Green revolution underway in France?

Paris, France — Nicolas Sarkozy, France's President, yesterday called for an environmental "revolution". Among other measures, he promised to outlaw energy wasting lightbulbs by 2010, ban commercial growing of genetically modified food and feed crops, and use the precautionary principle for all future government decisions. If yesterday's words become laws, and those laws become deeds, it could be the spark that changes the world.

Genetically engineered crop ban

France - the EU's biggest agricultural producer - is the sixth government in Europe to ban genetic engineered crops. (Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Poland are the other five.) The only genetically engineered crop currently grown in France is Monsanto's genetically engineered maize (MON810).

It's not clear if what was announced is a permanent ban, or a temporary measure. Sarkozy did cite three good reasons to avoid growing genetically engineered crops:

• Doubts about their usefulness.
• Doubts about their benefits for health and the environment.
• Concerns about their uncontrolled dissemination.

"We're calling on other governments inside and outside of Europe to follow this positive example," said Greenpeace campaigner Geert Ritsema. "And to put the interest of citizens and the environment before the interests of a handful of multinational corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and BASF that produce and sell genetically engineered crops."
Saving energy

Lightbulb manufactures themselves are calling for an end to energy wasting lightbulbs in Europe by 2019. Sarkozy scores considerably better with his target of 2010.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs use one-fifth the energy of traditional incandescents lightbulbs. Switching to energy saving bulbs in the EU alone, would save 20 million tonnes of CO2, equal to shutting down 25 medium-size dirty power plants.

Greenpeace campaigner Sharon Becker said, "We hope that this measure will open the eyes of other EU countries and that the energy efficiency standards needed to ban these bulbs, will pave the way for a broader spectrum of standards, for example for electronics and appliances."

Sarkozy also called for more use of train transport, and better fuel efficiency for cars. Following through on the promise of cars which emit on average 120 gram of CO2 per kilometre by 2012 would have a knock-on effect globally by fully commercializing existing technology.


Nuclear - lack of progress

Although Sarkozy gushed about renewable energy, it's clear France is not quite ready to give up its nuclear addiction. France has 59 operating nuclear reactors, and is building a new one based on what is called the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) design.

France is also marketing its nuclear technology to countries like the UK, US, China, Canada, Brazil and Morocco. Already there is an EPR nuclear plant under construction in Finland - years behind schedule, over a billion euros over budget and plagued by more than 1,000 documented quality problems.

"It is good that Sarkozy agreed to phase out energy wasting bulbs," said Greenpeace campaigner Jan Beranek. "But by saying A he should also say B, which is that thanks to plans for improved efficiency, there is no need for additional reactors in France."


Sustainability first

From now on in France, the burden of proof must be placed on ecologically destructive activities, according to Sarkozy. Rather than environmentalists having to show that there's a better way, companies and people proposing ecologically destructive decisions need to prove there is no other choice.

This is probably the most important idea put forward by Sarkozy. It's very similar to the precautionary principle championed by Greenpeace and other environmental groups:

The precautionary principle is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Following the precautionary principle is the route to sustainable economies and a healthy planet for future generations. Applying it thoroughly would be a true revolution.

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Hazardous substances reduced but not eliminated from laptops

International — Our investigation into hazardous materials in laptops shows that manufacturers have phased out use of some of the most toxic materials over the past year but still have a long way to go in eliminating others, such as PVC, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and phthalates.

We purchased 18 laptops from Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, Sony and Toshiba in 14 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia and sent them for analysis by an independent laboratory and at our Exeter Research Laboratories.

The report, "Toxic chemicals in computers - Reloaded", show bromine being present in over 40 percent of the components tested, at concentrations of up to 10 percent by weight. Of the components tested, Sony laptops were found to have the lowest number containing bromine, Dell laptops had the highest number.

PVC was found in 44 percent of all plastic coating internal wires and external cables that were tested. Phthalates were found in the power cables supplied with all laptops, with the highest levels in those of Acer and HP laptops.

The new report follows up our investigation into toxics in laptops sold in Europe in 2006, before EU legislation on hazardous substances in electronic equipment, known as RoHS.

With the implementation of RoHS, computer manufacturers have significantly reduced their use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and certain brominated flame retardants.

The good news is these changes have been implemented by all companies and not only for the European market where it is a minimum legal requirement.

The analysis shows that, for almost every component found to contain either bromine or plastic PVC, an equivalent component free of these chemicals can be found in another laptop.

First computer free of the worst toxic chemicals?

In theory, by combining components from different machines, the industry could already almost produce the first computer free of the worst toxic chemicals. The question is, which company is going to be the first to go the whole way?

Take Action

"While levels of certain toxic chemicals in the laptop components tested do not exceed current European standards, other hazardous chemicals found in laptops are not yet covered by European regulations," said Zeina Alhajj, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner.

"Greenpeace's goal is for computer manufacturers to eliminate the use of toxic materials completely."

