Greenpeace: Brazil laundering illegal timber on a ‘massive and growing scale’
Illegally logged timber in Brazil is being laundered on a massive and growing scale and then sold on to unwitting buyers in the UK, US, Europe and China, Greenpeace has claimed. After a two-year investigation, the campaign group says it has uncovered evidence of systematic abuse and a flawed monitoring system that contradicts the Brazilian government’s claims to be coping with deforestation in the Amazon. In a new report, Greenpeace cites five case studies of the fraudulent techniques used by ‘log launderers’, including over-reporting the number and size of rare trees, logging trees protected by law, and over-extraction. It notes that forest management officials are implicated in the wrongdoing and several have previously been fined or detained for similar crimes in the past. “Logging in the Brazilian Amazon is absolutely out of control,” said Marcio Astrini, a Greenpeace campaigner. “The government is failing to inspect, or verify when they grant permission for logging… As a result, buyers in Brazil and overseas are involuntarily financing crime.” Greenpeace has also alleged that UK companies International Timber and highstreet retailer Jewson, which are both owned by French multinational Saint Gobain, are selling Brazilian timber which they cannot prove is legal. (The Guardian)
Policy
‘Keep dirty energy out of Green Climate Fund’, demand activists
A coalition of around 300 civil society organisations have voiced concerns after it emerged the Green Climate Fund (GCF), launched as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, could be used to develop nuclear, dams and fossil fuel projects. The calls come ahead of the operational launch of the fund in South Korea next week. Activists, who are mainly from some of the poorest regions of the world, are demanding that the fund is not used to support high carbon projects. Lidy Nacpil, director of the Jubilee South Asia/Pacific Movement on debt and development said, “We are organisations, movements and communities from developing countries whose citizens bear the brunt of the most harmful consequences of climate change… Financing any fossil fuels and harmful energy through the Green Climate Fund is unacceptable.” Alex Scrivener, climate campaigner at the World Development Movement also commented that the GCF should be used to help developing countries’ transition to clean energy, adding that coal, gas and oil have no place in the fund. (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
Campaigns
Food should be regulated like tobacco, say campaigners
The food industry should be regulated like the tobacco industry as obesity poses a greater global health risk than cigarettes, say international groups. Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation are calling for the adoption of more stringent rules as global deaths due to obesity and being overweight rose from 2.6 million in 2005 to 3.4 million in 2010. New rules could include pictures on food packaging of damage caused by obesity, similar to those on cigarette packets. The groups are also calling for reduced levels of salt, saturated fat and sugar in food, improved food served in hospitals and schools, stricter advertising controls, and greater public education about healthy eating. “If we don’t take action now we are going to have the same intransigence and foot-dragging in the food industry… as the tobacco industry in the 1960s” said Luke Upchurch from Consumers International. (BBC News)
Coca-Cola and McDonald’s sign up to UK litter prevention pledge
Fast food giants McDonald’s and KFC, along with Coca-Cola Enterprises and Wrigley, have signed up to a litter prevention commitment organised by UK environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. Keep Britain Tidy launched its ‘Litter Prevention Commitment’ last week at a Tidy Britain All Party Parliamentary Group meeting in the House of Commons. It aims to prevent litter on UK streets which cost £1 billion a year to clean up. In a statement, Keep Britain Tidy said: “The Litter Prevention Commitment asks businesses, those who we have worked with in the past and new partners, to sign up, get on the right side of the fence when it comes to litter and join us in the battle to make our country litter-free.” The food and drink giants will be working on raising awareness of the social, economic and environmental impact of litter. They will also be aiming to encourage responsible consumer behaviour in order to reduce the amount of litter dropped and to contribute to a reduction in the cost of cleaning up litter by taking positive action. (Edie)
Corporate Reputation
Apple and Google’s Motorola announce patent truce, agree to work on reform
Apple and Motorola on Friday reached a truce, with the two companies agreeing to dismiss all patent-infringement claims against each other. Apple and Motorola parent company Google said in a joint statement that “Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform.” Apple and companies that make phones using Google’s Android software have filed dozens of such lawsuits against each other around the world to protect their technology. Apple and various handset rivals, such as HTC and Nokia, have reached settlements over the past couple of years. However, the highest-profile case – Apple vs. Samsung – continues to work its way through the courts. The battles have led to calls for reform to the current patent system, which is said to be stifling innovation and enabling “patent trolls” – entities that wait for another company to develop products that allegedly infringe their intellectual property, and then pounce. Apple and Google are likely to work together on pushing for patent reform to limit the scope of patent trolls. (CNET)
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