The cattle battle: How one supermarket is stepping up to stop Amazon destruction for beef

Blogpost by Adriana Charoux

One major Brazilian supermarket chain has just committed stop selling beef linked to Amazon destruction and human rights violations – because Brazilians demanded it.

Today Grupo Pão de Açúcar – one of Brazil’s major supermarket chains and owned by Casino supermarkets in Europe – announced huge changes to the way it buys and sells beef. After years of claiming ignorance about its supply chain, it is now taking action to keep beef linked to deforestation and labour abuse from its shelves.

This is a big deal for Brazil and the planet. Here's why: 

1. Stopping deforestation for beef is crucial for the Amazon and the climate.

The cattle sector in the Brazilian Amazon is the largest driver of deforestation in the world, responsible for one in every eight hectares destroyed globally. After rainforest is burned or clear-cut for timber, ranchers quickly move cattle into the newly deforested areas to feed on the fast-growing grass. There are already more cows than people in Brazil, and millions of those cows are in the Amazon region – occupying about 60 percent of all deforested land.

The impacts of cattle in the Amazon aren’t limited to Brazil’s borders. The Amazon rainforest stores huge amounts of carbon, helping to keep Earth’s climate in balance. Deforestation destroys the forest buffer we rely on, impacting the climate for all of us.

Up until last year when Greenpeace Brazil exposed the practices of Brazilian supermarkets, the companies were selling beef linked to this destruction with little consequence to them. Now, as Pão de Açúcar commits to transparency and strong policies to guide its beef purchasing, the supermarket is sending a clear signal to all its suppliers that beef connected to deforestation is no longer acceptable.

2. Amazon beef and labour abuse are connected. Addressing deforestation means addressing workers’ rights, too.

Livestock production in the Brazilian Amazon isn’t just the leading cause of deforestation there. It also has historically relied on slave labour and is often connected to the invasion of Indigenous Lands.

To address this, Grupo Pão de Açúcar’s has proposed a 100 percent transparency program for the beef sold in its stores that would block meat from farms involved in slave labour and clashes with traditional communities, in addition to deforestation.

3. Pão de Açúcar’s change of heart shows that consumer voices make a difference.

When thousands of customers of Pão de Açúcar made it known they wanted an end to beef linked to deforestation, labour abuse and invasion of Indigenous Lands, the company listened.

Consumers have the right to know if they are contributing to the destruction of the Amazon or the violation of human rights. The question now is how long it will take other supermarkets in Brazil to start listening, too. 

What’s next?

Much remains to be done to ensure that meat across Brazil is not connected to deforestation, slave labour and illegal occupation of land. And people in Brazil and around the world need to eat less meat to ensure a stable climate, reduce pollution and improve health. But from supermarket aisles to the halls of Brazil’s National Congress, Brazilians are showing that real change for forests is possible. Just last year, more than 1.4 million Brazilians pledged their support for a law that would make Amazon deforestation of any kind illegal!

Greenpeace will continue monitoring Pão de Açúcar to ensure the company keeps its promises. Now, we need to push the rest of industry in the same direction. 

Adriana Charoux is an Amazon campaigner at Greenpeace Brazil.

First faces of fortress Europe

It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere but nobody seems to have told the weather gods in Lesbos. As 50-knot gusts of wind thump the island from the south, at least they bring welcome warm air and time to put some thoughts to paper.

It's the prevailing north wind that raises our guard as it puts the Turkish beaches in the lee and gives refugees the wrong impression of sea conditions further out on their perilous journey. It's a colder wind that brought snow and countless cases of hypothermia in the past. Beware the northerlies.
At the end of March, Greenpeace is wrapping up its refugee rescue operation on the Greek island of Lesbos and handing over to Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) who are ready to take full charge of the operation for the longer term. The last few weeks have been quiet with only the odd refugee boat managing to break through the new dictate from Brussels.
We have seen off the winter and should be proud of it. Nearly 100 Greenpeace staff and volunteers have donated their time, skill and energy over the past five months in a spirit that can only be described as "old school". MSF and Greenpeace have acted as one throughout, and much of the handover is in name only as many of the hardened crew continue their work under a different badge.

Summing up the last few months is a tricky task – no two days have been the same. It's easiest explained in numbers, but numbers fail dismally in this crisis of humanity, especially with politicians and media banding them around like a currency on the stock exchange. Numbers fail to describe the pictures etched into our minds: an outstretched hand, a semiconscious gaze or even the reassuring nod from a colleague as life and death decisions unfold amidst hysterical screams.

The numbers
MSF and Greenpeace assisted 18,117 people at sea between November 28, 2015 and March 23, 2016 and conducted 361 operations on the north coast of Lesbos.

Operational Data
Guidance to shore	171
Guidance to shore with towing	24
Mass man overboard / capsizing / transfer of people on our boats	25
Other kind of assistance (such as guidance to solve engine problems)	141

There are two main categories of refugee boats. Neither is fit for purpose. Inflatables carry up to 70 people and come in variable quality, occasionally with the glue still sticky. ‘Wooden boats' describe any type of boat that isn't a rubber duck, and these are the most dangerous: they tend to capsize and sink quickly when they take on too much water, or break up as they hit the shore. Both types of boat are filled with petrified souls, but when the term ‘wooden boat' rings out over the VHF radio it quickens the pulse and hand to the throttle.

Our team up on the hill (call signs Romeo & Juliette) perform a dizzying array of tasks, from spotting and guiding refugee boats to relaying information between officials and non-governmental agencies responding on water and land. Here's a glimpse of what goes on behind the statistics.
Guidance to shore – 171 boats
On a calm day this can be a happy affair. When the people in boats realise we are friend not foe, the singing can start. After all the hardship endured (one can only imagine) they are about to make it! Smiles emerge as we exchange the thumbs up sign and cultural mediators and medics begin to assess the condition of the new arrivals from a safe distance.
Along the stretch of coastline we cover, there are about a dozen safe landing beaches. We know them well now and I no longer need to refer to GPS coordinates as I radio an estimated time of arrival to Romeo/Juliette: "send the medics to Yogi or Chapel" or "ground support required at Aphrodite or Sheep Farm".
Mostly it's just a case of tweaking their course, as they are not accustomed to sailing. Before today, many had never seen the sea, so they are not to know that a lighthouse signifies danger – and lives have been lost on the rocks.

