Your right to stand for forests is under attack — again

Blogpost by Amy Moas 

If it seems like we’ve been talking about lawsuits a lot lately, it’s because we have.

Corporate bullies, helped by Donald Trump’s go-to law firm, have filed two massive lawsuitsagainst Greenpeace in the last two years. They aim to silence us, but we are not alone. Many of our allies and other individual activists are fighting meritless lawsuits of their own. These Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are not about justice or corporations righting some kind of wrong, but about tying up our resources in hopes that we won’t be able to keep fighting for a green and peaceful future.

Today, we filed a motion to dismiss one of these SLAPPs that should have already gone away for good.

Participants and activists appear outside a United States District Court - October, 2017

Nearly two years ago, Resolute Forest Products — the largest logging company in Canada — filed a CAD$300 million Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) lawsuit against a number of Greenpeace defendants. In case you haven’t heard of RICO, it’s a law designed to prosecute the mafia and stop organised crime (read: nothing to do with preventing peaceful activists from protecting forests).

In response to this baseless lawsuit, thousands of you raised your voices to make it clear that forest defenders everywhere will not be intimidated by corporate bullies that aim to silence us to protect their profits. And we’ve seen important progress.

Three months ago, a US judge threw out Resolute’s lawsuit in its entirety. Furthermore, thejudge ordered Resolute to reimburse Greenpeace for our attorney fees under California’s anti-SLAPP law.

But for Resolute, this case has never been about winning; it’s about stopping us from fighting for forests by sucking up precious time and money. The company showed this in November when it filed a repackaged version of its meritless lawsuit. Because of this, we are all back in this fight.

Today, we filed a 40-page brief outlining why this “new” version of Resolute’s lawsuit is the same old story as the case that’s already been dismissed — and why it deserves the same fate.

There is no reason to think this new version of this lawsuit will not die the same death it did originally, but it does mean that forest lovers can’t stop fighting now. Attacks on our right to speak up threaten so much more than just Greenpeace, they threaten countless groups fighting to make the world a better place — including your right to fight for the planet you love. That’s why there are more than 30 organisations gathering in Washington, DC today to fight back against SLAPPs together.

Because each and every SLAPP threatens us all, we must fight each and every one together. Already, your voices have shown Resolute and companies everywhere that the movement for a green and peaceful future is stronger than corporate intimidation. Now it’s time to speak up again and bury this case once and for all — join the fight and stand up to SLAPPs today.

 Greenpeace activists in a forest near Werbellinsee in Brandenburg - April, 2017

Amy Moas, PhD is a senior forest campaigner for Greenpeace USA

Sponsoring climate change

Blogpost by Robin Perkins

It is that time again. Four years roll by and once more the greatest winter athletes in the world will come together to wow us on death-defying luge runs, courageous ski jumps or surprisingly mesmerising curling slides matches.

Unfortunately, all is not well in this winter wonderland.

In preparations for these games, many Olympians have been faced by changing slopes - forced to search the world for places with the right conditions for them to train.

Meanwhile, a recent study by Dr. Daniel Scott from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, found that nine previous and future Winter Olympic cities may soon be too hot to host the games due to rising temperatures.

The impacts of climate change, that once seemed so far away, are here. And they are only going to get worse if we continue down the path we are on.

It does make you wonder then, why one of the biggest sponsors of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Samsung, is still stuck on dirty energy.

Greenpeace UK activists give Samsung's flagship store in London a rebranding makeover 

Since the 2010 Games, Samsung’s emissions, released from their vast, global supply chain, have risen by a whopping 55%. 

Even more shockingly, right now Samsung uses a measly 1% renewable energy. Hardly a gold medal score, this is a laughably underwhelming achievement for a company that spouts out taglines such as “Do What You Can’t” and “Do Bigger Things” without a hint of hypocrisy.

This is in stark contrast to the rest of the world.

Even the Pyeongchang Olympic committee have been proactively communicating their own commitment to be powered by renewables. Six of the venues will run on renewable energy and they have set a target for zero emissions from the games.

While the snow melts and people around the world realise we have no time to lose, Samsung’s CEOs continue to turn a deaf ear. This is not about Greenpeace, it is not about saving face or greenwashing. On the eve of the 2018 Winter Olympics, the world is facing an existential crisis. Never before have we needed action on a truly global scale from all corners to reduce emissions and transition to renewable energy as fast as possible.

However, this is also an opportunity that will set aside the dinosaurs from the innovators. A moment that history will judge us for our actions (or lack of).

Samsung’s CEOs are faced with an opportunity to change course and courageously go beyond business as usual to drastically reduce our emissions and half catastrophic climate change. Do what you can’t?

Robin Perkins is Global Rethink IT Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia

Mais de 60 empresas assumem compromisso de combater o desmatamento no Cerrado

Todas as apoiadoras do Manifesto do Cerrado, lançado por organizações ambientalistas no ano passado, compram soja ou gado do bioma brasileiro.

