Since its formation in 1988, South Yorkshire Pensions Authority has worked hard on behalf of its nearly 140,000 members to provide them with a safe and secure future in retirement. Yet while ever it invests in unethical companies or industries, including fossil fuels and tobacco, the Authority is putting these achievements at great risk, by undermining long-term commitments to maximise pension fund investments and to provide good service to fund members. (The over 300 employers contributing to the Authority's schemes are also at risk, as it is they who will ultimately meet any shortfall in the cost of providing scheme benefits to retired members.) The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (SYPA) which manages the Local Government Pension Scheme has £259m invested in companies with fossil fuel and fracking connections such as Shell, BP and Glencore, 4.25% of its £6.1bn holdings (as at Mar 2016). It also holds investments in companies which fail to balance their focus on profit with the social and environmental responsibilities expected in the modern day. We believe it is morally indefensible to invest in companies that destroy our climate and so leave to our children a world where life as we know it is unsustainable. And that it is financially irresponsible to invest in such a high risk sector where the experts agree that the assets are currently wildly overstated and where share prices are certain to plummet.

Last week, as the European Games begin in Baku, I was detained in Azerbaijan for speaking out against the fossil fuel funded Azeri regime. I was lucky, I was released. There are over 100 people facing years in Azeri jails - activists, journalists, filmmakers, academics and lawyers - anyone who criticises the regime. People like Rasul Jafarov. Rasul is a young, charismatic activist who founded the Sport for Rights campaign. He planned highlight the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan during the Games, however a few weeks after starting the campaign Rasul himself became a political prisoner. The Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline will keep the repressive Aliyev regime in power by ensuring that fossil fuel revenues keep flowing to the country's ruling elite. The EBRD's loan to Lukoil will further entrench the Aliyev regime, buying them influence and money and making it making it even harder for those organising for democracy in Azerbaijan. The Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline is also a disaster for the climate. It will lock Europe into fossil fuels for the next fifty years and pump over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. If Europe is to avert the worst impacts of climate change, both at home and elsewhere, we must stop this pipeline. On 22 July the EBRD needs to say no to funding the Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline and send a signal to the growing resistance along the route of the pipeline that the era of fossil fuels is coming to an end.

We need to stand up and demand that governments and energy producers respect the fundamental right to breathe clean air and not see it as a threat to their profits. Coal-fired power plants speed up global warming by filling the atmosphere with vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Coal burning leads to acid rain and smog, and emits more than 60 different hazardous air pollutants such as a variety of toxic metals, organic compounds, acid gases, sulfur, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and particulate matter. Coal is an obsolete energy source that is already being phased out by renewable energy technologies.

Ozamiznons are up against a big fight. And this time it is about their survival. It is about the future of their generation. It is about surviving amidst the daily challenges they are facing. Sometime last year, 2014, concerned Ozamiznons were dipped into troubling hot waters. Concerned citizens and environmentalist who were familiar with the impacts and deleterious effect of coal fired power plants were anxious because of the Ozamiz City Government’s green light on the project. Ozamiz City is a component city of Misamis Occidental and is located right in the mouth of the rich Panguil Bay. It has a population of 133,105 last 2013 census and 123,137 households. Majority of the population still relies on forestry, agriculture and marine resources for livelihood and survival. A stakeholders’ dialogue happened last April 22, 2013. However not much of the information were revealed aside from assurances that there was no agreement yet entered into by City Government. But right now concerned citizens complained about too much secrecy surrounding the proposed project. Even members of city council were not apprised. Worst, the provincial government of Misamis Occidental was not even consulted. The negative impacts of coal fired power plant have been well document. A study commissioned by Greenpeace “Burning Our Future”, detailed about presence of mercury, a deadly neurotoxin in the fly ash samples taken from the 600-MW coal-fired power plant of Calaca, Batangas. Greenpeace challenged the Philippine government to conduct its own testing. What happened was earth shattering. Mercury was detected and even far worse than Greenpeace tests. The Calaca plant was described by Philippine Senator Sergio Osmeña III as “an environmental disaster I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” quote the Greenpeace Report. But the most fatal of the impacts of coal ash is the 35 kilometer radius death zone from power plant. The May 2005 study made by W.F.Donahue, et al, of the Department of Biological Research of the University of Alberta, proves metallic concentrations of mercury, copper, lead, arsenic and selenium have increased 1.2 to 4 fold in areas located within the 35 km radius. Ozamiz City is a small city and all its barangays is within the 35 km radius death zone from host Barangay Pulot. This Earth Day, let us remember the Ozamiznons assertion of the right to health and secured future. Let us all unite with all affected people to tell the City Government of Ozamiz to reject the coal fired power plant. Let us support the call of the Ozamiznons “ DON’T ROB US AND OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN OUR FUTURE”. Let us hear their cry or else it will be too late.

