“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.”
Peru
Linked Fates: Ending Amazon Crude Will Benefit Us All
New research shows that California is the world’s largest consumer of oil from the Amazon rainforest. California converts 50% of the Amazon oil exported globally into fuel for airports, corporations such as Amazon.com, trucking fleets such as PepsiCo, and retail gas giants such as COSTCO. This new investigation expands upon our previous research...
Amazon in Focus 2021
The Amazon is at a tipping point. It is not near, it’s here. To reverse/halt this tipping point, we have joined the call from Indigenous peoples and global scientists to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025. Not 2030 and definitely not 2050. The time to act is now!
“Alternative Development” in the Peruvian Amazon: Deforestation, Drugs, and Death
Over the last few decades, the Peruvian Amazon has become a hotspot for coca cultivation. Drug traffickers in the region have shown a willingness to destroy the rainforest and kill anyone in the name of profit. Indigenous leaders working to protect their Amazonian communities from land invasions, deforestation, and violence come into the cross...
COP26 Agreement Fails to Address Climate Emergency, Take Necessary Steps to Protect Amazon and Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Fossil fuel lobby outnumbered Indigenous representation two to one, nations struck deal on international carbon markets despite Indigenous opposition to carbon pricing
Glasgow, UK – Undermining global hopes for meaningful action, the 26th annual Conference of Parties (COP26) climate summit in Glasgow concluded over the weekend without successfully addressing key drivers of the climate crisis, among them the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the role of fossil fuels.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Indigenous Territories Taken Over by Organized Crime in the Central Peruvian Rainforest
CONVOCA | More than 24,000 hectares of land occupied by three native communities in the Huanuco region are being taken over by invaders as runways used for drug trafficking and coca fields increase on their lands.
Investigation Finds "Alternative Development" Program Ties to Land Theft, Coca Plantations in Peruvian Amazon
Counter-narcotics program supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development has contributed to land invasions, deforestation, and deadly social conflicts with Indigenous leaders
“The investigation clearly illustrates how Peruvian authorities violated Amazonian Indigenous peoples’ rights to their own territories, exposing them to land invasions, violence, and death."
Indigenous Delegates at COP26 Endorse Campaign Demanding Banks Exit Amazon Oil and Gas
Dutch bank ING becomes latest to end oil financing in region, implement demands of Stand.earth, Amazon Watch’s new campaign
The role of European lenders in backing the trade from the Amazon came under scrutiny in August 2020 after a report by advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch looking at oil exports from the region to the United States.
ING Will Not Finance Oil in Peru Amid Indigenous Calls to End Amazon Trade
Reuters | The role of European lenders in backing the trade from the Amazon came under scrutiny in August 2020 after a report by advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch looking at oil exports from the region to the United States.
We’re Ending Amazon Crude
Human rights and environmental NGOs, alongside Indigenous organizations, are calling on all banks to Exit Amazon Oil and Gas immediately
On November 1, climate activists and policy makers from all over the world will be convening at the 26th annual Conference of the Parties (COP) in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss global efforts to address the climate crisis.
Environmental Justice and Human Rights Organizations: Carbon Offsets Don't Stop Climate Change
Over 170 organizations including Amazon Watch, Food & Water Watch, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sunrise Movement, Gulf Coast Center for Law and Poverty, Friends of the Earth, and more around the world, sign statement opposing carbon offsets
Oakland, CA – Today, a broad coalition of over 170 NGOs, advocacy groups, and grassroots organizations spanning the globe released a statement opposing the usage of carbon offset programs, declaring that carbon offset programs are false solutions that will not solve the climate crisis.
Statement: Offsets Don’t Stop Climate Change
We call on global policy makers to reject offset schemes and embrace real climate solutions that will keep fossil fuels in the ground, support sustainable food systems, and end deforestation, while eliminating pollution in frontline communities.
Banks Called to Exit Amazon Oil and Gas by Indigenous and Environmental Organizations
U.S., European banks could play critical role in ending Amazon destruction and rights violations by ending oil, gas financing in rainforest vital for global climate
New York, NY – A virtual Climate Week event held today highlighted the critical role U.S. and European banks must play in ending oil and gas financing in the Amazon rainforest. The event, led by international environmental advocacy groups and Amazon Indigenous leaders, revealed a new "Exit Amazon Oil and Gas" campaign and exclusion policy that...
The Global Week of Action: A Call from Indigenous Peoples
The Amazon has already lost 17 percent of its forest cover and an additional 17 percent of its rainforests have been degraded. If deforestation increases and surpasses the 20-25 percent threshold, this vital ecosystem will reach an irreversible tipping point of ecological collapse. The Amazon rainforest, as we've known it, could dive into the...