Other kinds of assistance (such as solving an engine problem) – 141 boats
"Check the fuel, check the fuel and check the fuel again" is the phrase I remember from the ‘Beginners Guide to Outboard Maintenance and Troubleshooting'. How true in this case. Outboards don't run for long if the air valve on the tank is closed, the choke is out and 10 people are sitting on the fuel line. The lucky ones break down after they have crossed the Greek/Turkish border where help awaits.
We are not authorised to cross the red dotted line on the GPS that signifies the border, so unless there's a "mayday" case, boats here are left to the mercy of the Turkish coastguard (we have seen some shocking footage). And I very much doubt if the refugees  get a refund from the smugglers. Anything up to 3,000 euros is paid per person, making it the most expensive six-nautical mile journey on the planet. Anywhere else and you could charter your own helicopter.
A dead boat in the water is also highly exposed to the weather. Waves lap over the sides and people stacked in the middle get soaked (usually the most vulnerable – children, women and elderly). Getting the engine going again quickly is the best solution. Our cultural mediators (many of whom were once refugees themselves) are now well versed in Outboard Troubleshooting.

Guidance to shore with towing – 24 boats
When troubleshooting fails but the boat is still in reasonable condition, towing is the best solution. But first we must secure permission of the Hellenic Coast Guard – we do not want to risk being accused of ‘people smuggling'. It's a complex political game out on the water! There are many players to navigate: the EU border agency Frontex has Norwegian, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Swedish boats out there. Add to that NATO warships, Spanish lifeguards and German, Greek and Dutch volunteer boats ... the Greek Coast Guard has the final say.
Then there are the practicalities of towing a rubber boat. Most have no reliable anchor points and there's a danger that you can pull them apart at the seams. The solution we've found is to put a thick towrope down the middle of the boat and ask the stronger people on board to hold tight with their bare hands. You won't find this technique in any RYA Manual of Seamanship but then you won't find this situation either. It works pretty well and is quick to deploy with the help of our interpreters.

Mass MOB (man overboard) / MOB / capsizing / swamped / evacuation / transfer – 25 boats
This is the statistic that haunts our dreams at night. On 25 occasions many lives would have been lost had we not been on the scene. As it was, a total of four people died during our operations. Each occasion was different and the statistic covers a wide range of interventions.
On the lighter occasions it may be a swamped inflatable with a broken engine, but that could mean the kids in the middle were up to their necks, babies being held precariously aloft and hypothermia and panic in equal measure. The transfer of people from their boat to ours was rarely a calm affair. We'd do a co-ordinated sandwich manoeuvre with our two boats and try to offload the kids and babies first. We soon realised that it was important to take some mothers too as there is not much you can do with a baby in each arm! Sometimes outright panic would engulf the boat and a mad scramble would ensue. Often a stern word was required to maintain control.
Other occasions brought medical emergencies. There is a limit to how much medical treatment can be done during a rescue although we did carry oxygen and medical supplies. On one occasion the MSF medic successfully resuscitated a baby that had been in the water and had stopped breathing. On another we lost a four-year-old boy to the elements. Many arrived in the first, second and third stages of hypothermia so we would pull space blankets from our pockets like magicians. We were usually only a few miles to the nearest port and a waiting MSF ambulance, so in most cases the best option was to scoop up shivering children and run.

The worst incident was on December 16. Shortly after being threatened with arrest from Frontex (we are not allowed to patrol) a wooden boat capsized and sank. A total of 85 men, women, children and babies were in the water. We were the first responders to arrive, within 20 minutes. It was a scene from the Titanic. Death hung in the air. The Greenpeace boats were magnificent. Our crew grabbed, hauled and wrestled folks on-board, but still we lost two people that day. The Frontex boat couldn't do much as their freeboard was too high – they put out ropes instead! They don't threaten us with arrest any more and these days often request our assistance. I pray we never get another day like that, for everyone on the water it was traumatic, a day we will never forget.

As with all these rescues it's the faces that we remember. Our contact with the refugees is intense, but it is over quickly. We check their pulses and breathing but there is no time for names or life stories. What happens to them after we deliver them ashore is not in our hands … I wish I knew more. Even if they make it to Germany or Sweden or wherever they want to go, I'm quite sure that many will grow up with a phobia of the sea, or perhaps it just blends into the multitude of horrific experiences they have had and continue to endure. Most are Syrians running from hell.

Finally as we start the process of packing for the journey home I find myself staring at my passport. How fortunate I am to have a bit of paper that allows me to fly over these man-made frontiers. An accident of birthplace. I feel privileged to have been the first face of Europe to many and hopefully a friendly one.
Dave Logie worked as Greenpeace boat coordinator on Lesbos.

