Environmental Investigation Agency

Norges Bank has divested from a major traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) company in the wake of EIA’s major exposé 'Investing in Extinction', which found the body parts of threatened leopards and pangolins being used as ingredients in at least 88 products. The bank cited an ‘unacceptable risk’ of Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Re Tang Group Corp Ltd contributing to severe environmental damage. This exclusion was based on a recommendation by Norway’s Council of Ethics (CoE), which assesses the bank's investments against guidelines on ethical investment adopted by the Ministry of Finance of Norway. Among other credible sources of information, the CoE has relied on reports by EIA, including 'Investing in Extinction', which was released last October and highlighted the role of investments by major financial sector entities in three TCM conglomerates using leopard and pangolin parts in their products. Get the full story now at https://lnkd.in/e3VdgZCe #tcm #traditionalmedicine #norgesbank #tigers #leopards #pangolins #china #norway #illegalwildlifetrade

EU commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday (2 Oct) proposed a year’s delay to phase in the bloc’s landmark EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The move effectively stalls progress in stopping global deforestation and addressing human rights abuses associated with the production of forest-risk commodities, such as palm oil and rubber. EIA strongly urges the EU to listen to ALL voices from producer countries and to ensure the EUDR is robustly implemented. 🌴 More on the EUDR – https://lnkd.in/eFUu3wQq 🌴 More on President von der Leyen’s proposal – https://lnkd.in/dywTvCTx

New Investigative Report Release: The Hard Truth About Soft Plastic 📢 Today, @EverydayPlastic and EIA published the findings of a yearlong investigation, The Hard Truth About Soft Plastic, which details the growing crisis of UK soft plastic packaging use. In tandem, @ClientEarth have published a legal briefing on how Plastic recycling claims are misleading consumers. Together we analysed the trade routes of 40 trackers placed by Everyday Plastic volunteers in Sainsbury’s and Tesco soft plastic take-back schemes and found the following: 🔥 70% of tracked soft plastic bundles that reached a final treatment waste facility were burnt, not recycled. 🚢 Tracked bundles show that collected soft plastic packaging waste continues to be exported abroad, both for recovery (incineration for energy recovery) and recycling. 🇹🇷 The majority of tracked bundles sent to recycling facilities were exported to Türkiye. ♻️ Why soft plastic packaging remains very hard-to-recycle but its use is increasing. 🏪 🤐 Despite being provided with the opportunity to respond, supermarkets are not being transparent about exactly how much collected soft plastic packaging is being recycled, recovered and exported. We evidence: ❌ How soft plastic recycling claims are misleading consumers 🔒 Takeback schemes are likely obstructing genuine solutions 🛡️ How a suite of corporate and government policy safeguards are necessary, including a plastic reduction target and ban on UK plastic waste exports Huge thanks goes out to Everyday Plastic, their volunteers, ClientEarth and the many more who were also involved in bringing all this to light. Supermarket take-back schemes were established 4 years ago. Now more than ever these issues need to be addressed. Please lend your support by signing this petition: https://loom.ly/rwCw1xs Full and summary reports: https://loom.ly/XUSyYgE Web landing page: https://loom.ly/7LVwVKw ClientEarth briefing: https://loom.ly/eZpIbbg #plastic #softplastic #supermarket #plasticwasteexport #wastecolonialism #plasticreduction #recycling

Following the International Whaling Commission (IWC69) in Lima, Peru, the moratorium on commercial whaling has been reinforced. But there was disappointment as a sanctuary for whales will not be established in the South Atlantic. EIA Senior Ocean Advisor Clare Perry stated: It’s a bittersweet moment – the IWC has clearly demonstrated its relevance this week and taken a strong stand against the continued commercial whaling, but the continued opposition to the South Atlantic whale sanctuary by a group of countries that do not carry out whaling and can only benefit from the sanctuary is incomprehensible.” #iwc69 #whales #commercialwhaling #iwc #lima #peru #ocean #marine #wildlife

It’s Heat Pump Week in the UK and the timing couldn’t be better as the latest EIA Climate team research finds natural refrigerant models are now readily available in the country! The rapid roll-out of heat pumps is a key part of the UK’s net zero strategy, with a typical heat pump reducing emissions by up to 66-80 per cent compared to heating options reliant on fossil fuels. However, not all heat pumps are created equal as some of them run on climate-polluting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), an F-gas which often has global warming potentials thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. The good news is that EIA has found many of the UK’s largest heat pump suppliers are already offering highly efficient climate-friendly natural refrigerant systems, with lower long-term running costs ... Get the full story in our latest blog at https://lnkd.in/ezrWCT4A #climate #climatechange #globalwarming #heatpumps #refrigerants #HFC