IUCN Approves Indigenous Peoples’ Global Call to Action to Protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025 to Avoid Catastrophic “Tipping Point” of No Return
Marseille, France – Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have approved motion 129, a call-to-action titled "Avoid the point of no return in the Amazon by protecting 80% by 2025." The motion – which was approved after several debates – was proposed by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin...
Forests, Fires, and Finance: How Financial Institutions Are Fanning the Flames
We are living in a world on fire. Over the past year, over 1,000 major fires have ravaged the Amazon rainforest, destroying millions of acres. At the same time, the North American west has seen its most destructive wildfire season in recorded history. Unlike the fires across North America and Europe, major fires in the Amazon are typically set...
Stay Connected, Stay Active for the Amazon on the NooWorld App
In solidarity with Indigenous peoples and allies from around the world, we're launching a Global Week of Action for the Amazon from September 5 - 11 via the NooWorld app. NooWorld is a social platform made by activists, for activists to build worldwide solidarity for climate justice. By joining us, you'll gain a community of people who are also...
European Bank Intesa Commits to Exclude Amazon Oil from Headwaters Region of Ecuador, Peru
Stand.earth, Amazon Watch call on other banks to follow suit
"Intesa's new commitment to exclude oil from the Amazon Headwaters region shows how banks can expand Amazon-specific exclusion policies beyond just trade financing. While the policy falls short of the call for banks to extend Amazon oil exclusions to the entire Amazon Biome, it illustrates how geographic exclusions are a necessary part of banks'...
Countdown to Deadline Glasgow for Our Rainforests and Climate!
Amazon Watch joins Stop the Money Pipeline’s demand to defund climate chaos
The global climate and ecological crises are more alarming than ever. The Amazon rainforest now emits more carbon than it absorbs due to rampant burning and deforestation. As people around the globe suffer through worsening climate catastrophes, financial institutions continue to fund the corporations perpetuating ecological destruction and human...
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...
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...
Report: Global Banks Fail for Financing, Investment in Oil and Gas in the Amazon Rainforest
Banks remain highly exposed to risk of fueling corruption, human rights violations, and environmental harms despite commitments; advocacy groups call for end to new financing by 2022, existing financing by 2025
San Francisco, CA – A new scorecard and report released today by environmental advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch fails global banks for their financing and investment in the oil and gas industry in the Amazon rainforest, revealing that despite sustainability commitments and risk management screening processes, banks remain highly...
Is Your Bank Using Your Money to Profit from Amazon Destruction?
The Amazon rainforest is at the tipping point – rapidly approaching an ecological point of no return when, if enough deforestation occurs, the forest will no longer be able to sustain itself, triggering a massic dieback of plant and animal species, and deregulating global climate and temperature patterns. We must take immediate action to protect...
The Wind Industry Threatens the Amazon and Its Next Generation of Earth Defenders: Indigenous Girls
As nations seek to position themselves as world leaders in the fight against climate change and the transition to renewable energy, some have invested heavily in wind farm construction. China is one of the nations stepping up to act on climate, and in 2020 it added more wind farm capacity than the rest of the world combined. In an ideal scenario...
Do You Invest with BlackRock, Vanguard, or State Street? Help Protect the Amazon!
Client investors have a major role to play in ending Amazon destruction
Together, BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard hold $46 billion in debt and equity in oil companies currently operating in the Amazon rainforest. While the prospect of moving the world's largest asset managers to divest from climate destruction may seem daunting, it's not impossible. That's where you come in. Client investors have power.
The Tipping Point Is Here. This Is Our Plan to Make It a Turning Point.
Just a few years ago we thought we had ten years to act on climate change and that the tipping point of the Amazon was at 50% deforestation, but corporations and governments have either been slow to act or failed altogether. The reality is that the climate crisis and the tipping point are here now. We have just a few years – not decades – to turn...
Challenges Ahead for Indigenous Earth Defenders in Peru
With a vaccination rate that is already surpassing 120,000 patients per day, Peru is finally showing glimmers of hope that it will overcome the worst of the pandemic. However, a glance towards the Peruvian Amazon shows a different reality. Recovery from COVID-19 in this biodiverse region will be difficult and Indigenous communities will need...
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...
BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Invested $46 Billion in Amazon Oil Companies
New report by environmental and human rights organization, Amazon Watch, highlights case studies on billions in amazon oil investments by the "Big Three" asset managers
"As long as the world's largest investors choose to place profits over people by continuing to pour money into the fossil fuel industry in the Amazon, our entire planet is at risk. BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard must end their complicity in Indigenous rights abuses, forest destruction, and climate chaos," said Moira Birss, Climate and...
