazon Watch released a response to a letter from Petroperú, a state-owned Peruvian oil company, that attempted to contradict a recent blog on Vanguard's financing of the oil company.
Pluspetrol Norte: A History of Unpaid Sanctions and Oil Spills in the Peruvian Amazon
Mongabay | “The situation never improves; all the companies have had spills from OXY, Pluspetrol, and Petroperu. The pipes are decayed; they’ve been installed for years, and for that reason, [the land] is constantly being polluted.”
Ecuador Defends the Rights of Its People and Rejects Another Chevron Scheme!
Several days ago we asked you to take urgent action to tell the government of Ecuador to hold Chevron accountable for its deliberate Amazon pollution, before a legal deadline. Great news: it did!