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Durante o Fórum Econômico Mundial, realizado na semana passada em Davos, na Suíça, mais empresas anunciaram apoio ao Manifesto do Cerrado, lançado por uma coalizão de cerca de 60 organizações ambientalistas - entre elas, Greenpeace Brasil, Imaflora, IPAM, TNC e WWF - em setembro do ano passado. Com as novas adesões, chega a 61 o número de companhias que se comprometem a combater o desmatamento no Cerrado.

Desde outubro, quando 23 corporações globais anunciaram apoio ao Manifesto, a quantidade de adesões triplicou. Entre os novos signatários estão Casino Group, Danone, Mondelēz International e outras que se somam a grandes corporações como Walmart, Unilever, Nestlé, McDonald's e Carrefour. Todas as signatárias utilizam soja e carne bovina ou derivados de origem brasileira em seus produtos - diretamente ou em suas cadeias de suprimentos.

"Em um mundo onde o aquecimento do planeta não ultrapasse o 1.5o C, o apoio de 61 empresas ao Manifesto representa mais um passo para cessar as emissões advindas do desmatamento no Cerrado. Para chegar lá não basta depositar as expectativas em políticas públicas que talvez nunca aconteçam. Agora é a hora de as empresas que atuam no Brasil e as consumidoras de produtos brasileiros serem pró-ativas, demonstrarem capacidade de liderança  e trabalharem na implementação de iniciativas concretas para zerar a perda de vegetação nativa também no Cerrado. Isso exige, entre outras medidas, esquemas confiáveis de monitoramento, relatórios e verificação transparentes”, disse Paulo Adário, estrategista sênior de florestas do Greenpeace.

Há mais de uma década as taxas anuais de desmatamento no Cerrado superam as da Amazônia - em apenas dois anos, entre 2013 e 2015, o Brasil destruiu 18.962 km² de Cerrado. A expansão do agronegócio sobre a vegetação nativa é a principal causa da destruição do bioma.

O comprometimento das empresas é uma resposta ao Manifesto, no qual as entidades ambientalistas exigiam uma medida imediata em defesa do Cerrado por parte das companhias que compram soja e gado do bioma. No documento, as organizações também cobram o cumprimento dos compromissos internacionais assumidos pelo governo brasileiro e que sejam criados instrumentos e políticas para uma produção mais responsável.

Empresas que declararam apoio ao Manifesto do Cerrado:

Ahold Delhaize NV

Ajinomoto Co Inc

Aldi NL

Auchan Retail

AVRIL SCA

Barry Callebaut

Bel Group (Fromageries Bel SA)

Bidfood NL

Boni Markten

Boon Sliedrecht

Carrefour

Casino Group

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Co-operative Group Ltd

Coop Switzerland

Coop Supermarkten NL

Cooperl

Danone

Deen Supermarkten NL

Detailresult

De Kweker

EMTE Supermarkten

Groothandel in Levensmiddelen Van Tol

GPA

Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Exito

Hoogvliet Supermarkten

ICA Gruppen AB

Inter IKEA Group

J Sainsburys Plc

Jan Linders

Jumbo Supermarkten

Kellogg Company

L’Oréal SA

Lekkerland

Lidl UK GmbH

Lidl Nederland

Makro Nederland

Marks & Spencer Group Plc

Mars Inc

McDonald’s Corporation

METRO AG

Migros

Mondelēz International

Nando’s Chickenland Ltd

Nestlé S.A.

Nettorama

NorgesGruppen ASA

NS Stations Retailbedrijf

Nutreco NV

Plus Retail

Poiesz Supermarkten

Sligro

Spar NL

Tesco Stores Plc

Unilever

Vakcentrum

Vomar Voordeelmarkt

Waitrose Ltd

Walmart Stores Inc

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc.

Brasil celebra o Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia

Postado por Thaís Herrero

Atividade celebra o Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia e chama atenção para a necessidade de defendê-los da exploração de petróleo

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Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia em São Paulo (Foto: © Raquel Cardoso / Greenpeace)

 
Neste final de semana, ativistas do Greenpeace comandaram atividades em 25 cidades brasileiras para celebrar o Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia. Em ruas, praças e praias, eles montaram quebra-cabeças gigantes, de até 255 peças, com uma ilustração desse bioma marinho. Eles também criaram banners humanos, tiveram programação cultural e conscientizaram a população sobre a necessidade de defender esse bioma das empresas petrolíferas que planejam explorar petróleo na região próxima a ele. (Confira abaixo a lista de cidades onde aconteceram as atividades)

>> Veja mais fotos das atividades pelo Brasil

A organização das atividades foi toda pensada e organizada pelos grupos de voluntários do Greenpeace e apoiadores da campanha "Defenda os Corais da Amazônia". Foram mais de 200 envolvidos que, desde dezembro, planejaram como comemorar a data. 