Gov. Christie’s administration just cut a surprise deal in lawsuit against Exxon for decades of toxic contamination -- virtually getting the wealthiest oil company in the world off the hook for $8 billion in damages to communities and wetlands. If you look at Gov. Christie’s past connections with Exxon, this shadiness isn’t much of a surprise. Exxon contributed ~ $2 million to a group that helped finance his reelection. It’s pure political corruption -- the kind of quid pro quo politics that gives major polluters like Exxon big breaks while road-blocking progress on clean energy and climate, or programs to mitigate the impacts of future storms. And to add insult to injury, it’s unclear whether any of the proposed $250 million settlement would even help the communities Exxon polluted for decades. It’s time to stand up to Big Oil and corrupt politics. It’s unacceptable for Gov. Christie to give big breaks to his wealthiest campaign donors on the backs of families living in storm-damaged homes and with toxic dumps in their back yards. Now is an especially important time to speak up because Gov. Christie still has the power to stop this dirty deal in its tracks. Sign this petition to demand that he hold Exxon accountable for its devastation to New Jersey communities and wetlands.

De onde vem e para onde vai a água utilizada na exploração do gás de xisto? Essas questões geram frequentes polêmicas e debates, uma vez que produtos químicos são utilizados nesse tipo de extração. De acordo com o conselheiro da Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC), o pesquisador Jailson de Andrade, ainda faltam estudos criteriosos sobre o assunto. Andrade alerta, sobretudo, para a carência de informações que identifiquem onde as jazidas de gás natural estão localizadas e se estão perto de aquíferos importantes. “Os estudos realizados até agora são contestados. Não se sabe para onde vai a água contaminada por produtos químicos utilizados na exploração do gás. Ainda não há uma experiência no Brasil que possa se tomar como base. Falta informação”, diz. Apesar de os dados ainda serem imprecisos, existem companhias ansiosas por entrarem em processos licitatórios de exploração do gás de xisto no Brasil, e outras vislumbrando lucros para despoluir a água e as áreas porventura afetadas pela sua extração. O pesquisador observa, no entanto, que não há tecnologia para despoluir os aquíferos, caso eles sejam atingidos. Para Andrade, esse é um dos pontos cruciais a serem resolvidos. “A exploração do gás de xisto sem critério afetará a água sob nosso solo, já que a rocha a ser fraturada (o folhelho Irati) encontra-se a algumas centenas de metros abaixo do aquífero Guarani, na bacia geológica do Paraná”, detalhou. O Guarani é uma das maiores reservas subterrâneas de água doce do mundo. Tem a capacidade de abastecer, de forma sustentável, muitos milhões de habitantes, com trilhões de metros cúbicos de água doce por ano. No Brasil, está no subsolo dos estados de São Paulo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. Na visão de parlamentares, estudiosos e pesquisadores, essa riqueza pode estar ameaçada por uma enorme pressão econômica, a exemplo do que já ocorre nos Estados Unidos. A exploração de xisto utiliza o método de fraturação hidráulica, chamado em inglês de “fracking”. Trata-se de injeção de toneladas de água, sob altíssima pressão, misturada com areia e produtos químicos, com o objetivo de quebrar a rocha e liberar o gás nela aprisionado. Nos EUA, 90% dos poços de gás de xisto são perfurados com a utilização dessa técnica. Esse tipo de extração utiliza vinte vezes mais recursos hídricos do que as técnicas convencionais. Com isso, as pequenas cidades norte-americanas nos arredores dos poços de gás de xisto enfrentaram problemas de falta d’água para consumo e agricultura, além da contaminação dos aquíferos subterrâneos e das reservas de água potável. Mas a falta de água não é o único problema. Destacam-se ainda, a excessiva circulação de caminhões, a injeção de fluidos que provocam pequenos abalos sísmicos, a ausência de regulamentação, a presença na água de pequenas quantidades de produtos químicos e metais pesados cancerígenos, bem como a acumulação de metano, que pode provocar explosões. “Há um estudo da National Academy of Science, nos Estados Unidos, que mostra que, em 141 poços de água potável na Pensilvânia, quanto mais próximo de áreas de exploração de gás não convencional, maior a quantidade de metano (tóxico e inflamável) na água”, informou Jailson. “A controvérsia na literatura é se isso já existia antes ou se é resultado da perfuração para obtenção de gás”, observou Andrade. Nomenclatura equivocada – Há uma longa e equivocada tradição brasileira de se chamar o folhelho (shale) de xisto (schist). Apesar disso, os especialistas esclarecem que é incorreto chamar o gás de folhelho de gás de xisto: “O xisto é uma rocha metamórfica que sofreu grandes transformações geológicas, não possibilitando a geração de gás; o folhelho, por sua vez, é uma rocha sedimentar com grande quantidade de matéria orgânica que dá origem ao gás”, explica Jailson Andrade. O gás de folhelho, encontrado em áreas de permeabilidade relativa e também chamado de “gás de xisto”, é um dos três tipos de gases não convencionais cuja ocorrência não está associada a bolsões de gás armazenados a partir das camadas de petróleo. Estas produzem o gás fóssil convencional, encontrado na plataforma continental e em outras regiões do Brasil. Os demais gases não convencionais são o confinado (tight gas), com ocorrência em rochas impermeáveis ou de baixa permeabilidade, e o metano associado a camadas de carvão. Camila Cotta, especial para o Jornal da Ciência/SBPC EcoDebate, 14/08/2014

