Friends of the Earth

Environmental federation Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is mobilising again on 8 March, International Women's Day. The national, regional and global struggles of FoEI member groups are based on the principles of Gender Justice and Dismantling Patriarchy as a key aspect to build social, environmental and economic justice. [embed]https://twitter.com/FoEint/status/1500382507056906242[/embed] On this occasion, Real World Radio asked Latin American and…

"We need help around the world," said Patiente Etim from Mbarakum Community in a new Friends of the Earth Africa documentary on the impacts of industrial plantations on women. "The chemicals used by the plantation company affected my son-in-law's eyes. He was a sprayer with GOPDC/SIAT and through the exposure to the work hazard, the chemical affected his eyes. He…

The COVAX mechanism to distribute Covid-19 vaccines, mobile apps giving companies access to private data, biotechnology, language capture and alleged rights-based discourses — these are all examples of strategies used by transnational corporations to gain more power over global governance each day. In 2021, social movements defending Food Sovereignty warned about the strong influence exerted by agroindustrial corporations over the…

The African Peoples Tribunal (APT) that took place this year, after its first edition in November 2020, was developed by Friends of the Earth Africa, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), Friends of the Earth International, and Rainforest Action Network. This time, the APT took 10 cases, from 10 countries where Friends of the Earth has member groups, grassroots or…

The United Nations (UN) negotiations for a Binding Treaty to regulate human rights violations perpetrated by transnational corporations and enable victims to access justice “have taken a qualitative leap forward,” declared the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity . Following the seventh round of negotiations hosted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from 25-29 October,…

The new edition of the Meat Atlas, published on 7 September 2021 by Friends of the Earth Europe, Heinrich-Böll Stiftung and BUND/Friends of the Earth Germany, reveals the role of the meat industry in the health, biodiversity and climate crises and the impacts of meat production on people, particularly communities in the Global South. “The Meat Atlas is a publication…

“What we see at the international level and often at the national level is an imbalance between the rights of peoples and the rights of corporations,” warned environmental activist Sam Cossar-Gilbert, speaking about the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in a recent webinar. ISDS is “a biased justice system, organised by private lawyers, not by judges, and it's a tool…

The Israeli blockade in Palestine has severe impacts on the daily lives of people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: from blocking their access to water, to limiting their food sovereignty. Missile bombings over decades have damaged crop lands and wells, destroyed crops, killed hundreds of animals and deeply damaged artisanal fisheries. These were some of the impacts…

As El Salvador marks its bicentennial anniversary of independence, it seems there isn’t actually much to celebrate. Rather, there is a profound feeling of dissatisfaction with Nayib Bukele’s government among the Salvadoran people, who are demanding change. In addition to the series of earthquakes that hit the country on 22 September of this year, an atmosphere of threats to democracy…

Three-quarters of those without access to electricity now live in Africa, a share that has risen over recent years. The economic effects of Covid-19 have only increased the number of people unable to access electricity and who were forced into energy poverty. In this context, Friends of the Earth Africa has launched a report that analyses this situation and outlines…