Segundo Eliana Gonçalves, responsável pelas mobilizações de campanhas do Greenpeace Brasil, quando o Greenpeace enviou um e-mail para seus ciberativistas e voluntários convidando-os para liderar as atividades, a adesão foi imediata. 

"Muitas dessas pessoas nem se conheciam, mas rapidamente criaram uma relação de confiança e parceria. Pareciam até amigos de infância, muito comprometidos em espalhar a mensagem para defendermos os Corais da Amazônia. Isso mostra como é possível unir pessoas em prol do meio ambiente. Vê-las saindo às ruas para se divertir e compartilhar conhecimento sobre as causas ambientais tem um valor imensurável", diz Eliana.

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Comemoração do Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia em Natal (Foto: © Vitor Arrais / Greenpeace)

 
O Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia aconteceu no 28 de janeiro porque foi exatamente um ano atrás que as primeiras imagens subaquáticas desse ecossistema foram divulgadas. Na ocasião, o Greenpeace, junto a cientistas, fazia uma expedição com um submarino tripulado para ver o bioma, seus habitantes e particularidades. 

Desde então, a existência dos Corais da Amazônia ganhou evidência no mundo todo.Mais de 1,6 milhão de pessoas já assinaram uma petição online exigindo que as empresas BP e Total desistam dos planos de explorar petróleo perto dos Corais. 

Para Amanda Melo, de 17 anos e voluntária do Greenpeace São Luís, o Dia Mundial dos Corais Amazônia transmitiu a mensagem para a preservação desse ecossistema revelado recentemente e que já está ameaçado. "Cada convidado colaborou para ação ser surpreendente. Engajamos mais de 200 'serumaninhos' por meio das redes sociais e cada participante foi uma peça essencial para a montagem da nossa mensagem, me alegra saber que existem pessoas animadas em ajudar a natureza sem receber nada em troca. O quebra-cabeça humano que promovemos afetou minha vida como voluntária do Greenpeace de maneira imensurável, essa foi nossa primeira atividade com um grande número de convidados, foi um desafio que ultrapassamos e acredito que estou pronta pra ações nessa magnitude. Finalizo dizendo que faça chuva ou faça sol estarei voluntária do Greenpeace! Vai planeta!".

Onde aconteceram as atividades?

BelémBelo Horizonte
Bertioga
Brasília
Campo Grande
Cuiabá
Florianópolis
Fortaleza
Imbé
João Pessoa
Macapá
Marechal Deodoro
Manaus
Natal
Palmas
Recife
Rio de Janeiro
Salvador
Santos
São Luís
São Paulo
Vargem Grande do Sul
Vitória
Junqueiro
São Bernardo do Campo

Uma história sobre cocô e vícios sociais

Postado por rvillar

Por Rosana Villar

Não faz muito tempo. Lembro que acordei naquele dia já sentindo o que viria a descobrir, e não deu outra: positivo. Eu definitivamente estava grávida e isso mudaria tudo na minha vida. Tudo mesmo, inclusive a alimentação. E faz tão pouco tempo, o dia que comi berinjela e o mundo simplesmente não acabou.

Tudo começou quando ela nasceu, a Ramona. Como toda mãe de primeira viagem, fiquei totalmente neurótica. Mas no final você acaba aprendendo que é preciso estar atento a basicamente três sinais: temperatura, alimentação e evacuação. Ou seja, se seu filho não tem febre, come bem e faz cocô, fica tranquila e segue o jogo.

Tracei minha estratégia de trabalho como Mãe com base nisso. Foi só identificar o padrão, fazer os cálculos e garantir que todos os níveis ficassem dentro do esperado. Mas um dia, quando ela já estava com idade para comer comida de verdade, a casa caiu. Acabou o cocô. Sem fraldas sujas, nada de merda. Nadinha, por dias. Daí bate o desespero, a criança com dor. Uma loucura.

Até que numa conversinha com o médico do plantão, em uma madrugada caótica qualquer, ficou decretado: você precisa diversificar a alimentação para regular o intestino do seu bebê.

Mas esse texto não é sobre cocô – poderia ser, e você ficaria ultrajado. Se trata de contar como essa experiência me fez revisitar um monte de verdades absolutas e experimentar uma dimensão de sabores até então desconhecida.

Naquela época, minha referência de boa alimentação era o Virado a Paulista, um prato popular em São Paulo, montado com arroz, tutu de feijão, couve, ovos fritos e uma bisteca de porco bem gigante por cima de tudo. Sou paulista e na minha família tem uma “coisa” de que tem que ter carne na mesa em todas as refeições. A tal da mistura. Carne em todas as refeições, é muita carne.

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Uma alimentação balanceada e cheia de cor é a melhor pedida.