"The results demonstrate that legislation in one region can have an influence even in countries where it does not yet apply. However, even where they do exist, current laws fail to regulate all hazardous chemicals in laptops, or in other electrical equipment, "said Dr. Kevin Brigden from the Greenpeace Research Laboratories who oversaw the sampling analyses and produced the report. "Laws which aim to protect human health and the environment must ultimately address all hazardous substances," he added.

Who's making the most progress?

We have been working since 2004 to push all the computer companies mentioned in the report to eliminate the worst toxic chemicals.

They have all published plans to drop these chemicals in 2008/9 (with the exception of HP) from all their products. These plans form part of the companies' scores in our Guide to Greener Electronics.

Our ranking guide also scores companies on whether they have already computer models free of PVC and BFRs on the market. Based on this criterion, out of the computer companies whose laptops we tested, Sony scores highest followed by Toshiba.

On the basis of this test, it seems Sony is closest to the goal of eliminating toxic chemicals from computers. Apple is making progress since the last test but Dell, HP and Acer still have the most work to do.

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Greenpeace Activists Trapped by Loggers in Amazon

Para, Brazil — Eight Greenpeace activists trapped in a Brazilian environmental protection agency (Ibama) office, for nearly two days, have finally managed to escape. Our team was forced to seek refuge in the Ibama Amazon base, after loggers blocked them from transporting a dead Brazil nut tree we had government permission to collect and use. [UPDATED]

300 loggers, with eight trucks, ten vans, and 15 motorbikes surrounded the building. Then, last night, Brazilian police escorted our team to out of town.

We intended to use the Brazil nut tree as part of a public exhibition exposing Amazon destruction and its contribution to global warming. The tree was taken from land that had been illegally cleared and burnt.

Update - 26 October - Both the governor and the mayor of Sao Paulo have joined our call for zero deforestation in the Amazon. (read more)

Government Sides with Loggers

Unfortunately, the Brazilian government gave in to the loggers, and revoked Greenpeace's license to remove, transport and exhibit the valuable and protected Brazil nut tree, now in custody of the loggers. Despite the government back down, many loggers continued to surround the building with our activists inside. It was not until police committed to escort them later that night, that the Greenpeace team was able to make it to safety.

The loggers were undermining basic constitutional rights such as security and freedom of movement. It is the second time in two months that Greenpeace has been harassed like this in the Amazon jungle.


All this fuss over a tree

That a mob of 300, many of them involved in illegal deforestation, was allowed to stop eight activists from collecting one dead tree shows how out of control the situation is in this part of Brazil - and how special Brazil nut trees are.

Since 1994, the Brazilian nut tree (Bertholettia excelsa) has been protected by law from burning and logging, but is still endangered by illegal land clearing.

They can grow to over 50 metres tall, live for 500 years and are integral to the rainforest ecosystem. Brazil nuts grow in canon ball like clusters about the size of grapefruits, which can reach deadly speeds as they fall from the canopy. Its fruit (nuts) are extremely high in protein - eaten in the region and exported to countries like the UK, Germany and Italy. The nuts are one of the main non-timber forests products in the Amazon. About one million people depend on them.

Now this one tree is a symbol. On this, even the illegal loggers and the activists they blockaded agree. The loggers have said they will build a memorial with the tree in the town square. For us, this is a memorial showing the lack of governance in the Amazon - that the ones in charge aren't the government or the people of Brazil, but the loggers.


Brazil: World’s fourth largest climate polluter

Deforestation is responsible for three quarters of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions, and makes the country the fourth largest climate polluter in the world. Our exhibition using the Brazil nut tree to highlight this has wide support across the country. Governors of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have already confirmed their attendance.

Brazil wants to be recognized as a serious player on the international stage, yet can’t even uphold its own constitution in the Amazon. Greenpeace is calling for including deforestation in the post-2012 Kyoto climate regime to be discussed in Bali, Indonesia this December.

As Marcelo Maquesini, one of the team trapped inside the Ibama office said, "If Brazil is to be taken seriously by the international community in negotiations on climate, biodiversity or human rights, then they need to be able to enforce basic law and order in the areas where forests are being destroyed."


Amazon deforestation must end

The Brazilian government should allow us to take the Brazil nut tree as agreed. Tackling deforestation is an urgent issue, and people in Brazil (and around the world) have a right to see first hand the consequences of land clearing in the Amazon.

Greenpeace, in cooperation with nine other groups, two weeks ago launched a proposal for a national agreement to end Amazon deforestation at an event attended by the Brazilian Minister of Environment and State Governors. The proposal seeks a broad commitment from the Brazilian government and civil society to create measures protecting the Amazon rainforest.

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Tracking whales from space

International — Every year humpback whales migrate thousands of kilometres from the warmth of the South Pacific to their feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. It is a journey full of danger, as the whales must now contend with numerous threats along the way. From entanglement in fishing gear to the effects of climate change. And this year, for the first time in 20 years they will arrive in the sanctuary and have to contend with the whalers' harpoons.

