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Environmental justice means empowered people in relations of solidarity and equity with each other and in non-degrading and positive relations with their environment.
News
- Statement by Friends of the Earth Africa at her Annual General Meeting held in Accra, Ghana, from 9-12 May 2012
- Urgent call for organisational sign-ons towards a toxics-free future
- Climate Activists: Durban Deal is "Very Weak" Agreement, Lacks "Ambition, Equity, Justice"
- The Lost Decade: Bolivian Pablo Solón Decries Climate Deal Postponing New Emissions Cuts Until 2020
- Community workshop highlights air quality challenges in Vaal
- Community workshop exposes real impact of Medupi
- Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development
- groundWork leads seminar on green health care risk waste management
- Blog: BASIC Voices: Amplifying Voices from the South
Saturday 12th May 2012 - Members of FoE Africa from Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda met and reviewed global issues with particular focus on those that confront the African continent. Read more...
On the 11th June 2012, the Global Toxics-Free Future Forum will begin in Rio de Janiero, Brazil (prior to the Rio+20 Prepcom3 and Conference) where NGOs will gather to release the Global Common Statement for a Toxics-Free Future to the world’s leaders. The global network for a toxics-free future, International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), is calling for 1,000 NGOs/CSO from over 80 countries to sign-on to this statement. Read more...
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, ended with an agreement to start negotiations for a new legally binding climate treaty to be decided by 2015 — and to come into force by 2020. Negotiators also agreed to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and the initial design of a Green Climate Fund. Many environmental groups say the agreement does not do enough to deal with the climate crisis. Watch a video interviewing climate activists at http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/12/climate_activists_durban_deal_is_very
In 2010, then-Ambassador Pablo Solón headed Bolivia’s climate negotiating team for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico. However, for the 2011 climate summit he joined climate justice activists outside the official conference in the streets of Durban demanding the United States, and other historically large greenhouse gas emitters, agree to legally binding emissions cuts.
Watch a video of an interview with him at
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/12/the_lost_decade_bolivian_pablo_solon
Vaal, Gauteng province, South Africa – On the 24th April 2012, groundWork staff were involved with a community workshop held in the Sebokeng township in the Vaal. The Vaal Triangle was declared an Air-Shed Priority Area in April 2006 by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and continues to maintain this title to this day. It was labelled as such since the proposed ambient air quality standards were, and continue to be exceeded, resulting in negative impacts on the environment and communities that live in the area. Various community members in the Vaal have been engaging with issues of air quality for a number of years, and this workshop was used as platform to revisit past issues, new challenges and to assist in people’s deeper understanding of the broader impacts of air pollution.
Community members grapple with the air pollution issues that are of concern to those living in their area.
Lephalale, Limpopo Province, South Africa – groundWork facilitated a workshop attended by over 80 people at the Mogol Club in Onverwacht on Saturday 21 April 2012 to assist community members to voice concerns related to the world’s third largest coal-fired power plant, Medupi. Read more....
Community members from broader Lephalale attend the workshop held by groundWork
The Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development is fast approaching. In June this year, governments of the world are expected to agree on a declaration that should address and propose solutions to the multiple crises the world is facing today, on issues such as energy, food, climate and finance. Read a statement by Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International ...
Groundwork, in partnership with eThekwini Metro Municipality and the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health, began the first of many workshops concerned with the public health sector on Tuesday 10th April 2012 at Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban. Read more...
Follow this blog by Sunita Dubey of the BASIC South Initiative and groundWork US. Her newest entry is titled “BRICs Development Bank – Real need or power play?” See http://basicvoices.org/
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