Não existe um consenso na ciência quanto à necessidade de “comer carne”. Enquanto alguns estudos mostram os benefícios de fazê-lo – há quem diga que acelerou até nossa evolução! – outros apontam para a insustentabilidade de continuarmos a consumi-la nos níveis atuais.  Mas há um ponto em que todos concordam: o segredo para uma boa alimentação é a diversidade.

No “Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira”, do Ministério da Saúde, recomenda-se a ingestão de no máximo 200 gramas de proteína animal por dia - para carne vermelha essa quantidade é ainda menor. Vegetais, frutas, grãos e tubérculos, por outro lado, tem passagem quase livre para o cardápio. Isso significa que o ideal seria comermos apenas um bife OU uma coxa de frango OU um sanduíche de presunto com ovo por dia. UM Só. Eu comia muito mais que isso.

Para facilitar a vida da minha filha, tive que fazer algo drástico: cortar a carne pela metade e incluir variedade. Confesso que foi mais difícil para mim do que para ela. Porque, aí eu me toquei, comer carne, além de alimentação, é uma construção social. Um costume, que você se habitua sem nem perceber.

A oferta de comida nos mercados aumentou, a carne ficou mais barata, ficou normal. Está no bacon do café da manhã, no croissant de presunto, no almoço de lasanha a bolonhesa, no sushi levinho, na canja da vovó. Está em tudo e a gente sequer sabe de onde vem! Não é mais sobre se alimentar, é só mais um vício social.

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Quantas vezes você se perguntou de onde veio a carne? Já parou para pensar na quantidade de carne que você come?

E a gente quase esquece que parte de qual bicho estamos comendo. Ou procuramos não pensar sobre isso ou sobre os impactos que isso produz no resto do mundo. Mas esse tempo precisa acabar, porque não faz bem para nada nem ninguém. Precisamos ressignificar o consumo de carne e reduzir. Dar à coisa a importância que a coisa tem, afinal, ainda estamos falando de outros seres vivos. Caramba, sejamos honestos, um índio respeita mais sua caça do que você o seu hambúrguer e isso diz muito sobre nossos valores, não diz?

Para mim, reduzir o consumo de carne foi sobre melhorar a variedade e a qualidade do que minha família consumia. Foi aos poucos, com muitos erros e acertos. Muitas receitas de internet. Começou com a segunda. Depois entrou a terça e a quinta. Daí vieram os temperos e as abóboras! Você não pode imaginar a quantidade de coisas que são possíveis de fazer com uma abóbora.

No caminho aprendi a cozinhar e inventar um monte de coisas gostosas. A gente ainda consome carne em casa, principalmente peixe – moramos no Amazonas. Mas agora é diferente, são ocasiões realmente especiais e cada vez menos frequentes.

Quanto ao cocô da minha filha – se é que isso ainda é do seu interesse – fico satisfeita em dizer que vai bem, obrigada. Parece que foi ontem, faz tão pouco tempo que experimentamos shimeji pela primeira vez, e gostamos!

We don't just need electric cars, we need fewer cars

Blogpost by Richard Casson

Ever since the first production car rolled off the assembly line more than 100 years ago, our love affair with automobiles has grown and grown. In countries like the UK, France, Italy and Germany there are now around 5 vehicles for every 10 people. In the USA, Australia and New Zealand, the number is higher still. 

But, after a century of the automobile playing a central part in our lives, we’re starting to see a shift toward alternative forms of transport. If this trend continues, the car’s domination of global transport could soon come to a spluttering end.

Traffic jam in Beijing

Hidden cost of cars

With the cost of electric vehicles set to plummet over the next decade, many car firms now admit that the future is an electric one. But will this be enough? Shouldn’t we also be asking ourselves if we need so many cars in the first place?

If we could flick a switch and turn every fossil fuelled car into an electric one, lungs across the planet would breathe a sigh of relief as toxic emissions dropped (as long as the electricity used was from clean energy sources).

But this wouldn’t address the problem of just how wasteful a car dominated transport system is. 

In 2016, more than 72 million new cars hit the road. Manufacturing such a giant quantity of vehicles year on year uses vast quantities of steel, aluminium, copper, glass, rubber, and other raw materials.

It’s a great environmental cost, considering the majority of these vehicles sit idle 95% of the time.

Parked cars take up a vast amount of space, too. In urban areas in Los Angeles county, an estimated 14% of land – 200 square miles – is dedicated to parking.

Changing attitudes

Though progress is often slow, city planners and politicians are gradually waking up to the fact that when cities offer safe and affordable alternatives to cars, we start to travel differently.

Cyclists in Copenhagen

More and more young people are choosing bicycles, buses and trains over owning a car out of the sheer cost. In Berlin, it’s public transport, not cars, which is the coolest way of getting around. 

In Copenhagen, a city that has a long held reputation for being bike-friendly, a whopping 62% of people choose to cycle their commute.