It is a journey that has until now been a mystery. We know where the whales breed, in the warm waters of the South Pacific and where the whales feed, in the iceberg filled waters of the Southern Ocean. The journey the whales take between these two distant places however, is unknown.

The mystery may finally be revealed this year because we are collaborating with scientists from Opération Cétacés in New Caledonia and the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation (CCRC) in the Cook Islands to find out where the whales go on their epic migration.



The scientists at Opération Cétacés and CCRC have placed satellite tags on 20 humpback whales and we are now receiving regular updates from the satellites on the whales locations as they travel along the 'Great Whale Trail'. The satellite data isn't just for the scientists though, you can follow the whales with our interactive google map.

Looking at the map already raises some fascinating questions, for real and amateur scientists alike. The whales from the Cook Islands are heading in a westerly direction, not south as you might expect. Some of the whales are even swimming away from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary!

Maybe they are swimming towards a current that sweeps across the Pacific Ocean to the east coast of Australia before turning south. Maybe there is another other ocean feature they are heading for that we don't know about.

The whales from New Caledonia are also showing some fascinating behaviour with most of them heading south as expected but fanning out over a huge area, not staying together. One of the New Caledonia whales is heading west to the Australian coast.

As well as the map of the whales migration and profiles of the whales, you can also sign up for your free 'Whale Mail' which gives regular updates on the whales migration, threats they face along the way and all other whale related action, and you can also be part of a competition to name some of the whales!

By collaborating with Opération Cétacés and CCRC, we are supporting important, non-lethal research into the migration of humpback whales.

By combining the satellite data with other non-lethal research like biopsy darts (small pieces of skin and blubber that can be DNA analysed) and scientific observation, the final mysteries about the lives of humpback whales can be unravelled without harming the whales.

This research, is in stark contrast to the unnecessary, fake research that the Japanese Fisheries Agency carries out each year by killing around 1,000 whales in the Southern Ocean.

After swimming thousands of kilometres to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary the whales should be safe. The whales we are tracking however, could be in the sights of the whalers in just a couple of months time.

To keep up to date with all the latest whale news, sign up below for your regular 'Whale Mail'.

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Smoking kills - Kolaghat coal plant protest

Kolkata, India — Today, Greenpeace India activists scaled a 76 metre (250ft) smokestack spewing carbon dioxide at the Kolaghat coal fired power station, to paint the message "SMOKING KILLS". No, we're not talking about cigarettes - we're pointing the finger at one of the biggest causes of climate change - coal. [UPDATED]

"The addiction to coal fired power plants is a deadly one that the Indian government needs to get away from immediately," said Soumyabrata Rahut, Climate Campaigner Greenpeace India. "As in any addiction, we will have to wean ourselves away from the bad habit in a phased manner, but to continue on a carbonized growth path will be suicidal not only for the health of the country but for the entire planet."

Currently 67 percent of India's total electricity is from coal fired power plants, and additional proposed plants will lead to the doubling of CO2 emissions from the power sector in India. This will push India in to the third slot just behind USA and China from the current fifth position in overall CO2 emissions.

Update - 12 October - Six volunteers were arrested yesterday, were denied bail and remain in jail. They have been charged with criminal trespass and violation of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act of 1972.

The Rainbow Warrior arrived in Calcutta today bearing the message "Arrest Climate Change: Free the Climate 6." (read more)

Update - 15 October - The six Greenpeace activists, four men and two women were granted bail this afternoon. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for December 19. (read more)

Saving energy - the other side of the issue

Greenpeace India is not only tackling climate change from the supply side, they're also going after the demand side by calling for a ban on energy wasting lightbulbs. Earlier this week, they used floating life rings create a massive 45 metre (150ft) ‘BAN THE BULB’ message on the Hoogly river (also in Kolkata), and over 200,000 people have signed their ban the bulb petition.

Banning energy guzzling incandescent lightbulbs would cut India's carbon dioxide emissions by a whopping 55 million tones. It's a simple, quick and doable step that can lead to a four percent cut in India’s carbon dioxide emissions.


Rainbow Warrior on the way

The Rainbow Warrior is scheduled to arrive on the 12th of October on its maiden voyage to Kolkata and the Sunderbans, to highlight the extreme vulnerability of this ecologically sensitive region and to sea level rise. Watch the Greenpeace India website for more on the Rainbow Warrior's work there.

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Indonesia: Forests and climate up in smoke

Sumatra, Indonesia — Never has the threat to the world’s forests been more acute nor the risk of dangerous climate change so imminent. With about one-fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions being caused by forest destruction we are highlighting how Indonesia is at the heart of this problem.

Indonesian forests are being destroyed faster than any other major forested country, for logging and oil palm plantations.

This destruction has obvious, immediate consequences for the unique plants, animals and people who call the Indonesian forests home. These forests contain between 10 and 15 percent of all known species of plants, mammals and birds that make up the world’s treasure chest of biodiversity. Orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, more than 1,500 species of birds and thousands of plant species are all part of the country’s natural legacy. But many of these unique forest-dwelling animals, including the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger, are on the brink of extinction.