Grupo Pão de Açúcar se compromete com Desmatamento Zero

Empresa de varejo atende a pedido de consumidores e anuncia publicamente sua nova política de compra de carne bovina. Agora, restante do setor precisa se mover

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Em resposta ao pedido de mais de 28 mil consumidores, o Pão de Açúcar anuncia sua nova política de compra de carne bovina. (©Geraldo Pestalozzi/Greenpeace)

O Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) anunciou publicamente, na manhã desta quarta- feira (30), sua nova política de compra de carne bovina e um plano de ação para monitorar e bloquear fornecedores envolvidos com desmatamento e violações de direitos humanos na Amazônia. O anúncio é uma resposta a campanha Carne ao Molho Madeira, lançada pelo Greenpeace, e pode marcar o início de uma mudança de comportamento no setor varejista.
“O Grupo Pão de Açúcar está dando um importante passo na direção correta ao se comprometer com o Desmatamento Zero. Esta é uma clara sinalização a todos os seus fornecedores, e ao mercado como um todo, de que a carne que vem do desmatamento não é mais aceita pela sociedade”, reconhece Adriana Charoux, da campanha Amazônia do Greenpeace. “Vamos continuar monitorando o GPA para garantir o cumprimento da promessa. Falta agora que o restante do setor siga na mesma direção”, pondera.
No final do ano passado o Greenpeace publicou um relatório no qual analisou e ranqueou os maiores supermercados do país de acordo com suas políticas de aquisição de carne bovina da Amazônia. Dentre os três líderes do mercado, o GPA obteve a pior avaliação. Por isso, ativistas de todo o Brasil foram às lojas do Grupo para expor a ligação entre a carne vendida em suas gôndolas com a destruição da floresta, trabalho escravo e invasão de terras indígenas. A campanha contou com a participação dos próprios consumidores da rede, que foram cruciais para convencer a empresa a passar a exigir carne sem desmatamento de seus fornecedores. Foram 28.695 e-mails enviados para a companhia.

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Em novembro do ano passado ativistas do Greenpeace realizaram uma série ações nas lojas da rede. (© Zé Gabriel/Greenpeace)

Junto com sua política de compras, que está disponível no site da empresa, o Grupo apresentou também um Plano de Ação. Entre as medidas propostas estão a implantação de um programa de 100% de transparência quanto a origem da carne comercializada em suas lojas, o bloqueio de fazendas envolvidas com desmatamento, trabalho escravo e confrontos com comunidades tradicionais – de qualquer tipo, a criação de ferramentas para apoiar a produção responsável de frigoríficos e entrepostos fornecedores e o acompanhamento e divulgação do processo de implementação de tais políticas. Isso deve ocorrer até junho deste ano.
No documento, a rede deixa claro que o desmatamento, seja legal ou ilegal, não será mais tolerado. Os fornecedores deverão oferecer “apenas carne bovina de origem responsável, que entende-se como aquela que não esteja diretamente envolvida com nenhum tipo de desmatamento”, detalha o plano.
Agora, o desafio está lançado para os outros supermercados que lideram o setor, como o Carrefour, segunda maior rede do país. A empresa obteve a segunda pior avaliação na pesquisa do Greenpeace e diz rejeitar somente carne de origem ilegal, nada além do que pede a lei em um contexto em que somente cumprir a lei não é suficiente para assegurar a devida proteção da floresta amazônica
“Os supermercados não podem mais alegar desconhecimento sobre o fato da pecuária continuar sendo a atividade que mais desmata a floresta e a que historicamente mais se vale de trabalho escravo. Já passou da hora de assumirem publicamente compromissos mais ambiciosos para salvar a floresta. Enquanto houver supermercados que admitam a entrada de carne contaminada com destruição da Amazônia em nossas casas, as condições climáticas severas relacionadas ao desmatamento irão se agravar e isso pode afetar todos os itens que abastecem a casa de milhares consumidores”, completa Adriana Charoux.
Entenda a campanha
Nas últimas décadas, mais de 750 mil quilômetros quadrados da floresta amazônica brasileira foram destruídos. Hoje em dia, a pecuária ocupa cerca de 60% das terras que antes abrigavam florestas ancestrais.
Há mais de dez anos o Greenpeace acompanha e monitora o avanço da Pecuária na Amazônia. Em 2009,  graças a uma intensa campanha do Greenpeace, os três maiores frigoríficos do país assinaram o Compromisso Público da Pecuária, onde se comprometeram a tirar o desmatamento da Amazônia de suas cadeias produtivas.  E, em novembro do ano passado, lançamos uma nova fase da campanha, com o relatório “Carne ao Molho Madeira – Como os supermercados estão ajudando a devastar a Amazônia com a carne que está em suas prateleiras”.

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Gado flagrado em área embargada pelo Ibama em Aripuanã (MT), durante expedição de monitoramento de Paisagem do Greenpeace em novembro de 2015. (© Bruno Kelly/Greenpeace).

A partir do levantamento de informações de sete redes de supermercados o relatório mapeou como as maiores redes varejistas do Brasil vêm lidando com o problema.    O resultado foi chocante: nenhuma delas atingiu o patamar “verde”, que corresponde a um percentual de 70% a 100%. “Ou seja, a avaliação revela que nenhum supermercado consegue, hoje, garantir que toda a carne que comercializa é livre de crimes socioambientais”, resume Adriana Charoux.
Atualmente existem mais bois do que seres humanos no Brasil: são mais de 212 milhões de cabeças de gado – só na Amazônia o rebanho é de aproximadamente 80 milhões de animais.
Os supermercados têm a força e a oportunidade de gerar impacto no setor e promover uma enorme mudança na cadeia de carne bovina, e nós, como consumidores, temos o poder de pressioná-los.
Exija isso do supermercado onde você costuma fazer compras. Você tem este direito.

Ativistas pedem que empresa não participe da destruição do Tapajós

Dois representantes do povo Munduruku viajaram à Áustria para se manifestar ao lado de ativistas do Greenpeace contra empresa que pretende participar da construção de uma gigantesca hidrelétrica no rio Tapajós, no Pará

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Cacique-geral Arnaldo Kaba Munduruku e Danicley de Aguiar, da Campanha da Amazônia do Greenpeace, seguram faixa em protesto à construção de hidrelétricas no rio Tapajós (Foto: ©Greenpeace)

