Economics for Earth

Secret China-led RCEP trade deal fails international standards of transparency, experts warn

PRESS RELEASE   Bangkok, Manila, New Delhi, Melbourne                                              July 20, 2018. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is being negotiated in Bangkok, Thailand this week. The mega regional trade deal involving sixteen nations from Asia-Pacific will impact the lives of over three billion people, yet a new study reveals how the deal fails international standards of transparency and public engagement.
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Economics for Earth

Stand up for democracy - say no to the anti-espionage bill

The Australian government is seeking to introduce new espionage and foreign interference laws that threaten our democracy.
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Economics for Earth

Response to proposed changes to espionage and foreign interference laws

Friends of the Earth are a community-driven organisation that has played a constructive role protecting the natural environment and supporting social justice in Australia for over forty years.
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Economics for Earth

The movements of the Australian environment movement

By Cam Walker In the various histories that have been written about the Australian environment movement, most have identified the 'professionalisation' phase that happened in the 1980s as a defining feature in the movement's development.
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Economics for Earth

Coalition's budget failure on climate change, "no surprise," say Friends of the Earth

National environment group Friends of the Earth says the Federal Coalition's 2018 budget failure on climate change comes as "no surprise" and underscores the need for greater leadership from states and territories.  
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Economics for Earth

Why we must ban secret corporate courts from trade deals

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a dispute resolution method included in hundreds of trade and investment agreements designed to give exclusive legal protection to foreign companies investing abroad, giving them the right to sue host governments in a private tribunal over any perceived breach of the rules around the treatment of investors. This secret corporate court system is system is a threat to Australia's democracy and environment and we believe it should be banned.
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Economics for Earth

April 2018 Update

What is the best way to support all the work that you see in these updates?
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Economics for Earth

The Foreign Donations Bill is broken. Time to start again

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) Committee which has been running the Inquiry into the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017 has released its report late this afternoon. The Committee has released a Majority Report (written by government and ALP members) and a Minority Report (dissenting report) from the Australian Greens. “This is a significant step back by the government members of this Committee from the extreme measures proposed in the original Bill” said Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker. “The original Bill was clearly ideological over-reach, and the Committee members had the common sense to recognise this”.
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Economics for Earth

Historic legal action launched against Shell in the Netherlands on climate change could impact fossil fuel investments in Australia

Press release: Melbourne, 5 April 2018: Friends of the Earth Netherlands takes the first step in legal action against Shell to stop the destruction of the climate. This ground-breaking case, if successful, would significantly limit Shell's investments in oil and gas globally by requiring them to comply with global climate targets.
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Economics for Earth

AECOM cancels graduate outreach as #StopAdani protests mount

US-based engineering and design firm AECOM’s graduate outreach program has been thrown into disarray, with protests and cancellations impacting most events.
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