While the loss of forests is bad enough, there's a double blow for the environment from forest clearance in Indonesia. Beneath most of this forest are thick layers of peat that lock up millions of tones of carbon. Once the forest is cleared the peat swamp is drained and often also burned to make the soil more suitable for palm oil plantations. Burning of the forest and peat results in huge amounts of greenhouse gases making Indonesia the world’s third largest climate polluter.



Brazil is the fourth largest climate polluter, with up to 75 percent of its emissions coming from land conversion and deforestation mainly in the Amazon.


More emissions than transport

Globally deforestation and forest fires account for approximately 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That's more emissions than the world’s entire transport sector. If global deforestation is left unchecked it will continue to accelerate the rate of global warming.

This urgent global problem needs a global solution. We have launched a Forest Defenders Camp on the boundary of forest clearing in a region of Sumatra. In the coming weeks we'll be highlighting scale of the destruction and who's responsible. But also in Indonesia lies the start of that global solution.

Indonesia will be hosting the next round of international climate talks in December. Governments from around the world will gather in Bali to negotiate about extending the Kyoto Protocol, the only international agreement containing legally-binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

We aim to ensure that deforestation is included in the next phase of the Kyoto agreement extending beyond 2012. The decisions that governments make in the near future are critical for securing the financing and capacity needed by countries to safeguard their tropical forests and to allow them to make a serious contribution to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Stabilising the world’s climate depends on countries agreeing to deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from the energy and industrial sectors and completely halting deforestation. And, above all, ensuring that this is firmly written into the revised Kyoto Protocol.

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Greenpeace UK shuts down coal fired power station

Kent, United Kingdom — Just after 5am this morning, 50 Greenpeace UK volunteers went into Kingsnorth coal fired power station. One group immobilised the huge conveyor belts carrying coal into the plant then chained themselves to the machinery. A second group is climbing up the chimney, with supplies to hold it for several days and force the power station off the national grid.

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels; it just isn't fit for purpose in the 21st century. No new coal fired power station has been built in the UK in over 30 years but now we're worried that prime minister Gordon Brown may be giving the green light to a new coal rush.


Background on Brown, E.ON and coal

In December last year, the owner of the Kingsnorth plant, E.ON, applied to build a new coal plant that would emit as much carbon dioxide as the world's 24 lowest emitting countries combined. Worse, it could keep pumping out emissions for another 50 years. And it will only be 45 percent efficient, in an age when power stations can reach 95 percent efficiency. E.ON, the German group behind the plan for the new coal plant, is Britain's single biggest greenhouse gas polluter.

Brown's repeatedly been asked to veto the plans; he's refused. In fact, his government has convened a coal forum to "bring forward ways of strengthening the industry, and working to ensure that the UK has the right framework to secure the long-term future of coal-fired generation."

"Instead of climate wrecking coal fired power stations, Brown should be investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy and decentralised energy," said Greenpeace energy expert Robin Oakley outside the power station. "For example, the London Array offshore wind farm will provide energy for 750,000 homes. Let's see more projects like that instead of outdated, dirty projects like Kingsnorth 2."

Updates (via Twitter):

• gpuk: Nuclear power: an ailing industry http://tinyurl.com/2rpc8v
  2007-10-25 18:02:54+00:00
  
• gpuk: Biofuels: A small group makes a big, bad decision http://tinyurl.com/2rnncz
  2007-10-25 13:59:17+00:00
  
• gpuk: Links for 2007-10-24 [del.icio.us] http://tinyurl.com/3cqr32
  2007-10-25 05:01:44+00:00
  

Follow the action via the Greenpeace UK blog, Facebook profile, Moblog, Flickr and Twitter.

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How the World Bank and HSBC are investing in deforestation

Congo, The Democratic Republic of the — Back in April, at the World Bank's spring meeting, there was much talk about the plight of the Congo rainforest. We'd just published a big report detailing how in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) logging titles were being granted in breach of a moratorium that the bank had been instrumental in establishing. The report launch was so high profile, we were able to force DRC's rainforest high onto the agenda of the World Bank meeting and have also managed to secure another session at the upcoming autumn meeting. Given this, you might be surprised to learn that the World Bank is investing in a company that is dealing in illegal timber from the rainforest and has also obtained land in breach of the country's moratorium. But that's exactly what's happening.

The World Bank's website says that "the Bank does not fund logging anywhere in Africa and our main advice to the Government of DRC is not to expand industrial logging". Yet the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has invested heavily in Singapore-based trading group Olam International to the tune of millions of dollars over the past four years - at the end of the financial year for 2006, IFC held US$11.2 million in the company's loans and guarantees.

Just two weeks ago, we heard that the DRC provincial authorities had seized illegal timber shipments from Olam due to non-payment of local taxes - the barges were carrying $500,000 of illegally-logged rainforest timber. The area's forest minister CoCo Pembe accused the company of trading in illegal timber, cut by local companies whose logging permits have expired. Yet the World Bank denies that IFC is doing anything wrong.