Ahead of the last round of talks in pursuit of a Global Plastics Treaty in November, we’re very pleased to see the UK has formally signed up to the progressive Bridge to Busan Declaration. The Declaration seeks to establish an international, legally binding instrument which will moderates the production of primary plastic polymers and tackle the impacts of plastic pollution. The fifth and final round of talks of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan, Korea from 25 November to 1 December 2024. And EIA Ocean campaigners have been in the vanguard of efforts to encourage the UK to sign up to the Bridge to Busan Declaration ahead of the talks. Ocean Campaign Leader Christina Dixon said: “With a new UK Government comes a new chance to flip the script on more than a decade of dire progress on environmental issues. “The communities and environments impacted by harmful plastic emissions cannot afford to have a toothless paper treaty that ignores the fundamental drivers of the problem we are trying to solve. That’s why action on plastic production is an essential element of ending plastic pollution and we must stop pretending otherwise. “I am proud to see the UK joining a group of progressive countries calling for action on production – this type of leadership is urgently needed as the vested interests of petrochemical companies and petrostates attempt to water the treaty down at the finish line.” Find out more about EIA’s work to secure a robust Global Plastics Treaty at https://lnkd.in/e-8U97Jv #plastics #pollution #plastictreaty #INC5

EIA took the floor at the 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC69) to support a call from the EU to end commercial whaling. Making a formal intervention yesterday (24 September), EIA Senior Ocean Advisor Clare Perry said: “We believe it is time for commercial whaling to end and for contracting governments to the IWC to reaffirm the moratorium’s vital role in the conservation and recovery of all cetaceans. “We congratulate the EU for bringing forward this resolution, which reminds nations of their obligations under international law regarding commercial whaling activities. We urge contracting governments to support this resolution and call upon nations engaged in commercial whaling to cease operations immediately and those operating within the IWC to withdraw their reservations and objections to the moratorium.” Find out more about commercial whaling and why EIA is working to end it at https://lnkd.in/eyA4DNzS #whales #whaling #dolphins #IWC69 #Japan #Iceland #Denmark

An estimated 2.9 million whales were killed during the 20th century, leaving global whale populations devastated. The 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling enacted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) saved several whale species from extinction and allowed some populations to recover. Despite the global ban, Japan, Norway and Iceland continue commercial whaling. Propped up by government subsidies and support, commercial whaling flies in the face of international environmental agreements while serving no economic or nutritional purpose. Furthermore, whales, dolphins and porpoises now face grave and growing threats from a range of additional human activities, from climate change to pollution. It is time for commercial whaling to end for good. IWC members must strongly reaffirm the continuation of the moratorium and promote to the fullest extent the conservation of all whales. https://lnkd.in/eyA4DNzS #whales #whaling #dolphins #IWC69

The future of whales hangs in the balance as the latest IWC meeting gets under way in Peru   EIA Ocean campaigners are in Peru this week for the 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which opens today in Lima. There are two big issues on the agenda that we’re particularly focused on. The first is the creation of a new South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary, which was on the agenda at IWC68 in 2022 but was scuppered when pro-whaling countries and their supporters staged a walk-out, successfully preventing discussion and voting. Also due for discussion is a proposal from Antigua, Barbuda and St Lucia seeking to lift the international moratorium on commercial whaling – something we believe would be a disaster for whale and dolphin species. Read our latest News Update for more information on IWC69, as well as links to our opening statement at the meeting, two new briefings on the key issues and a livestream of proceedings … More at https://lnkd.in/e-WBKs-G #IWC69 #whales #whaling #dolphins #Peru

Will an EU court ruling embolden timber traders to sneak illegal timber in from Myanmar? A new ruling by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) may partially undo earlier criminal convictions for importing teak from Myanmar in defiance of a previous EU sanctions regime. (...) In a blow to Myanmar’s forests, the CJEU ruled on 5 September 2024 that teak taken from Myanmar and processed into sawn wood in Taiwan conferred Taiwanese origin. In contrast, teak logs that underwent “debranching and debarking” or were sawn into “wooden cuboids” did not undergo sufficient processing to change the teak’s Myanmar origin. Read our news article on https://loom.ly/iqDpy2U #myanmar #teak #illegaltimber #illegallogging #environmentalcrime #savetheforests