In the French city of Lyon, the number of cars entering the city has fallen by 20% compared to just a decade ago. As the city’s network of bike hire stations continues to grow, town planners are hoping for a further 20% decline.

In London, where cycle super-highways are becoming popular, the share of journeys made by car has fallen by a quarter since 1990. 

Car free days are rising in popularity in many of the world’s largest cities, giving people a taste of what it’s like to live with less noise, traffic and pollution. Bogota was one of the first cities to introduce a car free day, and it’s now become so popular that it’s been extended to a full week.

Our vision

Though the rise of electric cars should be celebrated, a truly sustainable transport system isn’t just about ditching fossil fuel vehicles.

It’s about building more cycle lanes, and supporting schemes to get people on bikes in the first place. It’s about constructing roads which encourage a more diverse range of travel - cycling, electric scooters and cargo bikes - instead of so heavily favouring cars. It’s about mass transport that runs on clean energy and is affordable and easy for everyone to use. And it’s about all of us - citizens, politicians, and businesses - playing a part in making it happen.

To coincide with the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos this week, Greenpeace has published Freedom to Breathe: Rethinking Urban Transport, a report that lays out our vision for the future of transport.

Richard Casson is a campaigner for Greenpeace UK

Diving to the Antarctic sea floor is a scientist’s dream come true

Blogpost by Dr Susanne Lockhart

Most people would be surprised about how many species of cold-water corals and amazing sponges you’d find on the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean. Even as the scientist who has identified three quarters of the registered seafloor communities designated for special protection in the Antarctic, I’ve never seen them myself either!

That is, I’ve never seen them in their natural environment before. Until now.
Getting ready to dive in the submarine, 19 Jan 2018

The seabed of this truly special place is home to corals and other animals that create 3D structures, providing shelter for fish and habitat for countless other organisms. They are an indispensable element in a complex ecosystem which feeds the Antarctic Ocean and all the other larger and more well-known species in it like penguins, seals and whales.

Submarine image of the seabed in the Antarctic, 23 January 2018

The reason why right now I’m more excited than I’ve ever been in my 25 years as an Antarctic biologist is that, this time, I get to go to the bottom of the sea myself! Having done lots of expedition-based research into the depths of this unique ocean, now I can see first-hand what I have been studying for so many years.

Usually, this type of scientific research is hard labour; digging through the large amount of bycatch caught in trawl nets and the time-consuming job of sorting it into taxonomic groups for analysis. But the destruction that this method causes has always disturbed me. But here we are, gently gliding by in a two-person submarine, taking photographic evidence and collecting a few specimens that might even be new species.

Down we go!

I became pretty obsessed with the marine invertebrate life of the Antarctic region at quite a young age. Since then, I’ve encountered and studied some truly impressive seabed communities in the Antarctic and now I’m venturing out to locate additional areas that are in need of special protection.

In a really meaningful way, our exploration of the bottom of the sea will help determine specific areas that should be a priority for protection from an expanding commercial fishing fleet, which jeopardises the wellbeing of one of the world's last pristine marine ecosystems; an ocean that connects all oceans.

The evidence of any ‘Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems’ that we encounter on this expedition will be submitted to the Commission for the Antarctic Ocean. It is our hope that registering these ecosystems will support and strengthen the submitted proposal for what will be the largest protected marine area in the world.

Antarctic feather star found at approximately 300 meters depth at Kinnes Cove in the Antarctic Sound, 23 January 2018

I am eager to see these marine protected area proposals develop and mature and be passed by the Commission for the Antarctic Ocean. In this endeavor, the objectives of Greenpeace and I align, and I feel privileged to collaborate with them on this project.

Hopefully my dream as a scientist coming true just now - going to the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean - will help achieve an even bigger dream: to see it protected!

Dr. Susanne Lockhart is an Antarctic biologist with the California Academy of Sciences, currently aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in the Antarctic Ocean.

Parabéns São Paulo! Você merece ônibus não poluentes

Postado por Davi Martins

No aniversário da maior cidade da América Latina, a aprovação da lei que exige ônibus limpos é um presente, mas que não pode esperar 20 anos para ser entregue

A revisão do artigo 50 da Lei de Mudanças Climáticas do município foi aprovada pelo prefeito João Doria este mês. O novo texto estabelece metas claras para o fim das emissões dos ônibus e força a troca dos veículos do transporte público por modelos com tecnologias não poluentes e livres do óleo diesel, responsável por mais de 4 mil mortes ao ano na cidade. Essa notícia poderia ser ainda melhor caso a transição fosse mais rápida que os 20 anos estabelecidos para isso. Mas o momento de aplicá-la é agora, na licitação de ônibus que está em curso.

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Em recente carta à Secretaria de Mobilidade e Transportes, organizações da sociedade civil se juntaram para contribuir com o processo de consulta pública da licitação. Os pedidos de melhoria do processo abrangem os temas de Cronograma de Participação e de Audiências Públicas. Eles são fundamentais para garantir a qualidade e transparência de uma outorga de serviço estratégico para a cidade de São Paulo.