In addition, we have clear evidence that Olam has purchased logging titles in breach of the 2002 moratorium which expressly forbids the allocation of more land for logging.


Right hand not talking to left?

It would seem that the left hand of the World Bank doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and it's not just this distant and impersonal institution exhibiting double standards - some high street banks are also funding forest trashing activities. Take HSBC, whose recent advertising campaign would lead you to believe it was the greenest bank around. Its 'Forest Land and Forest Products Sector Guidelines' state that it "will not provide facilities and other forms of financial assistance [for] logging operations that are in violation of local or national laws in respect of illegal logging". And yet, along with the Royal Bank of Scotland, they provide financial services directly to Olam.

When questioned by our campaigners about the relationship with Olam, HSBC CEO Stephen Green said that he was unable to comment further on the relationship for "legal and regulatory reasons" although he was keen to reassure us that "where issues are brought to my attention they are thoroughly investigated and acted upon if they are found to be in conflict with our environmental standards and policies."

All well and good, Stephen, but surely the point of having a sound environmental policy is to prevent HSBC getting into bed with dodgy companies in the first place. Especially companies like Olam, whose activities directly contradict HSBC's own forest policy. Mind you, it's not just HSBC - both Barclays and Prudential are shareholders in Olam.

If financial institutions put their money quite literally where their mouth is, they can force companies to adopt more responsible practices - without investment, companies like Olam can't continue to make vast profits from environmental destruction. The World Bank could look a bit more closely at its own guidelines and make sure its funds are used to increase forest protection and alleviate poverty instead of funding rainforest destruction.

Meanwhile, it's always worth looking more closely at what your own bank gets up to - without our hard-earned cash, they can't function either.

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Island contaminated by illegal GMO

Romania — Environmental activists today placed an entire island under strict quarantine after finding illegal genetically modified (GMO) soya being grown there.

Bralia Island in Romania is normally a quiet farming area on the Danube river but now it is the site of a huge environmental contamination by soya that has been genetically modified by the agricultural-chemical company, Monsanto.

The peaceful action in Romania began early in the morning when 30 Greenpeace activists from across Europe set up a 'decontamination station' at the ferry harbour area on Braila Island.

All vehicles leaving the island were decontaminated by being thoroughly washed to prevent the genetic contamination from spreading further.

It is illegal for member states of the European Union (EU) which includes Romania, to cultivate GMO Soya. Greenpeace is calling on the Romanian government and the European Commission to act immediately to locate and destroy all of the illegally cultivated GMO Soya.

"We have taken action to protect the rest of Romania from contamination by these illegal GMO crops, which pose massive risks to the environment, biodiversity and human heath. Romanian people have overwhelmingly rejected GMO," said Gabriel Paun, Greenpeace Romania, GMO campaigner.

"This is not the first time Greenpeace has discovered illegal GMO production in Romania, the situation is out of control. The Government must immediately locate and destroy all of the crops before they enter the food chain."

At the same time as activists were decontaminating Bralia Island in Romania, more activists were busy taking action against another site of GMO contamination in France. 20 volunteers painted a field of illegally grown GMO maize (corn) bright red, in order to expose its location.

The GMO maize, known as MON810, is another genetically modified product being pushed onto consumers by Monsanto. The GMO maize is being illegally grown, as either the farmer, or the French government have failed to inform the public of its presence as required under French law.

"By failing to take control, the Romanian and French governments are allowing biotech companies such as Monsanto, to run riot over their environment and ignore the wishes of European people; contaminating their food and their fields" said Myrto Pispini, Greenpeace International GMO campaigner.

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Greenpeace Jaguars occupy Argentinean rainforest treetops

Yungas Rainforest, Argentina — Jaguars are tree climbers, but there is no federal law to protecting their forest - so our activists have taken to the trees themselves. Dressed as jaguars, they're camped in the treetops of the Yungas in a bid to block the bulldozers until a federal law can be passed.

For six days now, the activists have continuously occupied trees inside a part of the Yungas forest that's a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. They'll stay there until "la Ley de Bosques" [the Forest Law], legislation to protect Argentina’s remaining forests, is agreed by the Argentinean congress.



Greenpeace Argentina is calling for 1 million signatures to help get the law passed, and has already collected over 600,000. If you are Argentinean and have not yet signed, please help by signing now. While support from all is welcome, we need signatures from Argentineans to get this law through.

The trees the activists are living in are up to 25 metres high. A 'land team', camping on the forest floor, supports the activists in the trees, and all of them are trained in jungle survival techniques.

Argentinean forests going fast

Argentina’s forests are in crisis. Forests are being chopped down at a rate 8 times faster than the world average, clear cutting a massive 300,000 hectares a year. To put that figure into context – Argentina destroys an area of forest the size of 40 football fields, every HOUR.

