Global Witness’ Post

Five Just Stop Oil protestors have received what are thought to be the longest sentences ever given in the UK for non-violent protest, in a shockingly disproportionate punishment The UK Government must urgently end the criminalisation of climate activists. https://lnkd.in/eQQK6Kdp

Investment in renewable energy technologies is soaring as they are hailed as the answer to the energy crisis. But is there a hidden cost? Global demand for ‘transition minerals’ – such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper – has dramatically increased in the past year and led to an un-precented scale up of mining activities. At Global Witness we have been holding mining companies and big polluters to account for over 30 years. Our recent investigations into lithium mining in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, Namibia 🇳🇦 and Democratic Republic of Congo 🇨🇩 and rare-earth mining in Myanmar 🇲🇲 show the devastating impact of mining these minerals on people and the planet. Our transition minerals team are campaigning for the current energy transition to be fair and responsible for both people and the planet. We are calling for: 🔴 Inclusive decision-making for people in mineral-rich countries 🔴 Improved standards and accountability throughout the mineral supply chain 🔴 Fair benefit sharing for affected communities Find out more https://lnkd.in/dJJR4Kxt #TransitionMinerals #ClimateChange #Sustainability #HumanRights #Environment #GreenEnergy

🗣️ “These business models, which promote division and hate, is the absolute opposite of what we need in the face of the climate emergency. Now is the time we need to come together across national and political divides to figure out how we combat the biggest challenge that humanity has ever faced.” Our Ava Lee speaking at the UK premiere of 'The Click Trap’. This year is a huge one for global democracy and much of the global political conversation is happening online. Now more than ever it's vital we put a stop to billionaire Big Tech CEOs putting their profit above people and planet. These platforms amplify climate disinformation and hate, and use toxic business models hinder climate action and put minority and marginalised communities in danger. Learn more about our work tackling digital threats below. https://lnkd.in/eVg6xTx7

The Cambodian government has just escalated its war on environmental defenders by imposing prison sentences on 10 Mother Nature activists. This follows a long-established pattern of threats, attacks and murders targeting Cambodians who try to protect their nation’s rich natural heritage. When Global Witness had an office in hashtag #Cambodia (where our CEO Mike Davis worked from 2002-2005) our team members were frequently threatened and on a number of occasions physically assaulted and even shot at. Government officials launched lawsuits against our country director. We had to close our office in 2005 because of security risks. In recent years, much of this kind of intimidation has rained on young activists from the NGO Mother Nature. They have been highly effective in resisting a hydroelectric dam project that threatened to destroy ecosystems and livelihoods in Areng Valley and stopping the corrupt plunder of sands from Koh Kong Province. Why is the government so scared of them? Veteran despot Hun Sen, who recently handed over the prime minister role to his son Hun Manet, learned during the last chapters of Cambodia’s civil war that looting the country’s forests was a short cut to ample untraceable cash that could sustain his powerbase: https://lnkd.in/ewCB7egt. Thereon, his regime turned the opportunistic asset-stripping into a system. First steal the trees, next steal the land and then steal anything valuable – such as mineral deposits – that can be gouged from beneath the surface. That then provides the funds to rig elections, buy off adversaries and build up a private army (a “bodyguard corps”) that is far better equipped than the military and sits outside of the official chain of command. When laying waste to the environment – even committing hashtag #ecocide – is a significant foundation for your power, those that stand in your way are are at least as threatening as rival politicians. When the environmentalists are young and less susceptible to the Hun regime’s threats to drag the country back to the horrors of the 1970s if anyone challenges them, they are even more dangerous. International indifference to the rights and aspirations of Cambodia’s people helps explain many of the atrocious experiences they have been through in the past six decades. And the reality is it would not take much pressure to compel Cambodia’s bullying government to back off and release the Mother Nature activists – Ly Chandaravuth, Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey – now in prison. The governments of China, the EU, U.S. and UK need to step up. Cambodia’s Family Trees - Illegal logging and the stripping of public assets by Cambodia’s elite: https://lnkd.in/exj3nHvA; Country for Sale - How Cambodia’s elite has captured the country’s extractive industries: https://lnkd.in/egSbCaHq;

The UK has a new government...now what?   The labour party have been elected at a crucial time to tackle the climate crisis. We have 3 main asks of the new government.

Join us and an exciting line-up of speakers to explore what stops mineral-rich countries from developing local processing industries, moving up the value chain, and benefiting more. The rush for minerals needed for the #energytransition is often described as an opportunity for resource-rich countries to transform and diversify their economies. But countries often face multiple barriers to realising the full economic and development value of their natural resources. Register now to hear more from: Speakers: ◾ Pavel Bilek ◾ Deputy Head of Energy and Climate Policy at Berlin Economics ◾ Bart-Jaap Verbeek ◾ Senior Researcher, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) ◾ Nozuko Mani ◾ Executive Director, Mintek ◾ Tatenda Mungofa ◾ Founder of Mureza Auto Co ◾ Claude Kabemba ◾ Executive Director of Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) https://lnkd.in/ep9g83F3