Ainda nesta semana, tivemos a triste notícia do aumento das mortes nas marginais Tietê e Pinheiros. Elas são decorrentes das altas velocidades nas vias da cidade, em função da política de favorecimento do automóvel particular sobre o transporte público e não motorizado, uma marca da gestão Doria.

Mobilidade urbana não pode ser tratada apenas olhando para o transporte. É preciso aprimorar as políticas de incentivo a construções mistas (moradia e trabalho), descentralização dos postos de trabalho, acesso a equipamentos públicos, formas de mitigação das mudanças climáticas e, só então, incentivos ao transporte público e não-motorizado. Nós do Greenpeace acreditamos que cidades e metrópoles como São Paulo precisam liderar as políticas públicas de incentivo à geração de energia descentralizada (com a implementação de placas solares em edifícios públicos), transporte público livre de combustíveis fósseis e um maior adensamento das zonas verdes.

São Paulo começa seus 464 anos com importantes lições de casa a fazer. Esta senhora madura já passou da idade de garantir a implementação efetiva dos ônibus não poluentes; de redefinir suas políticas de incentivo observando o que já está previsto no Plano Nacional de Mobilidade Urbana; de cuidar e garantir a preservação de suas áreas verdes; e respeitar a vida das pessoas mais vulneráveis no trânsito por suas vias.

Listening for Justice in Davos

Blogpost by Jennifer Morgan

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing” - Arundhati Roy

I can hear her too. I have spent my working life trying to help others hear her. I wonder, when attending the annual World Economic Forum meeting this week, in the cold mountain air of Davos, if I will still be able to hear her?

 Statue of Justice Activity in Davos, 18 Jan 2018

Seven women will chair this year’s Davos, but I still wonder if lady justice will rise above the chorus of backroom deals and rhetoric about co-creating a better future. I wonder if we will be able to find the empathy and connectivity to not only debate the most pressing challenges facing the world today, but to also seize the opportunities they present to build a more sustainable and equitable future together.  The time for simply tinkering with the existing system to preserve the status quo is long gone.
Of course I will be reaching out in Davos with special attention on gender equality and justice as vital drivers of the changes we need to see in the world. I will appeal to all those I speak with to look inside themselves and ask how they feel about what is happening in the world. I will ask them to identify what they can do and simply implore them to get it done.
Each year just ahead of the Davos meeting, the WEF publish a Global Risks Report. Over the last few years, we at Greenpeace, and the broader environmental and social justice movements, have made many of the same points about risks, urgency and solutions The very systems from which corporations and politicians draw their power and profit are breaking down and creating the fractured world we now live in.
Extreme weather events (and make no mistake they are more extreme due to climate change) are once again for the second year running, what political and business leaders themselves say is the world’s biggest threat.  They are also ranked close to weapons of mass destruction in terms of potential impact. We have clearly entered the era of alternative WMD – Weather of Mass Destruction.
What more relevant place, therefore, than to have this conversation at Davos, where many of the individuals who can ensure we turn the ship in time before hitting the iceberg, are present?
Of course we have to appeal to those in power as human beings, as citizens, as parents and grandparents. We must not forget to appeal to their humanity. At the same time they have specific power and responsibility.
I will also be promoting a new Greenpeace report “Justice for People and Planet.” It calls on governments to impose effective and binding rules on corporate behavior, to make them accountable toward people and the planet. It shows how, rather than imposing these rules, governments have willingly, or unwillingly, become enablers of corporate impunity.

The report’s analysis of 20 specific cases shows how corporations have exploited corporate law, tax and investment treaties, regulatory capture and a series of barriers to justice to profit at the expense of human rights and the environment.
The report documents, among others, how differences in legal standards saw VW fined billions in the US for the dieselgate scandal, but escape unpunished in Europe; how Resolute Forest Products and Energy Transfer Partners have used SLAPP suits in an attempt to silence critics; how Glencore pollutes the environment and climate and uses private arbitration courts to pressurize governments; and how Spanish ACS group became an accomplice to an environmental and social catastrophe when it joined the construction of the Renace hydroelectric power project in Guatemala.

In response we outline common sense Corporate Accountability Principles that include ‘Holding corporations and those individuals who direct them liable for environmental and human rights violations committed domestically or abroad by companies under their control.’ and ‘Promoting a race to the top by prohibiting corporations from carrying out activities abroad which are banned in their home state for reasons of risks to environmental or human rights.’
Whenever possible in conversation I will relay the latest climate science, with a specific focus on the connection between extreme weather events, climate change, and corporate liability. This is a rapidly evolving field scientifically, and, as the impacts are hitting more often and more intensively, one that corporate leaders should be aware of. The recently announced case New York City divesting from fossil fuels against Exxon is based on this latest science.
As Executive Director of Greenpeace International I get asked if I should really be going to Davos. The answer is yes. My predecessors attended for one simple reason-- it is a rare opportunity to speak truth directly to power. Of course, as always, there is no guarantee those people will listen.