Clear cutting means just that; giant bulldozers with anchor chains knock down all vegetation. Any “debris” is then cleared with fire, in a matter of days ancient ecosystems are lost - forever. The land is then used to grow genetically engineered soya, or for cattle ranching. Jaguars are just one of endangered species, facing extinction as a result of Argentina’s rampant forest destruction, others include armadillos and giant anteaters.



Deforestation is also one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Worldwide deforestation is second only to the energy sector as a contributor to climate change - responsible for up to one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Forest Law will establish a moratorium on forest conversion for agriculture land, until a legitimate scheme for sustainable use of Argentina’s remaining forests is established. This needs to be a transparent process, including indigenous and campesinos (peasant) communities.

Reserva de la Biosfera de las Yungas

The Yungas rainforest is considered an international hot spot for biodiversity by international bodies. Back in 2002, UNESCO declared an area of the Yungas rainforests in Argentina as ‘Biosphere Reserve’ because of its rich and unique biodiversity. The official name of the reserve is 'Reserva de la Biosfera de las Yungas’. Greenpeace volunteers have chosen to occupy trees inside this reserve, to highlight how even protected areas, are under threat.

Nearly 34,000 people live in the Reserve and it is home to some 203 different bird species, including the eagle and the military macaw; its 89 mammal types include the jaguar and the tapir.

The purpose of the UNESCO classification is to contribute towards sustainable development and conservation. The expansion of genetically engineered soya cultivation in Argentina makes a mockery of Las Yungas Biosphere Reserve status, destroying its unique ecosystems and peoples.

Our volunteers will remain in the treetops until the Argentinean senators takes urgent action to give green light to the forests law and protect what’s left of Argentinean forests.


If you are Argentinean please don’t forget to join the hundreds of thousands of people who are demanding the Senate immediately approve La Ley de Bosques. (Sorry, Argentinean's only. But everyone can help by spreading the word.)

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Crop circle boosts climate protection in USA

Iowa, United States — Greenpeace USA's "Project Hot Seat" campaign aims to get a pro-climate protection majority in the US Congress. Greenpeace activists and grassroots groups are urging Congressmen and women across America, to sign up to the Safe Climate Act.

The Act is a scientifically based solution that would by 2050; reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared to 1990 levels. This is urgently needed to stop climate change spiralling out of control.

The reductions may seem like a big ask, but luckily we have the solution – investment in renewable energy technologies, and massive improvements in the ways we use energy, make the goals entirely plausible.




Crop circle boosts campaign

The campaign had a great boost this week, when Congressman Dave Loebsack in Iowa changed his mind and agreed to sign up to the Act. He had previously told Greenpeace that though he was concerned about global warming, he would be unable to commit to the Safe Climate Act.

So Greenpeace and local grassroots groups created a very clear message, a crop circle of a wind turbine in an Iowan cornfield. The demand was simple "Congress: deliver renewable energy solutions to climate change."

And it worked, Loebsack signed the very next day.

Greenpeace is calling on Iowa to have at least 20 per cent of its energy come from renewable technologies by 2020. This alone would create 5,080 jobs, one and half times more than generating electricity from fossil fuels does. Consumers would save a massive $400 million (US) in lower electricity and natural gas bills, and the greenhouse gas emission reductions would equal a massive 71 million cars off the road. Hopefully, Loebsack colleague, Representative Leonard Boswell, will soon follow suit.

As Kelly Mitchell from Greenpeace USA put it "the solutions to global warming are right here in the fields of Iowa."


Dutch court rules that term "clean coal" is misleading

Meanwhile, Greenpeace Netherlands had a court victory this week, when the Dutch Advertising Authority (ACA) ruled that use of terms such as "clean coal" and "clean fuel" by Dutch energy giant NUON are "misleading."

NUON must now stop using "clean coal" in its print and web adverts. The ruling shows that "clean coal" is a contradiction in terms and that aggressive marketing of it is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the coal industry to make itself relevant in the face of climate change.

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UN climate summit

New York, United States — The good news: The biggest environmental gathering of government leaders in many years showed the world is finally waking up to the urgency of climate change. The bad news: Time is running out.

Yesterday, world leaders gathered in New York City for the largest United Nations meeting on climate change since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Top officials from 150 countries (including 80 heads of state) plus big names like Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzenegger were in attendance - and so were we.

"The time for doubt has passed," as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in his opening address. Ban sees the world's response to global warming as something that, "will define us, our era, and ultimately the global legacy we leave for future generations"

Gore told the world leaders, "We have to overcome the paralysis that has prevented us from acting". Governor Schwarzenegger called for, "action, action, action".

One by one, heads of state stood up and essentially echoed their sentiments. Our own Lo Sze Ping, from Greenpeace China, told the attendees that the world's worst per capita emitting countries need to stop using developing countries as an excuse not to act.

Lo went on to call for an energy revolution with massive uptake in energy saving and renewable energy technology world wide, and real action by world leaders rather than more talk.

"At the climate negotiations in December, you must therefore agree to nothing short of a Bali Mandate," he said. "Not a road map to nowhere, not a wish list."