A réplica de uma barragem foi erguida na manhã de hoje em frente ao Congresso da cidade de Graz, na Áustria, onde acontece a reunião anual da Andritz, uma das maiores empresas fabricantes de equipamentos hidrelétricos. Junto com 50 ativistas de diversos países europeus, o cacique-geral Arnaldo Kabá e Rozeninho Saw, representantes do povo Munduruku, seguraram faixas com a mensagem: “Andritz, não mate o rio Tapajós”.
A manifestação é uma resposta ao interesse da empresa em participar da construção da hidrelétrica de São Luiz do Tapajós, no Pará. Caso viabilizada, a obra trará impactos irreversíveis para a biodiversidade da região e para o povo Munduruku, que depende do rio para sobreviver.
Para erguer a barragem no Tapajós, quase 400 km² de florestas teriam que ser derrubados. Animais como a onça, o boto cor-de-rosa e centenas de peixes e aves estariam em perigo, sem falar nas espécies já ameaçadas, e outras que são endêmicas da região (apenas encontradas ali). Especialistas consideram o local onde a hidrelétrica está prevista de biodiversidade excepcional até para padrões amazônicos.
“Nós viemos à Áustria para exigir que a Andritz respeite os direitos humanos. Nenhuma empresa deveria participar de projetos que podem destruir nossas terras e nossas florestas”, disse Arnaldo Kaba Munduruku, cacique-geral do povo. Se a hidrelétrica se tornar realidade, parte do território dos Munduruku, que vivem às margens do Tapajós há gerações, será alagado e eles também perderiam o acesso a lagos e ilhas, importantes locais de pesca.
“Se a Andritz participar desse projeto ela será uma das responsáveis pela destruição que ele vai causar no rio Tapajós, afetando uma parte importantíssima da floresta amazônica e prejudicando brutalmente os povos que vivem ali. A empresa precisa estar ao lado das pessoas e do Planeta, em vez de contribuir para repetir mais um desastre ambiental, social e econômico após Belo Monte. Ainda dá tempo de decidir de qual lado se posicionar. A escolha deve ser pela vida, e não pela destruição”, afirma Danicley de Aguiar, da Campanha da Amazônia do Greenpeace.
Essa não é a primeira vez que a Andritz está sendo criticada por seu envolvimento em empreendimentos ambientalmente nocivos. A hidrelétrica de Belo monte, marcada por denúncias de corrupção na Operação Lava-Jato, é apenas um desses exemplos. A obra deixou um rastro de destruição e caos em Altamira, no Pará, onde foi instalada. Na Turquia, a empresa esteve envolvida na construção da polêmica hidrelétrica de Ilisu, no rio Tigre. Foi ela quem assumiu o contrato de outras empresas depois que bancos e empresas se retiraram do projeto devido às catastróficas consequências ambientais e sociais.

• Veja o vídeo sobre o protesto:

A big deal for our ocean

Blogpost by Magnus Eckeskog

Today governments from all over the world will meet at the United Nations in New York to develop a new treaty to save our oceans. We will be there to ensure clear rules for the creation of sanctuaries that will give our oceans the protection they desperately need.

The ocean belongs to all of us. There’s no other place on the planet that is as rich in diverse, beautiful, weird and wonderful creatures. This fragile treasure is threatened by overfishing, habitat destruction and expanding extractive activities such as oil and gas exploitation and deep-sea mining. The added pressures of climate change and increasing ocean acidification is damaging our ocean’s ability to perform its vital functions. As the first UN Oceans Assessment points out: urgent global action is needed to protect the world’s oceans from the many threats they face.
Two thirds of our oceans are outside national borders and belong to all of us. Currently there is nothing in place that could create and manage ocean sanctuaries in these waters. It’s like the wild west, where the ocean and the seabed are open to reckless exploitation. The existing ocean laws focus more on the right to exploit, than on the duty to protect.
As a result, less than one percent of these waters are protected. This is far from what scientists say; that 30 percent or more of the oceans should be protected through a global network of ‘ocean sanctuaries’ if we want to stop the loss of marine life, rebuild fish stocks and resilience to climate change.
Starting today we have an extraordinary opportunity to turn this situation around and protect the vast expanses of ocean which are currently so vulnerable. After ten years of dragging their feet, governments are finally going to assemble the building blocks for a new ocean treaty. A treaty that must change the current system from one that focuses on exploitation to one that ensures the conservation of ocean life for generations to come.
You made this happen.

For far too long, the future of our oceans has been discussed away from public scrutiny with very little progress. Greed has driven the opposition of countries profiting from ocean exploitation. But you stood up and said NO MORE to this.

And they listened.
There’s still a lot of work to be done in the coming years to get this deal in place and make sure it’s as strong as it needs to be. We need you to keep up the pressure and demand that ocean protection is at the heart of this treaty.
Stay tuned and follow us (#ThisWay2Treaty) as we will be at the UN headquarters on your behalf. We will be your ears and voice during these negotiations, showing decision makers that people are watching and expect them to take action to protect our ocean.

Magnus Eckeskog is an oceans campaigner with Greenpeace Nordic

How New Zealand stood up to the fossil fools

Blogpost by Nick Young

Greenpeace New Zealand coordinated one of the largest civil disobedience climate protests in their country’s history... and it was a beautiful thing.
More than 200 people descended on New Zealand’s largest oil industry conference in Auckland and blocked its entrances as part of a Greenpeace-organised demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience.
Inspired by the peaceful civil-disobedience of Te Whiti o Rongomai, Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and Rosa Parks, close to 300 people blocked all entrances to New Zealand’s largest oil industry conference on Monday. They did it simply with their bodies, and when the police asked them to move, they politely declined.
The message it sent to the oil industry was unmistakable. We are not going to stand by and allow the search for oil that we cannot afford to burn to continue. People power is strong and this peoples’ climate movement is getting stronger by the day. We grew stronger and we re-learned something important. If your strategy is good enough you can let everyone know what it is because nobody will be able to stop you...
Greenpeace New Zealand co-ordinated the protest, but it wasn't just Greenpeace activists blocking the oil conference. It was a diverse group of New Zealanders, many of whom had never participated in something like this before.