Utrecht University facilitates some of the best research institutes on sustainable development and climate change in the world, and supplies its students with top-ranking education on the topics. Additionally, it opened the Green Office Utrecht in 2013 to create a platform for students and staff where sustainable ideas are shaped, plans are put together, and projects are launched; all with the objective of making the University more sustainable. Yet Utrecht University and its employees are still contributing to climate change indirectly. Utrecht University invests in the fossil fuel industry indirectly through Rabobank, and its staff and faculty do so through the pension fund ABP, which holds over 33 million euro in fossil fuel investments, in companies in like Shell. Investments in fossil fuel companies are morally wrong, because they endanger the future of people and our planet and block the transition to a sustainable energy network. These investments are not only unethical, but also risky. To achieve the UN’s target of keeping global temperature rise below 2°C, around 80% of the fossil fuel reserves currently mapped can never be burnt. Leading research warns of the ‘Carbon Bubble’, much like the Dot-Com Bubble of the 90s, where fossil fuel investments will quickly lose their value as a result of global climate change policy. The ‘Carbon Bubble’ poses a risk for the University’s financial health and that of its employees’ pensions.

President Tong’s country, the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, is one of the first places to confront sea level rise and other devastating real-life consequences of climate change. President Tong is worthy of the Nobel Peace prize because he plays a significant and constructive role in meeting the challenges of climate change by taking every opportunity to help create a new understanding of global warming in industrialised nations. President Tong has joined with other leaders of Small Island States to lobby for the United Nations to address Climate Change as a threat to the security of the world’s people. He has shown himself a builder of peace and reconciliation by continually striving to strengthen co-operation between nations and encouraging dialogue at international forums. He promotes protection of the environment as a means of advancing peace and harmony among nations. From the assemblies of the United Nations to meetings of world leaders he has provided an inspirational example of principled non-violent leadership. After the failure of Copenhagen in 2009, President Tong organized the Tarawa Climate Change Conference which brought together small islands states and large polluting nations to find common agreement, now enshrined in the Ambo Declaration of 2010. In addition, under his leadership Kiribati has designated and is working towards the establishment of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). It will be among the world’s largest environmentally protected areas. Both the Ambo Declaration and the PIPA demonstrate his leadership in showing that small nations can lead the world in taking effective action on climate change. More recently, President Tong’s leadership in setting up the Coalition of Atoll Nations, bringing the frontline most vulnerable states together, is evidence that President Tong is a catalyst the world needs now in the lead up to the climate conference in Paris in December 2015.

Those we have elected are failing the Australian people and they are failing the natural world. They are allowing the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of sea creatures and the ruin of undersea habitats. We demand our Governments manage natural resources and the global commons solely in the best interests of present and future citizens. Our oceans should not be exploited by individual nations or corporations but held in trust for the benefit of all and for future generations.

Kia Kaha Dunedin City Council Dunedin City Councillors will vote whether to divest from fossil fuels sometime between April-May 2015. Oil Free Otago strongly support our Councillors and urge them to do the right thing for our climate and our future. The DCC voted in May 2014 to endorse a policy direction to develop a Socially Responsible Investment Policy for its Waipori Fund, which would intend to exclude direct investment in fossil fuel extraction, tobacco, armaments, gambling and pornography. The DCC is currently writing up a document to be presented to Council for a final vote, confirming whether Dunedin will truly become the first New Zealand city to divest from fossil fuels. Kia kaha DCC! Be the first NZ city to Divest from Fossil Fuels! We support you! Sign this petition supporting DCC's vote to divest! Like & Share on Facebook: Dunedin Divests! Write to the DCC ([email protected]) to express how important it is that the motion to divest be adopted! Contact [email protected] to get involved! Check out who's already divested: http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/

We value our state and want to maintain our beautiful towns, nature, and liberties. This pipeline is contrary to these ideals.

West Virginia recently adopted new education standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed to provide comprehensive, research-based science education that includes climate change -- but not before sneaking in some shocking alterations. The new standards, altered last minute at Board member Wade Linger’s request, cast doubt on climate change as a settled science. If the Board goes through with the new standards, West Virginia kids will get a dose of climate denial in their classrooms -- all because one Board member doesn’t believe in human-induced climate change. All West Virginia kids deserve an accurate, 21st-century education, and they shouldn’t have to learn false science based on standards that contain blatant errors and misrepresent the scientific consensus on climate change. There’s still time for the Board of Education to fix its errors, because the new standards won’t go into effect until next year. Sign this petition to tell the Board to correct all information related to climate change in the new standards for K-12 students in West Virginia -- and give kids the education they deserve. For more info: Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Huffington Post: http://buff.ly/1x4Zsph Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Salon: http://buff.ly/1x4ZkpN