[ Watch the webcast | Read his speach ]


Bali Mandate

The next meeting on climate change negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol will take place on the island of Bali in December. Greenpeace is pushing for world leaders to strengthen the Kyoto Protocol at these meetings. Industrialized countries must begin the process of negotiating emissions reductions of 30 percent by 2020, and at least 80 percent by 2050 in order to prevent climate chaos. This is what the best and latest science tells us is needed now to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

The meetings in Bali must advance a negotiating agenda, a Bali Mandate, to combat climate change on all fronts, including adaptation, mitigation, clean technologies, deforestation and resource mobilization. All countries must do what they can to reach agreement by 2009, and to have it in force at the end of the current Kyoto Protocol commitment period at the end of 2012.


US remains isolated

US President George W. Bush was not among the heads of state at the high level UN climate change meeting. He only showed up late at the end of the day to dine with a select group.

Instead, Bush has scheduled his own meeting for this Thursday and Friday in Washington, DC, limited to the countries with the largest global warming emissions. Bush's meeting, imaginatively dubbed the "Major Emitters Meeting", is widely seen as part of his strategy to avoid legally binding caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, Bush is pushing for voluntary, "aspirational" targets with no weight behind them. Bush is just pretending to care. The world must not be fooled.

At our meeting with Ban, last Wednesday, Greenpeace USA executive director, John Passacantando, reassured the UN Secretary General that people in the US are ready to tackle climate change, and dismissed the Big Emitters Meeting as a diversion tactic from a president no one is listening to anymore.

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Coca-Cola to champion Greenpeace cooling technology at Olympics

International — All drinks at the Olympics are on us, kind of. Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola today announced a commitment to use coolers and vending machines free of HFC gases in all official venues of the 2008 Olympic Games, demonstrating climate-friendly technology developed by Greenpeace. Getting to here has been an amazing journey over 20 years involving the most unlikely characters and situations -- even George W. Bush makes a last-minute appearance.

CFCs to HFCs: frying pan to fire
When the dramatic discovery of the ozone hole in 1986 forced the banning of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), the refrigeration industry switched to hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's). HFC's don't destroy the ozone like CFC's can. But they do cause global warming. Indeed, some HFC gases are up to 11,000 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide (CO2), your garden variety greenhouse gas.

Solution: Greenfreeze
To highlight the madness of this switch from CFC's to HFC's and show how it should be done, Greenpeace launched the concept of Greenfreeze in 1992. We met two scientists who pointed out how to avoid HFC's altogether. We found an old fridge factory, appealed to our supporters to pre-order enough units to finance a refit, helped build the market and Greenfreeze was born.

It uses natural gases so avoids both depleting the ozone layer and fuelling global warming. The chemical industry said it would never work and the big refrigeration users lined up with their friends in the industry to dismiss our claims.

Well that was then, and this is now. Today there are over 100 million Greenfreeze refrigerators in the world, produced by all the major European, Chinese, Japanese and Indian manufacturers. It is now available in most major markets with the exception of North America.

While Greenfreeze technology gradually gained a foothold in the domestic market in the late 1990's, large commercial users continued to use refrigeration that causes global warming. In the run up to the Sydney Olympics in 2000 we targeted big refrigeration users such as Unilever, Coke and McDonalds, all Olympic sponsors, to live up to the guidelines of the green games which excluded HFC's.

[ More on the history of Greenfreeze.]

Coke in the spotlight
Coke caved in after a concerted online campaign (CokeSpotlight.org) before the 2000 Olympics to buy green refrigeration for new units. Before the start of the games all three companies we had targeted announced phase out plans for damaging refrigeration technologies by the time of the 2004 Olympics.

Today Coke plans to install no less than 6,350 climate-friendly coolers and vending machines in the Olymic Games venues in Beijing and six co-host cities throughout China. Calculated based on an expected ten year life span of the units, they reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 4,500 metric tons.

This is the first time that 100 percent of the coolers and vending machines provided by Coca-Cola to all Olympics venues will feature HFC-free insulation, and HFC-free natural refrigerant. For good measure, Coke has also added a proprietary technology called Energy Management System (EMS) that improves energy efficiency by more than 35 percent.

"This innovative approach of combining natural refrigerants and energy efficient technology is a great example of how a business can work with other stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We hope Coca-Cola's efforts can accelerate industry-wide actions to combat climate change," said LO Sze Ping, Campaign and Communications Director of Greenpeace China.

What's next for HFC's
Not to be outdone by Coca-Cola, the Whitehouse is rumoured to be planning an announcement at next week's UN meeting on ozone depleting substances (the Montreal Protocol), proposing aggressive targets to phase-out HFC gases.

Left unchecked, HFC's are expected to contribute up to 5.2 percent of the world's global warming emissions by 2050.

It will take much more than public pronouncements to tackle the climate crisis. But as the Montreal Protocol comes to it's 20th anniversary, and the story of Greenfreeze demonstrates, creativity, vigilance and a "can do!" attitude can transform even the most familiar/dire characters and situations.