There were people of all ages - nurses, teachers, parents with kids, faith leaders, representatives from several iwi and members of the Tuvaluan community. The common thread, a strong belief that we urgently need real climate action and a clean energy future, and pride. Pride for everyone there taking action to stand up against the oil industry, against injustice, and for the future of our planet.
This was the first time in New Zealand that Greenpeace has openly invited people to take part in peaceful civil disobedience en-masse. To signal what we were going to do and invite people to join us, we sent out thousands of emails, set up a public Facebook event and issued press releases well ahead of the day. 350.org founder Bill McKibben even posted a shout out. Almost zero secrecy. There’s no doubt this was deeply unnerving for the oil industry and the Government who already know they’re on the wrong side of history.
That it worked so well seems inevitable now - but I can tell you it didn’t always feel that way!
This was new ground for the team here at Greenpeace. We had no idea how many people would actually come and join us... That was until the open briefing day saw  a full house of 150 people packing into the venue.
There we discussed tactics, created affinity groups and established a kaupapa, or shared set of principles, for what we meant by nonviolent civil disobedience. It lasted about 4 hours and the atmosphere was electric.

If your strategy is good enough you can let everyone know what it is because nobody will be able to stop you...

The next day at dawn, hundreds of people met in a variety of locations around Auckland City, and together, swooped on SkyCity where the oil conference was to be held. Everyone conducted themselves with poise and dignity - they followed the peaceful values of the protest and were able to react to circumstances with amazing fluidity and coordination - moving to block doors as the oil-industry delegates tried to make their way into the conference.  
Instead of banners, we had hundreds of  of red and white “Oil Against Humanity” cards - a spin-off of the popular game Cards Against Humanity. The cards posed a series of questions and answers about climate change, oil, and the New Zealand government's collusion with this dirty and destructive industry.  This provided an almost endless number of possible question and answer combinations that conveyed the message that more oil means climate catastrophe and we want a safe energy future! There's lots of photos here on the live feed from the day.

We hope this demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience on March 21 has left New Zealand and the rest of the climate movement feeling invigorated. We’ve learned from this and it certainly felt to me like the movement grew a little stronger on this day. That’s a good place to be as we head towards 350’s Break Free mobilisation, a week-long global wave of mass actions that will target the world’s most dangerous fossil fuel projects, from May 4-16, 2016.
Sign up to your local hub: Waves of actions will be rolling  out all over the world so that we can keep coal, oil and gas in the ground and secure a future for generations to come!
Nick has worked with Greenpeace for more than 10 years and is now Head of Digital at Greenpeace NZ.

Por que um dia para a água?

Postado por icrepald

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© Christian Kaiser/Greenpeace

 

Infelizmente, a água não é um recurso pensado e cuidado diariamente – é necessária uma data para que lhe seja dedicada alguma atenção

No Dia Mundial da Água em 2015, a sociedade estava mobilizada para falar e pensar a água, porque entendeu a fundamentalidade do recurso. Passado um ano, a chuva lavou a memória da seca e, novamente, o escasso recurso parece ter sido esquecido.

A falta de água não é apenas consequência da falta de chuva e das mudanças climáticas, mas também das ações do homem. O Brasil conta com 12% da água doce do mundo. Mesmo assim, enfrenta secas em locais que historicamente possuem abundância do recurso, como é o caso de São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro.

As chuvas de verão que retiraram o sistema cantareira do volume morto, resultaram em  enchentes em diversos municípios com mortes e prejuízos sociais, evidenciando as alterações em cursos d’água causadas pelas grandes cidades.

As cidades encobrem rios e poluem águas, de forma a contribuir com a escassez hídrica, e transformar chuva em enchente. A captação de água é cada vez mais longe dos centros urbanos, em áreas rurais, onde os mananciais ficam suscetíveis às oscilações climáticas devido ao desmatamento de áreas que deveriam ser de preservação permanente. No Sistema Cantareira, o desmatamento histórico é de mais de 70%. De acordo com o Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE), há 35% de cobertura florestal, 46% de pasto, e 56% de eucalipto, um cenário de completa devastação.

O problema é crônico, mas há soluções permanentes, sem que as alternativas sejas obras que no futuro não serão mais eficientes, pois apenas contribuem para transferir a seca para outro manancial, como é o caso emblemático da transposição do rio Paraíba do Sul para o Cantareira, que pode comprometer o próprio Paraíba do Sul, também castigado pela estiagem. Além disso, as obras foram realizadas sem estudos de impactos ambientais, em caráter emergencial, podendo agravar a situação dos mananciais à medida que não se sabe qual os impactos dessas obras milionárias.

A recuperação das águas brasileiras passa pelo desmatamento zero e recuperação de áreas de preservação; pela economia de água por meio da utilização de água de reuso e reestruturação da infraestrutura de distribuição de água; por fim, pelo tratamento de esgoto e despoluição dos rios. Não existem  soluções mágicas, faz-se necessário um trabalho árduo de governo e município para que as cidades tenham a infraestrutura necessária para utilizar a água de maneira sustentável, e que o desmatamento não comprometa as fontes de abastecimento urbano e rural.

O Greenpeace pede, no Dia Mundial da Água, por justiça para a água e para as pessoas que dependem dela. A água é um recurso de direito de todos, e no momento em que todos possuírem esse direito, estaremos mais próximos de um país menos desigual. 

How coal is drying out villages in western India

Blogpost by Subrata Biswas

New Greenpeace International research released today, on World Water Day, finds that coal power plants around the world consume enough freshwater to sustain 1 billion people. One photographer in India documented the impacts on communities...

It’s only the first week of March, but the weather has already turned curiously dry and hot; the harsh wind permeating through the car as we drive through remote Maharashtra. Located in the western region of India, Maharashtra is one of the wealthiest and most developed states, home to the glittering capital of Mumbai. But where we are, is far away from any type of plentiful and resourceful area.

