Both ENDS
Authors note rectification 13 April 2023
Most Dutch pension funds and their asset managers do not vote consistently in favour of climate resolutions at the oil and gas companies and banks in which they invest. That is the conclusion of a report published today by Both ENDS and Groen Pensioen. Eleven of the twelve* Dutch pension funds studied have made public statements and pledges about adapting their policies in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. But their voting behaviour does not sufficiently correspond with these pledges. Only pension fund PME votes for 100% in line with its own climate promises.
Every 10 years, the mandate and activities of 'Export Development Canada' (EDC), the Canadian export credit agency, are reviewed. Since the last review took place in 2008, another review is currently underway. Both ENDS and a couple of other CSOs working from a number of countries made a joint submission as formal input to the legislative review. We did this especially in light of the Canadian governments' ambition to show leadership on climate change and to prioritise climate change action and clean economic growth.
From 24-28 January 2017, the second round of negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) takes place between the EU and Indonesia. The proposed agreement covers far-reaching liberalisation and deregulation that can have severe impacts on society, people and the environment. Civil society organisations, including Both ENDS, released a statement to express their concern and call upon the negotiators to halt the process and fully assess the potential environmental and social impacts of the agreement.
We have good news from our partner organisation Gram Swaraj in India! In light of the Ecosystem Alliance India Programme, Both ENDS and the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) have nominated Gram Swaraj for the ‘Paul K. Feyerabend Award – A World of Solidarity is Possible’. This organization is committed to fighting for the rights of tribal communities in rural India. Due to increased mining and other industrial activities in India, the culture, living environment and overall existence of such communities are being threatened.
21 April 2017: Jakarta is sinking. Excessive groundwater extraction is causing the metropolis to sink by dozens of centimetres each year, making it more vulnerable to flooding. Dutch businesses have come up with a solution: an immense sea wall on the coast, which is also a stunning real estate project. But this intervention is just a pseudo-solution, say researchers from Both ENDS, Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) today in a new report. Even worse, the project threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people employed in local fisheries.
Global public support for coal is decreasing. Obama has pledged to stop American support for public financing of new coal plants outside the U.S., the World Bank has announced to phase out support for coal projects and some large private banks are withdrawing from fossil fuels. But what about export credit agencies (ECAs)? Until now, ECAs have not withdrawn from coal projects. On the contrary: while other investors gradually cease their support to coal projects, export credit agencies are investing in coal more than ever. On June 11, an alliance of 50 NGOs, including Both ENDS, published a recommendation to the OECD calling for an end to export credit support for coal.
The first Voedsel Anders (Food Otherwise) conference in February 2014 was visited by more than 800 people. And that literally gave everyone the taste for more! So this year, the second Voedsel Anders conference is to be held. The conference is the initiative of the Voedsel Anders movement, which consists of organisations and active citizens who are engaged in a different way in changing the food system and making it sustainable. Karin van Boxtel from Both ENDS is involved in organising the conference.
Representatives of the Dutch and the German development banks (FMO and DEG) are in Panama today to discuss the future of the controversial Barro Blanco project with the government. Last May, the locks of the dam were closed to test the dam, in complete breach of all previous agreements. Part of the surrounding land is now flooded and some residents might soon have to be evacuated. Both ENDS, together with seven other organisations sent a letter to the directors of the two banks, urging them to assume their responsibilities as investors in the project.