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Worldwatch Report: Oceans in Peril

Amsterdam, Netherlands — Our planet's oceans are in deep, deep, peril, says a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. The only road to recovery may be to declare 40 percent of the world's oceans off-limits to human exploitation to ensure the restoration of life in depleted areas. The Earth's surface is 70 percent covered by ocean, and three-quarters of humanity live in coastal areas. We are hugely dependent on marine resources - yet our oceans are facing threats that include overfishing, toxic pollution, climate change and whaling.

A new report from the prestigious Worldwatch Institute, Oceans in Peril: Protecting Marine Biodiversity, calls for these marine reserves - areas where all extractive and destructive activities, including fishing are prohibited - while giving an alarming snapshot of the shocking state of the world's oceans. It's a wake-up call that should jolt the complacency of policy makers worldwide.

Written for the Worldwatch Institute by a team of experts - this time from the Greenpeace Science Unit in the UK's Exeter University - Oceans in Peril updates an earlier study by the same team in 1998. They have been staggered by the scale and rate of destruction that has taken place in less than a decade in every ocean on Earth.

©Greenpeace/Grace Sharks entangled in a Japanese driftnet

The Science Unit provides crucial scientific expertise to our campaigns, and has a long history of working on oceans issues, including whaling, toxic pollution, climate change and overfishing.

"Recent studies such as the one which shows how 90 percent of the world's large predatory fish, which include the sharks, swordfish and tuna, have disappeared due to overfishing since the 1950s have helped expose what has been happening under the waves and have therefore been out of sight and out of mind to most people", says Paul Johnston, Greenpeace's chief scientist.

Oceans in Peril details new and emerging threats, such the increasing acidification of the world's oceans, and underscores how the race for ever-diminishing resources is forcing marine ecosystems to the point of collapse.

The report illustrates how 76 percent of the world's fish stocks are fully or overexploited, an estimate borne out by figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which suggest that 158 million tons of fish were harvested worldwide in 2005 - a seven-fold increase since 1950. Catch records between 1950 and 2000 show the "collapse" of 366 out 1,519 fisheries worldwide, most famously the Grand Banks cod fishery off Newfoundland.

©Greenpeace/Grace Orange Roughy and bycatch in the Tasman Sea

Oceans in Peril also details the pitfalls of fish farming, the supposed magic bullet of marine resources with alarming statistics: producing carnivorous animals such as salmon or marine shrimp requires 2.5 as much fishmeal as the amount of saleable fish eventually produced. For tuna caught in the wild and fattened in "ranches", the weight of fish fed to the tuna is a shocking 20 times more than what is actually produced.

The damage to thousands of marine animals and entire ecosystems by the likes of longlining and bottom trawling, as well as overfishing off the coast of developing countries, is exacerbated the estimated 20 percent of the global catch that is illegal, unregulated or unreported, and worth somewhere between US$4-9 billion a year. While countries with enough resources to control their own waters stand some chance of putting measures in place to protect resources, there's little or no regulation of any kind of marine harvesting in international waters - an issue that needs to be urgently addressed at an international level.

500-year old Gorgonian Coral trawled from the sea bottom by a fish net. (Image ©Ministry of Fisheries NZ)

But it's not all doom and gloom - there is a beam of sunshine in the report, including a comprehensive package of measures that if implemented could reverse current trends, restoring the former productivity of our planet's oceans. That solution is the establishment of comprehensive marine reserves all over the world, protecting vulnerable species and habitats, enhancing fisheries beyond the reserve boundaries, and buffering the worst impacts of climate change.

Marine reserves are the single most powerful tool available for arresting and reversing the decline of our oceans and are equally applicable to the high seas as they are to coastal waters. The oceans have immense powers of regeneration and wherever in the world marine reserves have been established marine life is flourishing.


If we want fish tomorrow, we need marine reserves today.

You can help us convince governments and the UN that we need to protect our oceans by creating a global network of marine reserves by signing our petition:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/world-watch-report-190907


www.greenpeace.org

About - Greenpeace

Greenpeace is present in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants.

Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an area north of Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of 'bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today, and our ships are an important part of all our campaign work.

We exist to expose environmental criminals, and to challenge government and corporations when they fail to live up to their mandate to safeguard our environment and our future.

In pursuing our mission, we have no permanent allies or enemies. We promote open, informed debate about society's environmental choices. We use research, lobbying, and quiet diplomacy to pursue our goals, as well as high-profile, non-violent conflict to raise the level and quality of public debate.

And we believe that the struggle to preserve the future of our planet is not about us. It's about you. Greenpeace speaks for 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and encourages many millions more than that to take action every day.

We take the name of our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, from a North American Cree Indian legend. It described a time when humanity's greed has made the Earth sick. At that time, a tribe of people known as the Warriors of the Rainbow would rise up to defend her.

As one of the longest banners we've ever made summed things up, "When the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will discover that we can't eat money..."

You can help: sign up for your free ezine!

www.Greenpeace.org