What we see are acres of dried fields full of burnt crops; people carrying large water pots; long queues beside a deep tube well or water tanker; dried canals connecting dams with nearby villages. Over four days and travelling almost 1,500 km these sights are common as I document the drought-affected villages in Solapur, Beed and Osmanabad districts in Maharashtra. 

Villagers in Beed district have to travel far to collect water due to the poor rainfall in 2015, making it one of the worse affected districts by the drought.

The World Economic Forum has listed water security as one of the most tangible and fastest-growing social, political and economic challenges faced today. The high water intensity of global energy generation is creating a need for an analysis of water-coal conflict caused by coal power production.

Released on World Water Day, Greenpeace has prepared a groundbreaking analysis of the impacts of the world’s coal power plants on global water resources. The results show that the world’s coal power plants are consuming an amount of water that could meet the basic requirements for 1 billion people.

Khomnal Village pond at Mangalwheda taluka, Maharashtra serves primarily as recharge for ground water sources in the village. The pond usually has water around the year

Farmer Arjun Kashinath Kumbad (75) from Borda village, Maharashtra, at a cattle fodder camp at Andora village. He has around four acres of farm in his village but the low and untimely rainfall of last year led to the complete loss of the crop.
Globally 44 % of the proposed coal power plants are in areas categorized as high water stress. Among them, a quarter are situated in red-list areas, which are at risk of running out of water. Among the globally critical areas are western China, such as Inner Mongolia, and Central India such as Maharastra. In these areas a conflict with other water users like farmers and food production is already happening.
Barrels for water storage are selling at a high rate in Maharashtra
A shepherd family during their journey near Ausa, Maharashtra.
Water is for life, not coal. Take action.
Subrata Biswas is an independent photo journalist

Voe em paz, passarinha!

Postado por therrero

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Na luta por um mundo mais verde e justo, grande parte das vezes, o que nos motiva a continuar nosso trabalho são as pessoas com as quais nos conectamos. Pessoas que, com atitudes simples, fazem valer a pena tudo o que estamos fazendo, que nos ajudam a entender nossa conexão com o meio ambiente e nossas responsabilidades. E são capazes de nos mostrar nosso melhor, nosso potencial.

Uma dessas pessoas é Juliana Molás que, em sua trajetória junto ao Greenpeace Brasil, foi captadora de recursos e voluntária. Durante sua luta contra um câncer, essa ativista nunca deixou de sorrir ou de se preocupar com o meio ambiente!

Neste sábado ela se foi, deixando memórias de alegria e um grande aperto no peito de quem ficou. Sobre a Juliana, podemos dizer que o seu sorriso marcante, o seu jeito de viver a vida e a sua conexão com a natureza nos inspiraram o tempo todo! Sempre presente em atividades e manifestações, Juliana foi uma ativista de diversas causas: lutou pelo direito à liberdade, pela preservação do meio ambiente, pelo respeito às mulheres e muitas outras frentes.

Com firmeza e muita doçura, Jú sempre soube defender seu ponto de vista e seus ideais.

Neste domingo, o grupo de voluntários do Greenpeace, plantou uma árvore em sua homenagem. Plantamos uma vida que nos trará alegria, aprendizado e cuidará do meio ambiente da mesma forma que ela o fez.

Aprendemos muito com você, Juliana Molás.Agradecemos pela amizade, dedicação e amor!
Seu abraço e sua alegria contagiante nos farão falta!
Voe em paz, passarinha!

Seus amigos do Greenpeace.

Homens de Preto vs. Brasil Solar

Postado por therrero 

Greenpeace Brasil lança animação sobre as burocracias enfrentadas pela energia solar, e como podemos vencê-las

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Era uma vez um país que, para gerar eletricidade, dependia de hidrelétricas e termelétricas. Uma destruía florestas e a outra, liberava grandes quantidades de gases poluentes e de efeito estufa. De tanto depender apenas dessas fontes, um dia, esse país apagou. Não tinha mais água nos reservatórios. Os combustíveis fósseis já estavam muito caros. E agora, cadê a luz?

Bem acima de cada nariz existia uma solução, que era ignorada: o sol, bem ali, brilhando e emitindo raios que poderiam ser convertidos em energia, bastasse que as pessoas tivessem em seus telhados placas fotovoltaicas.

Parecia um caminho fácil. Só que ninguém contava com os homens de preto: eles traziam as burocracias, a falta de vontade do governo e a oposição das distribuidoras de energia. Essas empresas faziam de tudo para não deixar os consumidores gerarem sua própria energia, com medo de perder seus altos lucros.

Essa história parece distante? Há algo muito parecido acontecendo no Brasil. Apesar de ser um dos países com alta incidência de luz do sol e maior potencial para transformá-lo em energia, apenas 0,02% da nossa matriz elétrica é solar. Enquanto isso, nossa conta de luz não para de subir porque a eletricidade que chega em nossas casas tem custado cada vez mais – pro nosso bolso e pra saúde do meio ambiente. 

Para aumentar a adesão à fonte solar existem alguns caminhos: menos impostos sobre as placas solares; menores tarifas das contas de luz; liberdade para que o trabalhador possa usar o FGTS para comprar um sistema fotovoltaico; ou se os bancos tivessem linhas de financiamento especiais para quem vai se tornar um microgerador.

No final no ano passado, foi aprovada a Resolução Normativa 687, que favorece a micro e minigeração solar. Só que agora, as distribuidoras de energia estão tentando reduzir os incentivos trazidos pela resolução. Ou seja, estão pondo mais uma pedra no caminho da população rumo à sua autonomia de eletricidade.

Esse vídeo abaixo conta essa história. E mostra como podemos combater os homens de preto e, assim, termos um final feliz. Assista e se junte ao Greenpeace Brasil nessa luta!

Ah! A história não termina aqui! Tem um segundo capítulo chegando em breve.

