Brazil’s bancada ruralista has attached a wave of riders to bills in Congress that could overthrow the nation’s environmental and indigenous protections. There is a high chance of passage.
In January 2018, two officials announced an end to plans for Brazilian mega-dams; both have since been replaced, and to date, no planned dams have been cancelled.
Scientists say burning woody biomass is not carbon neutral, yet the United Nations IPCC appears to be ignoring its own guidelines, so substantial emissions aren’t getting counted. But nature knows.
Indigenous and traditional groups united in a protest last week in Brazil’s capitol seeking territory demarcation, consultation on infrastructure projects, and an end to violence.
The $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative promises new ports, roads, railways, dams and an energy grid reaching from China across Asia to Africa, but at what environmental cost?
Brazil is reporting its CO2 emissions within U.N. guidelines, but the nation’s true carbon releases due to forest degradation, wildfires and other key sources could be far higher.
In a win for the environment, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of executive orders to reduce conservation unit size. Also, Brazil conserved 1.2 million hectares last week.
Thirty-eight environmental and social groups are demanding an end to indigenous intimidation by a dam building consortium on the Teles Pires River that includes Chinese and Portuguese firms.
JAKARTA — Indonesia, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter, has significantly scaled back its electricity output plans to boost the share of renewables, but will remain heavily reliant on coal. The…
Nearly 50 percent of Brazil’s lower house of congress received political donations from companies and individuals who committed environmental crimes, raising questions about influence peddling.
The Interior Dept. is holding the biggest oil lease sale ever next week, and trying to extend drilling to all U.S. coasts, but experts say Trump’s plan for “energy dominance” is economically and environmentally flawed.
Nearly 100,000 small hydropower dams exist or are planned worldwide, and science has done little to study or inform policymakers about cumulative environmental impacts.
Study: 142 existing and under construction Andean dams are fragmenting the Amazon, putting ecosystems at risk and impacting up to 30 million people. Another 160 dams are planned.
Operational in 2016, the Belo Monte mega-dam has done lasting damage to forests, fisheries, livelihoods, and indigenous and traditional communities (photo story).
In the Trump era, the Oglalla of South Dakota are setting up solar companies and alternative energy schools to train their people for a New Economy, leaping past enslavement to fossil fuels.
Even as Donald Trump calls climate change a hoax, the U.S. military is recognizing it as a national security threat, and revving up to protect its bases and operations in a climate destabilized world.
Flood pulses, important to Amazon basin aquatic and terrestrial ecology, are being severely impacted by both large and small hydropower dams.
In 2018, expect more Amazon assaults by the Temer administration, as indigenous and environmental resistance builds, with court rulings and October elections adding uncertainty.
While Pres. Trump’s 2018 budget remains in limbo, international environmental organizations and the UN stand to lose big if Congress okays his cuts. Still, global momentum is building for conservation and climate action, say policymakers.
In a major policy shift, the Brazilian government says it is abandoning plans for new mega-dams in the Amazon basin, a victory for conservationists and indigenous groups.
President Temer, pressed by the ruralist lobby, attacked indigenous and traditional land rights, conserved lands, and Amazon forests this year, and retreated from Brazil's Paris climate goal – analysis.
As the world recommitted to Paris carbon cuts last month, Britain and Brazil have moved to tap 176 billion barrels of undersea oil, risking further climate destabilization.
Under President Correa, Ecuador partnered with China, building megaprojects like the Coca Codo Sinclair dam, with negative outcomes for local communities and the environment.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission has rejected TransCanada’s preferred tar sands pipeline route through the state, while okaying an alternate route that could mean years of legal hurdles.
19-nation pledge would reduce coal use by 3 percent; COP23 failed to see developed nations ramp up carbon targets, or offer real pathway for financing climate aid to developing nations.
As fossil fuel firms drive bitumen tar sands pipelines toward U.S. and Canadian coasts, a bold alliance of U.S. Native Peoples and Canadian First Nations is successfully blocking their way.
Trump advisors and fossil fuel industry reps argued that “energy security and economic development” trumped climate action; they were met with derision and disbelief by the COP23 audience.
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s picturesque Wakatobi islands are so remote that the electricity only comes on at night. A thousand miles to the west, meanwhile, there’s so much power surging into…
U.S. subnationals – states, cities, companies and colleges – spoke out Saturday at COP23 in open rebellion against Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
There was standing-room-only at a COP23 event as the world watched U.S. senators, governors, mayors and corporations take on responsibility shirked by Trump and federal government.