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Has the synthetic biology industry hijacked IUCN?

Submitted by Ronnie Hall on

Gates-funded synbio lobby firm Emerging Ag Inc takes driving seat in IUCN discussion on biodiversity and synbio.
Butterfly in Glen Art Reserve, East Gippsland, Australia

MEXICO, 3 September 2020 : Emerging Ag Inc., a synthetic biotech industry lobbying firm, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been allowed to take a driving seat in discussions about biodiversity conservation and synthetic biology amongst members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in advance of IUCN’s next World Congress in 2021 [1]. 

Celebrating the Life of Sven Hamrell

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Groundbreaking thinker, President of RAFI and ETC Group boards
 
The staff and board of ETC Group are saddened to learn of the passing of Sven Hamrell, aged 92, on July 2nd 2020. Sven was long-term former Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation (DHF) in Uppsala Sweden and "President for Life" of RAFI (the former name of ETC Group). He left a huge imprint on the shape and thinking of global civil society and on RAFI/ETC Group in particular. 
 

Geoengineering Threatens Oceans

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

High-risk geoengineering projects are proceeding in violation of UN moratoria

MONTREAL, SYDNEY, UTQIAGVIK, SANTIAGO—On World Oceans Day, members of a global coalition formed by 195 organizations on 45 countries are raising the alarm about the threat of geoengineering to delicate, life-sustaining ocean ecosystems worldwide. The Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Campaign today called on civil society and government officials worldwide to vigorously oppose marine geoengineering experiments.

Video/podcast #3: Which new normal?

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

ETC Group on COVID, data giants, the food system and community responses
Those backing risky new technologies are seeing growing profits and power during the COVID-19 crisis. From fast-tracking genomic testing and novel vaccines to automation of ‘people-free’ supply chains, the pandemic is benefitting Big Tech.
 
From the rise of Zoom and Netflix to enhanced data-surveillance of populations, Silicon Valley and its financial backers  are not only shaping how the crisis is lived, but are positioning themselves to shape behaviours and write the rules in a post-crisis new order.
 

Geoengineers test risky planetary engineering scheme in Australia

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Experiment defies 193-country UN moratorium

MEXICO CITY, DAVAO CITY, MONTREAL, May 11—In a shocking move, a small group of Australian geoengineers have defied an international moratorium on the deployment of geoengineering technologies. To accomplish this, the project rebranded a risky geoengineering technology – in this case, brightening clouds to reflect solar energy back into space – as a plan to save the Great Barrier Reef. 

ETC Podcast #2: The Next Agribusiness Takeover

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Pat Mooney talks global corporate power moves

In episode #2 of the ETC Podcast (recorded in January), founder Pat Mooney discusses ETC's communiqué, The Next Agribusiness Takeover: Multilateral Food Agencies and the moves powerful corporate actors are making to take over global food policy institutions.

You can now subscribe to the ETC Podcast on Spotify and Google Play. 

The Emergency is the Disease, not the Symptom: Video

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Gopal Dayaneni on the pandemic, geoengineering and the meaning of urgency

Interviewed on March 27, 2020, ETC Group's Gopal Dayaneni describes the use of "climate emergency" framing to justify geoengineering, and how our political imagination will determine the outcome. Gopal's commentary is in response to a question about the climate emergency framing, and how it is being used to justify previously unthinkable and unproven geoengineering methods.

Statement to the Extraordinary Meeting of G20 Agriculture Ministers, April 21, 2020

Submitted by Veronica Villa on

By international CSOs

 

 

As the COVID-19 health emergency unleashes a wider social and economic crisis, we believe that urgent action is indeed needed to safeguard global food security and nutrition. Action, however, cannot be limited to ensuring the flow of food supplies. A broader range of measures are necessary to ensure food security, in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

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