Protesto contra hidrelétricas no Tapajós marca o Dia Internacional das Florestas

Com apoio do Greenpeace, lideranças do povo indígena Munduruku vão a local sagrado para protestar contra a construção de usinas no rio Tapajós

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"Barre a barragem": povo Munduruku e ativistas do Greenpeace mandam recado para o mundo direto do rio Tapajós. (© Fábio Nascimento/Greenpeace)

Mais de cem Munduruku, entre lideranças, guerreiros, guerreiras e crianças, foram até um trecho do rio Tapajós, considerado sagrado pelo povo, para passar um recado para o mundo: “Barre a barragem. Mantenha o rio Tapajós vivo”. Segurando faixas em diversas línguas, eles protestaram no dia 18, com o apoio do Greenpeace, contra a construção de barragens no rio que sustenta sua cultura e modo de vida, além de uma rica biodiversidade. Ao todo, há 43 hidrelétricas previstas para a bacia do Tapajós, sendo a maior delas a de São Luiz do Tapajós, próxima a Itaituba, no Pará. Com 7,6 quilômetros de cumprimento e mais de 53 metros de altura (o equivalente a um prédio de 18 andares), a barragem planejada terá um reservatório de 729 km² (extensão maior do que a cidade de Salvador). Se construída, São Luiz do Tapajós vai destruir 14 lagoas sazonais e perenes, mais de 7 mil hectares de pedrais (áreas com pedras nos rios importantes por abrigar diversas espécies de peixes, morcegos e aves), 320 ilhas e 17 corredeiras.

A usina deve inundar ainda parte dos cerca de 178 mil hectares da Terra Indígena Sawré Muybu, do povo Munduruku, que teve seu processo de demarcação paralisado por conta dos interesses do governo na área para a hidrelétrica. Ao não demarcar essa terra indígena, o governo está negando aos índios um direito que lhes é garantido pela Constituição.

 “Se essa usina for construída, os impactos ambientais serão muito grandes e vão além da inundação da floresta. Os peixes que hoje vivem no rio morrerão, várias plantas não vão resistir e animais não terão o que comer. Uma coisa está ligada à outra. Quando um rio morre, muita coisa morre com ele. Se o rio Tapajós morrer, nosso povo ficará ameaçado”, diz Adauto Akay Munduruku, chefe dos guerreiros do povo. 

Especialistas consideram a biodiversidade da região do Tapajós excepcional até mesmo para padrões amazônicos. Cerca de 376 km² de floresta vão desaparecer sob as águas. Espécies como o boto-cor-de-rosa, a onça-pintada, o tatu-canastra, que precisam circular livremente para procriar e se alimentar, sofrerão diretamente pelo barramento do rio. Sem contar as espécies que só existem na região e cuja existência ficará seriamente ameaçada. 
 
“Ao insistir na construção de grandes hidrelétricas na Amazônia, o Estado brasileiro atropela direitos e ignora os riscos que o barramento dos principais rios da bacia amazônica pode causar ao equilíbrio ambiental de todo o bioma, ameaçando uma biodiversidade inestimável e vasta riqueza cultural dos povos indígenas da região. O reflexo disso será sentido por todos os brasileiros”, afirma Danicley de Aguiar, da Campanha Amazônia do Greenpeace.

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Mapa mostra as cinco hidrelétricas do Complexo Tapajós, localizadas nos rios Tapajós e Jamanxim. (Imagem ©Greenpeace)

Segundo análise crítica do Estudo de Impacto Ambiental e Relatório de Impacto Ambiental (EIA/RIMA) realizada a pedido do Greenpeace por pesquisadores referências em suas áreas de conhecimento, os problemas identificados no EIA são considerados graves e inviabilizam a avaliação dos efeitos da construção de São Luiz do Tapajós. Os cientistas recomendam que o EIA/RIMA seja rejeitado pelo órgão licenciador, pois não cumpre com o papel de auxiliar a tomada de decisão e informar a sociedade sobre os reais impactos de uma obra com a dimensão de São Luiz do Tapajós do ponto de vista técnico, econômico, social e ambiental.
Atualmente o EIA/RIMA está em fase de ajustes, após o Ibama ter realizado uma análise de mérito e apresentado pelo menos 180 pontos a serem complementados. Para o Greenpeace, o processo de construção de Tapajós já começou corrompido, com um EIA/RIMA tecnicamente contestado por conter diversos erros e omissões, e que, por consequência, não pode ser aprovado. A análise independente mostrou que os impactos previstos pela barragem são inaceitáveis.

“O correto é que o licenciamento da obra seja negado pelo Ibama. Do contrário, o governo vai permitir a destruição de uma das mais importantes áreas para a conservação da Amazônia. Além disso, é preciso aprender com Belo Monte, que deixa como legado o desrespeito à população local, o caos social e uma série de denúncias de corrupção. Os últimos acontecimentos do Brasil têm mostrado que, por trás de mega construções há interesses políticos que favorecem grandes empresas e alimentam um círculo vicioso de mau uso do dinheiro público” afirma Aguiar. “Não é aceitável que se destrua a Amazônia para gerar energia a qualquer custo. As energias verdadeiramente limpas, como a solar e a eólica, já são uma realidade para suprir as necessidades de abastecimento do país sem condenar as florestas e suas populações”, completa ele.

Damn the dam: The threat one mega-dam poses to the Amazon and those who live there

Blogpost by Tica Minami 

The Tapajós River – in the heart of the Amazon – is home to thousands of people and incomparable biodiversity. But all that could change if a proposed mega-dam project moves forward.

At the moment you’re reading this, the Tapajós River is flowing unimpeded through rainforest deep in the Brazilian Amazon. Its waters teem with life – including pink river dolphins! Its banks are home to hundreds of types of birds, lizards, and amphibians, as well as mammals like the jaguar, giant anteater and ocelot.

Thousands of Munduruku Indigenous Peoples depend on this river and its thriving ecosystem for their livelihoods, as they have for centuries. But all this could change if the Brazilian government moves forward with a plan to construct a series of forty dams along the Tapajós River basin.