I will have many meetings with senior corporate leaders away from their large support teams. Somehow it feels like a more human interaction and a chance to speak heart to heart about facts, economic opportunities, as well as to help them find the compassion they need for these challenges.
Greenpeace is often the first one to turn up at oil spill, or at nuclear disaster so why not be the ones to show up at court of corporate executives straight at the top, and get them to sign up now to the future I am sure they want for their kids and grandkids.
Jennifer Morgan is an executive director with Greenpeace International

Blog post by: Jennifer Morgan

Jennifer Morgan is the Executive Director of Greenpeace International.
Previously, she was the Global Director of the Climate Program at the World Resources Institute. A climate activist, she has been a leader of large teams at major organisations, and her other ports of call have included the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Climate Action Network, and E3G.

All blogposts by Jennifer Morgan
Tweet @climatemorgan

28 de janeiro: Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia. Vamos celebrar!

Postado por Thaís Herrero
 Um ano atrás, nós embarcávamos em uma aventura inesquecível no fundo do mar brasileiro: conhecer os Corais da Amazônia! Foi em 28 de janeiro de 2017, que o mundo viu pela primeira vez como são as cores, formas, os habitantes e as singularidades desse ecossistema que é um verdadeiro tesouro natural. Por isso, esse dia ficou marcado como o Dia Mundial dos Corais da Amazônia!

Neste próximo domingo, 28 de janeiro, vamos celebrar essa data tão especial. Voluntários e ativistas do Greenpeace estarão em 29 cidades do Brasil com uma atividade grandiosa, do tamanho dos corais: Vamos montar um quebra-cabeça gigante, com uma imagem surpresa.

Assim, poderemos mostrar também o tamanho da nossa vontade de defender os Corais da ganância das empresas de petróleo, que querem a todo custo perfurar a região e lucrar com o petróleo do fundo do nosso mar.

Já somos 1,6 milhão de defensores. E quando mais, melhor! Por isso, participe da atividade na sua cidade, convide seus amigos e vamos juntos fazer com que os Corais da Amazônia fiquem ainda mais famosos no Brasil e possamos, assim, garantir seu bem-estar. CLIQUE NO MAPA e veja qual será a atividade mais perto de você!

Which is the Antarctic's top penguin?

Blogpost by Willie Mackenzie

Not every penguin is up to the challenge of living in the Antarctic, but those that do are a special sort of awesome. Remember, they don’t have the luxury of being able to fly away again if the weather turns bad.

In honour of Penguin Awareness Day today and while we’re in the Antarctic campaigning to protect their home*, here’s our countdown of the most flippering fantastic Antarctic penguins.

Prepare to be impressed.

*And you can join the movement to create the world’s largest protected area and a safe haven for penguins - an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.

5. Gentoo

Gentoo penguin in the Antarctic, 17 Jan 2018

Gentoo penguins are easy to identify by the natty white triangular patch above their eyes, which stretches across the top of their heads. They prefer ice free areas, so they stick to the coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands.

Gentoos have sticky-out brush-like tails, and can throw their heads back to make a very loud trumpeting noise, a honk that sounds much more impressive than their 75cm stature would suggest.

Plucky little gentoos can make hundreds of dives every day while foraging for fish, krill and small squid, and are thought to be the fastest swimming penguin underwater, reaching speeds up to 36km per hour. 

4. Macaroni

Macaroni penguins, Macquarie Island, 1 Feb 1990
No, it’s not just a type of pasta, it’s also a species of penguin, close cousin to the better-known Rockhopper. The monogamous Macaroni is the most southerly of the crested penguins, doesn’t seem to venture much beyond Antarctic waters, and nests on the Antarctic Peninsula as well as nearby islands. With a splendid yellow mop of a crest, these krill-munching bumbling blond bombshells might seem more suited to political office...

3. Chinstrap

Chinstrap penguin in the Antarctic, 17 Jan 2018

These are the penguins that look like they should be wearing a helmet. Chinstraps can look squat and serious, and that’s fair enough, as their lot is no laughing matter.

Monogamous, they return to the same partner and busy breeding site every year, often choosing hard-to-reach rocky islands to keep themselves and their chicks safe – but that safety comes at a cost as they have to navigate perilous rocky cliffs, and stormy Antarctic seas to be able to feed their mate and their young. A helmet might not be a bad idea after all, guys…

2. Emperor

Emperor Penguin in the Antarctic, 1 Jan 1989

Narrowly missing out on the top spot is the daddy of them all – the Emperor penguin. The biggest living penguin species, they can reach a whopping 1.3 metres tall, and weigh up to 40kgs, about the same as a 12 year old child. Not only are they the biggest, but they also dive the deepest, down at least 550m into the icy Antarctic ocean to catch fish and squid.

