Deforestation

We got it our way! Burger King ditches Sinar Mas palm oil

Posted by jamie — 2 September 2010 at 2:39pm - Comments

The independent audit which Sinar Mas thought would absolve it of deforestation, peatland clearance and law-breaking is now exploding in front of its face like a firework in a munitions factory.

Greenpeace campaigners and supporters in the US have been demanding that Burger King drops Sinar Mas as a supplier until the group commits to ending deforestation and yesterday it did just that, announcing that "the report has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas' palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest".

Video: Marion Cottilard meets Congo loggers

Posted by jamie — 18 August 2010 at 5:03pm - Comments

The third and fourth films documenting Inception star Marion Cottilard's journey to the Congo see her head out into the rainforest.

After meeting her hosts in Oshwe and the local forestry administration, she follows Greenpeace campaigners to see timber the loggers have left behind. Despite including sizeable tree trunks, they've been abandoned because they won't fetch enough money to make it worth the effort.

HSBC drops shares in forest trashing Sinar Mas

Posted by jamie — 8 July 2010 at 9:21am - Comments

Wahey, you've scored another victory! After receiving nearly 10,000 emails (and seeing some excellent spoof adverts), HSBC has sold its shares in Sinar Mas, one of the worst companies responsible for ripping up the Indonesian rainforest for palm oil and pulp plantations. It's fantastic news (as The Guardian was quick to agree) that has shone a light on the financial side of deforestation. And you made this happen - thanks!

Landmark pact to protect Canada's Boreal forest

Posted by jamie — 19 May 2010 at 2:06pm - Comments

The good news just keeps on coming. Our Canadian colleagues (including several working here in London) are thrilled about a new, far-reaching agreement between campaign groups and logging companies which should see vast areas of the country's Boreal forest protected. As detailed on our international site:

"Today the biggest, most ambitious forest conservation deal ever has been announced: the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. After more than seven years of hard-fought campaigning to end the on-going destruction of Canada's Boreal Forest, Greenpeace and eight other non-governmental organisations have agreed to a truce with the logging industry: we will suspend the battle for the Boreal.

Code REDD in Copenhagen

Posted by jossc — 16 December 2009 at 1:22pm - Comments

This blog by Greenpeace US webbie Mike Gaworecki first appeared yesterday on the Climate Rescue weblog.

Discussions at these climate talks are often in a highly specialized language that some of us like to call 'alphabet soup' – because it is conducted almost entirely in acronyms. One such cup o' soup we’ve been hearing a lot about lately is REDD, which stands for "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation." So I thought I'd give you an as-brief-as-possible update on where the negotiations on REDD are at, and what we're pushing for.

Making a connection and making a difference

Posted by mollybrooks — 13 May 2009 at 1:58pm - Comments

Molly and the whaleMolly is our online marketing coordinator and is next up in the blog relay, a whistle-stop tour of Greenpeace staff here in the UK. Click here to catch up on the other entries.

In January 2005, the Onilahy River in southwest Madagascar flooded. Nineteen people were killed and thousands left homeless. The cyclone that caused it was probably exacerbated by climate change; the landslides that followed were definitely made worse by extensive deforestation in the area.

The flood was little reported outside Madagascar. Similar events, caused or worsened by environmental destruction, happen all over the world on a regular basis, and most of them don't make the news. The only reason I know about it is because I was there.

Amazon traders promise to boycott soya from "cheating farmers"

Posted by jossc — 17 April 2009 at 11:48am - Comments

Huge areas in the Amazon rainforest are illegally logged to clear land for soya plantations
Huge areas in the Amazon rainforest are illegally logged to clear land for soya plantations © Greenpeace/Beltra

Some good news just in from Brazil, where soya traders have reinforced their commitment to boycott soya grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon.

Clearing-cutting to make space for new soya plantations has been one of the main causes of rainforest destruction in recent years, which is why we campaigned successfully for a moratorium (temporary ban) three years ago.

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