Doing anything at the climate talks that could create even a miniscule stir is quickly silenced by UNFCCC security. In some ways, it feels like an authoritarian state. Civil society is locked out of most meetings. We scramble to get “leaked” copies of papers that should be openly available. Our influence is often reduced to standing outside of closed rooms, sticking our hand out in front of delegates entering the rooms, trying to get them…
With only two days left in the Durban climate negotiations, we are frighteningly close to locking in low ambition and inaction for the next decade. The US, a consistent and major impediment to progress, thinks that what the world agreed last year in Cancun is sufficient for the next ten years.
Several studies show that the greenhouse gas emission reduction pledges agreed in Cancun may deliver in excess of 5 degrees of warming. After…
Amid rallying cries of "Amandla! Awetu!" ("Power to the people" in Zulu), we stood in front of a giant octopus with outstretched tentacles. This octopus was greedily trying to suck up the money meant for developing countries. This backdrop framed the platform from which speakers at our rally spoke. We were there to oppose efforts by the US, UK, and Japan to turn the Green Climate Fund into a 'Greedy Corporate Fund.' We…
Due to an onslaught of recent critiques and a trading scandal involving the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a diverse coalition has called on Congress to hold hearings on the broken policy.
As negotiators from around the world gather in Durban, South Africa for the latest round of climate talks, Friends of the Earth and our allies released a report today titled Unclear on the Concept. The key question we explore is, "How Can the World Bank Group Lead on Climate Finance without an Energy Strategy?"
The World Bank is strongly positioning itself to be the manager of the Green Climate Fund, which will be a…
As the international climate talks enter their third day, Friends of the Earth – South Africa, BankTrack, and other environmental groups released a scathing new exposé on the biggest banks funding the global coal industry.
The report, Bankrolling Climate Change, finds that the top four financiers of coal are all Wall Street banks: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. (To make matters worse, each of these “climate…
Now that the Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the super committee, has officially announced that they are not going to reach a deal we can let out a sigh of relief. That’s because, as Paul Krugman wrote, failure is good in this case.
The super committee that was formed in the wake of this summer’s artificial debt ceiling crisis was tasked with reducing the national debt by $1.5…
Despite repeated promises that carbon markets would deliver significant sums of money to help reduce emissions from deforestation, the carbon market has largely faltered. The growth of the carbon market has stalled and declined in the past 12 months, with carbon recently declared the world’s worst performing commodity. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) was forced to close the carbon spot market for several weeks this year following a carbon theft…
The night before international climate negotiations began here in Durban on the coast of South Africa, a violent storm whipped through the city, collapsing houses and flooding buildings. In a tragic foretelling of the climate chaos to come, six people died when their homes collapsed. Thirteen people have died in extreme weather events in the last two weeks alone.
Unfortunately, the wealthy world continues to ignore the obvious and tragic reality of climate…
On Friday November 18, 2011, Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica testified in the House Committee on Natural Resources hearing titled ANWR: Jobs, Energy and Deficit Reduction. The hearing was called by the Republican majority to promote drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in order to create jobs and generate revenue to help reduce the deficit.