The largest of the proposed sites – the 7.6km-wide São Luiz do Tapajós dam – would flood so much of the Tapajós, it would create a reservoir the size of New York City (729 km²). In the process, it would wash away lakes, rock formations, islands and other crucial habitat – destroying some of the traditional lands of Munduruku people as well.

Standing with the Munduruku

Damming the river would destroy the environmental balance of the region, and the communities that depend on it. That’s why Greenpeace Brazil activists are joining forces with Munduruku leaders in protest to demand an end to the São Luiz do Tapajós dam project.

This weekend, activists joined the Munduruku on the Tapajós River to send a clear message to the world: "Damn the dam. Keep the Tapajós River alive.”

“We oppose the dam construction because our lives depend on the river and the forest and they belong to us. If the Tapajós River is dammed, we will lose our fish ground, our means of transport; we will lose our way of life,” explains a Chief from the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Land, Juarez Saw Munduruku.

A long road ahead 

The Munduruku people have been fighting dam projects on their land for decades, and the Brazilian government has failed to consult them in the planning process for the São Luiz do Tapajós dam.

Instead, the political interests behind this dam and other mega-dam projects focus on corporate profit – feeding a vicious circle of corruption and misuse of public money. Other dams in the Amazon, such as the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingu River are even part of an ongoing corruption investigation in Brazil.

There is another way. Clean and responsible energy sources, such as solar and wind, can meet the supply needs for all Brazilians without destroying biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities.

Join us in the first step towards that future. Stand in solidarity with the Munduruku people and act to stop the damming of the Tapajós River: share their story.

Together, we can keep the Tapajós alive.

Tica Minami is the head of the Amazon campaign at Greenpeace Brazil. 

8 ways people are fighting for forests this International Day of Forests

Blogpost by Dawn Bickett

Love trees? Then celebrate – 21 March is the International Day of Forests!

Without healthy, thriving forests, our planet cannot sustain life. But they are facing serious threats from human activity. As much as 80 percent of the world's forests have already been degraded or destroyed.

The good news is that people are fighting back to protect these crucial parts of our planet. Here’s a look at eight different people-powered fights for forests from all over the world.

The rainforests and peatlands of Indonesia

More than a quarter of Indonesia's forests have disappeared in the past 25 years, destroyed for products like paper products and palm oil. Even worse, the destruction from these industries is driving conditions that fuel immense forest fires – displacing people and wildlife, and sending massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Consumers all over the world are demanding that international brands using products like palm oil act to stop this forest destruction. Join the call to protect the rainforests of Indonesia!

Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest

In February, we celebrated the protection of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest – one of the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforests on Earth. A staggering 85 percent of the forest, totaling 3.1 million hectares, will now be off limits to industrial logging. When the campaign started in the early 1990s, less than five percent of the rainforest was protected.

This victory was only possible because environmental groups, Indigenous Peoples, government officials, forestry companies and everyday people pushed for it. Learn more and spread the good news about the protection of this incredible forest!

The Amazon rainforest

Cattle ranching is the single biggest use of cleared rainforest in the Amazon. Nearly 80 percent of deforested areas in Brazil were used for pasture as of 2009. The survival of the Amazon rainforest is fundamental for numerous plant and animal species, and for many Indigenous communities that depend on healthy forests for their livelihoods.

That’s why people in Brazil are demanding that Amazon destruction be taken off their plates – for major supermarkets to stop supplying cattle connected to deforestation.

Want to cut down your own meat consumption for the environment? Make a pledge here.

Tasmania’s World Heritage-listed forests

"This is what climate change looks like," said David Bowman, Professor of Environmental Change Biology at the University of Tasmania. Earlier this year, fires ravaged areas of Tasmania, Australia’s island state. Caused by dry lightning strikes, the fires have destroyed tracts of ancient World Heritage-listed forests. Some of the trees were over a thousand years old. In 2015, Tasmania experienced its driest spring on record and record-breaking high temperatures in December.

The fires in Tasmania are a clear reminder that the time is NOW to address climate change.

The Tapajós River basin

The Tapajós River, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, is under threat. The Brazilian government is gearing up to build a mega-dam that would create a reservoir the size of New York City, threatening the livelihoods of the Munduruku Indigenous People, and destroying precious ecosystems.

Greenpeace has joined Munduruku communities in fighting the mega-dam project. Together, we can keep the Tapajós alive!

China’s giant panda habitat

In October, Greenpeace East Asia revealed that China’s iconic giant pandas were under threat from rampant illegal logging in the world’s largest panda habitat. Shortly after this was exposed and thousands of people shared this disturbing news, the Sichuan Forestry Bureau began developing a strategy to make sure commercial deforestation doesn’t impact the giant panda’s forest home.

Argentina’s Calilegua National Park

Calilegua National Park protects 76,306 hectares of one of the most biodiverse environments in Argentina and is home to half the country’s birds, as well as endangered species like the jaguar. Still, the government had sanctioned oil drilling within the park’s boundaries.

In December 2015, after more than 270,000 people (including these kids!) stood up to this plan, the provincial legislature sanctioned a law that canceled oil exploitation within the park! And this year, the governor has demanded a plan be made to close the oil wells.

The Congo Basin rainforest

The Congo Basin rainforest is the second largest rainforest in the world, after the Amazon, and is home to forest elephants, gorillas, bonobos, okapis, hundreds of bird species and thousands of plants. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is moving to lift a 14-year moratorium on new logging concessions in the country. The move could open up large parts of the second largest tropical rainforest in the world to a raft of threats from palm oil and rubber plantations to widespread industrial logging.

That’s why international organisations like Greenpeace and local civil society groups in the DRC are standing together and demanding the moratorium be kept in place! Join their call and demand zero deforestation in the Congo Basin.


These are just eight of the thousands of battles people are waging to protect forests around the globe. What forest are you celebrating this International Day of Forests? Tell us about it in the comments!
Dawn Bickett is the content editor for the Americas at Greenpeace.