The international statement captures growing international concern regarding how Chinese development finance can do its part in successfully addressing the COVID-19 crisis without exacerbating environmental, social, climate, biodiversity, or other risks.
Acción Ecológica under immediate threat
On Tuesday, Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment announced plans to shut down one of the country’s leading environmental groups, Acción Ecológica, for their work to protect the rights of the environment and Indigenous Peoples in the Ecuadorean Amazon. The Ecuadorean government stated that the closure was in direct response to the group’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness about the Mirador mega-copper mine, located on ancestral lands belonging…
Last week, the US and China announced a “common vision” for tackling climate change, an announcement that was intended to generate political momentum in the run-up to the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change talks in Paris this December. One of the most notable portions of China’s commitment is an agreement “to work towards strictly controlling public investment flowing into projects with high pollution and carbon emissions both domestically and internationally.” This announcement…