Scientists have recently discovered that emperor penguins are especially well adapted to life underwater thanks to bubbles making them as streamlined and hydrodynamic than any Olympic swimmer. Emperor penguins are proper hardcore - not only do they survive the harsh winter on the continent of Antarctica, but they also breed and raise their fluffy chicks in the middle of it.

Massive huddles of stay-at-home dads continuously shuffle around to stay warm and protect their eggs and newly-hatched chicks, whilst the females go off hunting to bring back food. They are undoubtedly the most Antarctic of all the penguins, and definitely win a ‘best dad’ award too.

But since you missed out on the prize by a beak, sashay away Emperors!

1. Adelie

Adélie penguin colony in Antarctica, 17 Jan 2018

Top of the pile, is the Antarctic’s very own rockstar penguin – the cute, cuddly, and utterly badass Adelies. Growing to no more than 70cm, these pocket rockets might seem ill-equipped when waddling on land, but are top krill-catching torpedoes in the water.

These little penguins are ridiculously adorable, and probably the most penguiny of all penguins, but behind those cute and cuddly looks lies a tough Antarctic specialist. Found all around the Antarctic coast, they breed nowhere else on earth, and spend winters offshore in the Antarctic ocean.

They are so tough, that they make their nests out of rocks! Rocks and pebbles are the currency that keeps Adelie society functioning – being offered as love tokens to woo a mate, pinched from neighbours when they are not looking, and, err, traded for stolen moments of passion.

Yes, the big brave Emperors are the undisputed king on the icy continent itself, but for sheer penguin awesomeness, entertainment and pebble-pinching prowess, we think the pint-sized pluck of the Adelies makes them Antarctic’s top penguin. 

Willie Mackenzie is an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK

We can’t just recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis

Blogpost by Elvira Jiménez

Plastics are in the air. Not only literally. Everyone's talking about plastic pollution and the need to take action.
You don’t need to be conducting a scientific research to see that plastic waste is invading our environment, specially our oceans. With up to 12 million tons of plastic entering the oceans every year it is not surprising that we find plastic everywhere, not only polluting the water and severely impacting marine species, but also accumulating in the food chain.
Plastic-Spitting Dragon Protests at Our Oceans Conference in Malta. 5 Oct. 2017.
And so people all over the world are building up a movement to transition to a society free of single-use plastic and the throw-away culture it entails. Whether it be by individual action and changing everyday habits, by signing petitions or by creating change in their communities and local businesses.
The movement to #BreakFreeFromPlastic is on the rise and there’s no stopping it!
But where are we on policy? This week, the European Commission has released the European Plastics Strategy. A document that reflects the vision and the objectives of the Commission on this issue and that will be translated into measures and actions.
The European Union (together with countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement) is the second largest producer of plastic after China.

• In the EU, 25.8 million tons of plastic waste are generated each year, 70% of which is incinerated or dumped in landfill. 
• In the EU, 150,000 - 500,000 tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year.
• It is estimated that between 75,000 and 300,000 tons of microplastics are released to the environment each year from EU countries. 

We need to change these numbers. It seems like this new EU strategy echoes this urgency and is certainly something worth praising. But once we get to the details, it seems to go down the usual path.
There’s certainly some good ideas, like treating microplastic ingredients (including cosmetic microbeads) as toxic pollution using the EU chemical regulation. 
And it sets a target that by 2030, 100% of plastic packaging in the EU market will be reusable or recyclable, with a first legislative proposal in 2018 to tackle some single use items. Promising!
But again we find a text too focused on recycling. It’s all over the place. While reduction and reuse is hardly mentioned. Their target won’t be achieved without reducing the production and consumption of plastic packaging and single-use items, much of which are unnecessary in the first place and have already existing alternatives waiting to be scaled up.
Deposit return schemes are increasingly being implemented. Bulk stores are blooming in many places, water fountains are coming back to cities and public places, and reusable items are coming into fashion. But alternatives need to be backed up by bold and ambitious political measures.
So if you are a European citizen, watch out for changes in our legislations and be ready to ask your national government to ensure single-use plastic item bans are fast tracked as the crisis is urgent and the EU process can take years. It’s a real opportunity for change and we mustn’t let it slip!
And even if you’re not in Europe, we still need your support. In a globalised world, whatever happens in the European region will have impact in other regions, through companies headquartered in the EU, trade or by simply, and most importantly, setting an example for others to follow that ambitious measures can be taken to phase-out single-use plastic.
While we wait for the next political move, you can still do your part. Whether it be refusing straws, bags, using refillable bottles or taking community action. Every step counts, no matter how big or small. Pick yours and start today to join the movement! We can all #BreakFreeFromPlastic!
Elvira Jiménez is EU Plastics Project leader with Greenpeace Spain