Press Releases
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UK’s North Sea fossil fuel exports have soared despite licencing bonanza Global Witness analysis reveals that despite a two-decade sale of nearly 1,700 new oil and gas licenses, the UK’s energy security has only worsened as exports have ballooned and oil production plummeted.19 January 2024
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Kirsty Lang appointed as new Chair of Global Witness Board We are delighted to announce the appointment of journalist and broadcaster Kirsty Lang as the new Chair of the Global Witness Board.18 January 2024
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COP29 host country priming the pumps for a huge hike in gas production Azerbaijan, host of next year’s COP climate summit, is set to boost its gas production by a third over the next decade, with fossil fuel companies forecast to spend $41.4 billion on the country’s gas fields, according to new analysis.08 January 2024
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Bad Case of Déjà Vu as Former Oil Executive to Lead COP29 Climate Negotiations in Azerbaijan There’s a sense of déjà vu setting in – we now have a former oil executive from an authoritarian petrostate in charge of the world’s response to the crisis that fossil fuel firms created05 January 2024
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UK urgently needs new law to stop financial sector bankrolling deforestation and rights abuses, say MPs The UK government must urgently introduce a new law to prevent the country’s financial sector from funding deforestation and human rights abuses overseas, according to a new report by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC)04 January 2024
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Landmark EU law obliges companies to act on climate, misses chance to make banks green investments The European Union today agreed a landmark law that will help prevent large companies from damaging the environment and threatening human rights, after negotiators concluded late-night talks on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).14 December 2023
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COP28 host UAE invites fossil fuel bosses set to produce 25 billion barrels of oil this decade The UAE has invited fossil fuel bosses planning to produce more than 25 billion barrels of oil this decade into the heart of COP28, according to new analysis.11 December 2023
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UK government announces list of banned deforestation commodities after two-year delay More than two years after the passage of the Environment Act, the UK government today announced which forest-risk commodities can no longer be imported to the UK if they were produced on illegally deforested land09 December 2023
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Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube and TikTok approve violent misogynistic hate speech adverts for publication in South Africa Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok and YouTube all approved adverts featuring extreme and violent misogynistic hate speech against women journalists in South Africa, a new investigation by Global Witness and the South African public interest law firm, Legal Resources Centre (LRC) can reveal.07 December 2023
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Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists granted access to COP28 climate talks At least 2456 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the COP28 summit in Dubai, signalling an unprecedented presence at crucial climate talks from representatives of some of the world’s biggest polluter.05 December 2023
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French giant TotalEnergies implicated in intimidation of communities affected by controversial oil pipeline TotalEnergies has been party to bullying and intimidation of communities affected by the controversial EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania04 December 2023
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COP28 president Sultan Al-Jaber’s company will become the second largest oil producer on Earth The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the fossil fuel firm ran by COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, is on course to become the second largest oil producer in the world by 2050 – including state-run and publicly listed operators – according to new Global Witness analysis.02 December 2023
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New Emirates' Leaders Declaration on net zero food set to fail to consider agri-deforestation emissions The Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action has been announced today at COP2801 December 2023
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EU Commission unveils subsidy plans for hydrogen infrastructure, opening up Europe to fossil gas lock-in Plans include a blue hydrogen pipeline, which would flood Europe with hydrogen made from fossil gas28 November 2023
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Statement on the killing of renowned anti-mining activist and Indigenous environmental defender in Mexico On 25 November, the Indigenous leader and renowned Mexican land and environmental defender Higinio Trinidad de la Cruz was found dead at a farm in the Ayotitlán Indigenous community near his hometown of Jalisco, northwest Mexico27 November 2023