Over the past 15 years the production of palm oil has increased enormously, and not without reason: palm oil, pressed from the fruit of the oil palm, is cheap and is used in many different products. It is processed in ice cream, chocolate, margarine and sauces, but also in personal care products and cosmetics such as lipstick, detergent, toothpaste, soap and biofuel. Unfortunately, the large demand for palm oil has quite some negative side effects:…
Together with 29 other CSO's, we've submitted our comments and recommendations in the Public Consultation on the AfDB Integrated Safeguards System. These include that the Bank should prioritize community-led development and human rights-based approaches; protect natural resources and tackles environmental and climate crises; raise the bar on access to information, transparency and accountability; facilitate participatory processes in policies, programmes and projects; and end inequality, poverty, and the cutback and privatization of vital services.
Everything is tradable, even the right to CO2 emissions. In the European Union this has been common practice for some years now. EU countries have agreed to a maximum amount of CO2 emissions, and this 'right' is divided amongst companies in EU countries that produce a lot of CO2. Theoretically, CO2 emissions should be reduced this way. But are they? Both ENDS, together with a number of other organizations, signed a letter calling to stop this…
What is the reason behind the European Investment Bank’s 500 million loan to the Brazilian development bank BNDES? The money, paid for by the European taxpayer, comes from the ‘climate funds’ intended for projects to stop climate change. Does this make BNDES the most logical choice…