Information

On April 5, the Norwegian government approved the decision of the Norwegian Pension Fund to withdraw some 11,000 million euros from its investments in oil and gas companies. In addition, the Fund is authorized to invest up to 2% of its value in renewable energy. In addition, restrictions are established for investment in coal companies.  Norway’s Global Government’s Pension Fund (Statens Pensjonsfond Utland), commonly called the Petroleum Fund (Oljefondet), aims to ensure a responsible and long-term management of the oil … Read more

On June 14, the first general strike against social security reforms by the current government was called in Brazil1. The strike, which took place 5 and a half months after the arrival of Jair Bolsonaro’s government2, was convened by two major trade union centers in Brazil (Central Única de Trabalhadores (CUT) y la Força Sindical), which announced it on May 1st. The social security reform that the government intends to approve, which does not yet have the necessary support, seeks … Read more

On May 7, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an published a leak of a new peace plan for Palestine and Israel prepared by the US government1. This plan is custom-made to Israel and does not recognize the borders that the Palestinian State had in 1967 after the Six Day War. Among other proposals, it should be noted that the text does not contemplate the dismantling of Jewish settlements, the partition of Jerusalem, or the existence of Palestinian weapons or armies. The … Read more

On May 21, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced that during the first quarter of 2019, world tourism grew by 4% compared to 2018, when some 1,400 million travelers were reached around the world1,2. As indicated in its infographic, the income derived from chemical products, fuels or automobiles are very important, these sectors being major causes of environmental problems. Despite the fact that 4 out of 5 tourists travel within their own region, almost all of them use more or … Read more

“Overextraction, drainage of wetlands and swamps, deforestation, many irrigation projects and poorly drained land, pesticide and fertilizer leaks, pollution from industry spills and households that were not properly treated or that were not treated at all, the widespread construction of large reservoirs, the increasing exploitation of underground aquifers, the channeling of navigable waterways, the plans for water transfer between watersheds and the ravages of climate change induced by fossil fuels, disturbed hydrological cycles in various ways and created conditions of … Read more

During the last couple of months the Extinction Rebellion movement has been carrying out acts of non-violent civil disobedience throughout the world1,2 , mainly in the United Kingdom, in order to achieve a radical change in the management of the planet’s environmental policies. The aim is to minimize the risk of human extinction and the ecological collapse3. The movement, which emerged in London by the end of 2018 and is spreading every day throughout more states, is organized into small … Read more

On April 11, 2019, Julian Assange was arrested by the British police at the Embassy of Ecuador in London1, where was received after the concession of the Ecuadorian nationality (now denied) by the previous government of that country. He is accused of violating the provisional freedom that had been granted in 20122. In addition, there is an extradition request issued by the US authorities (a country where he could even be executed3)4. The UN confirms that the detention of Assange … Read more

All over the planet, but especially in impoverished countries, the quality of life of rural people is getting worse every day. The neoliberal model prevents farmers from developing a basic economy since it destroys the countryside and makes the subsistence of smallholdings, cultivated in a traditional and artisanal way, unfeasible. This model, which only understands the countryside as a resource to exploit, is one of the main causes of climate change, hindering sustainable agriculture, causing the depopulation and abandonment of … Read more

On March 14, the European Parliament ruled out —with little margin— to restart the free trade negotiations between the EU and the US, which could lead to a new Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. As a result of the adoption of the 27th amendment, which called for “not supporting the guidelines for negotiation in its current form,” the majority of the Parliament finally refused to approve a resolution authorizing the start of talks with the US government1. However, the resolution … Read more

On January 25, in Brumadinho, municipality of Minas Gerais (Brazil), one of the waste dams of an iron mine owned by the company Vale1, collapsed. This accident resulted in the death of at least 197 people and 111 more disappeared2, most of whom were mine workers. The sludge derived from the rupture flooded the Paraopeba River, one of the tributaries of the São Francisco River, with the consequent environmental impact on the species that inhabit it3. The responsibility for this … Read more