Environment

ArcelorMittal, the steel giant, has promised to invest $1 billion to upgrade its mining and metallurgical complex in Temirtau, Kazakhstan, where dozens of workers have died in industrial accidents in recent years and the pollution is so bad that winter snow sometimes turns black. Read More

Shell was given a permit to explore for oil off the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa in 2014. The permit was extended in 2021 by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Affairs. In September 2022, the High Court in the city of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape ruled that the exploration permit was illegal. Read More

Formosa Plastics, based in Taiwan, has proposed to build one of the world’s biggest plastics factory - a massive new $9.4 billion complex in St. James, Louisiana. The plans for the plant are projected to double air pollution in an area with some of the worst air quality in the U.S. Read More

In a country known for its sausages, schnitzels and other meat-filled traditional foods, the German city of Tübingen stands out. Considered one of the most vegan-friendly and eco-friendly cities in Europe, Tübingen was recently sued by a franchisee of the fast food chain McDonald’s over a new packaging tax. Read More

New Zealand’s Supreme Court rejected a giant seabed mining proposal in the South Taranaki Bight, proposed by Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR), in September 2021, following a seven-year-long legal fight by Māori tribes, fisheries and environmental groups. The South Taranaki Bight is home to a recently discovered pygmy blue whale population, critically endangered Māui dolphins and the world’s smallest penguin, the Kororā. Read More

Wearing white overalls stained with blood-red paint, members of Extinction Rebellion protested at Monsanto’s headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in mid-May. Read More

A delegation of forest activists from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria traveled to Zaventem, Belgium, to stage a protest in June outside the headquarters of SIAT (Societe d'Investissement pour l'Agriculture Tropicale or Investment Company for Tropical Agriculture) over landgrabbing in their communities. “Give us back our land,” they chanted. Read More

A group of 51 farmers in Maharashtra, India, who took part in compensation discussions with pesticide manufacturer Syngenta, over the health impacts of Polo insecticide, have had their hopes dashed after the company suddenly withdrew from a mediation led by the Swiss government after several rounds of meetings. Read More

In October 2004, an oil leak from a Shell pipeline caused long-lasting damage and contamination in the village of Goi in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In 2008, a group of affected Nigerians filed a lawsuit against Shell and SPDC, its Nigerian subsidiary, in the Netherlands, with the help of Friends of Earth Nigeria and Milieudefensie. In January 2021, the court ruled in their favor. Read More

Goldman Sachs bank is a top target of a major new investigation by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) into the “greenwashing” of investment funds to fool investors. They aren't the only ones: Bank of New York Mellon and Deutsche Bank have also been investigated. At stake is the definition of what constitutes high ratings for 'environmental, social, and corporate governance' (ESG) funds which is not defined in U.S. law. Read More