May, 17 2018, 12:00am EDT
In Haspel Confirmation, US Moves Beyond Impunity to Reward Torture
Reacting to news that Gina Haspel was confirmed for the role of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated:
"For more than a decade, the United States has failed to ensure truth, accountability, and access to remedy for victims of official US torture and enforced disappearance. But now, the US has gone further. The Senate has now rewarded that atrocious conduct by promoting someone that reportedly administered it to lead one of the government's most powerful agencies.
WASHINGTON
Reacting to news that Gina Haspel was confirmed for the role of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated:
"For more than a decade, the United States has failed to ensure truth, accountability, and access to remedy for victims of official US torture and enforced disappearance. But now, the US has gone further. The Senate has now rewarded that atrocious conduct by promoting someone that reportedly administered it to lead one of the government's most powerful agencies.
"We already knew from the 2014 Senate torture report that it was more than just 'a few bad apples' supporting brutality in the CIA interrogation program. But the Senate has just confirmed that it will tolerate rot at our government's core by elevating someone linked to those atrocities to now lead the US intelligence agency.
"This confirmation suggests we have learned nothing from a decade of shameful policies that stripped away human dignity and freedom and undermined the international rule of law.
"Amnesty International will continue to work to ensure that the CIA never revives its illegal torture program, and doesn't outsource abusive interrogations to others, either. "
This statement can be found at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/amnesty-international-usa-in-haspel-confirmation-us-moves-beyond-impunity-to-reward-torture
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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'Crunch Time at COP28': Latest Draft Still Has Loopholes, Omits 'Just' Fossil Fuel Phaseout
As the newest Global Stocktake draft was released, an OPEC letter showed oil-producing companies are fearful that the world is getting closer to phasing out fossil fuels.
Dec 08, 2023
Reviewing the latest draft of the Global Stocktake regarding the climate emergency out of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, campaigners on Friday noted that negotiators left in numerous loopholes that would allow the fossil fuel industry to continue polluting, while eliminating one option for a clause that appeared to call for a just transition toward renewable energy.
The new draft is the result of three more days of negotiations since the last version of the Global Stocktake (GST) was released on Tuesday, when advocates warned policymakers appeared insistent on including a call for "abatement" of fossil fuel emissions—meaning further development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, which have so far failed to deliver the emissions-reduction results promised by proponents.
The latest version of the document includes four options for a paragraph that would address the future of fossil fuel use in the remaining years of this decade.
The options that remain in the draft are:
- A phaseout of fossil fuels in line with best available science;
- A phasing out of fossil fuels in line with best available science, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 1.5°C pathways and the principles and provisions of the Paris agreement;
- A phaseout of unabated fossil fuels recognizing the need for a peak in their consumption in this decade and underlining the importance for the energy sector to be predominantly free of fossil fuels well ahead of 2050; and
- No text regarding changes to fossil fuel use.
Negotiators crossed out an option that would call for "an orderly and just phaseout of fossil fuels."
"There is some good stuff in there, but still too many dangerous distractions," said 350.org on social media. "We must agree [to] a fair and fast phaseout of fossil fuels and to triple renewable energies by 2030!"
The draft suggested that many policymakers remain committed to calling for a phaseout of "unabated" fossil fuel emissions—those that are not "captured" and stored underground or under the seabed before they hit they atmosphere.
As Common Dreamsreported Friday, more than 470 lobbyists representing carbon capture and storage interests and companies are in attendance at COP28—along with more than 2,400 lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry, which has openly supported CCS as a solution that would allow oil, gas, and coal giants to continue operating.
Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program, said world leaders must take their "historic opportunity to secure a global agreement to phase out fossil fuels in line with what the science shows is necessary to meet critical climate goals."
"It's crunch time at COP28," Cleetus told Common Dreams. "The latest draft of the Global Stocktake text includes several potential options, with varying degrees of ambition. Now, it's time to reach consensus on a final outcome that is true to the science, includes near- and long-term benchmarks, has no loopholes, and has an equitable provision of finance to drive a clean energy transition. Countries must take bold action and rise above narrow self-interest and zero-sum political games, as well as the influence of fossil fuel companies, to deliver what people around the world urgently need as climate impacts rapidly worsen."
"The time is now, and the place is Dubai, to finally address the root cause of this global crisis: fossil fuels," said Cleetus.
Oil Change International global policy manager Romain Ioualalen said the latest draft left him hopeful that the world has "never been closer to an agreement on a fossil fuel phaseout."
"What that transition will look like will be a fierce battle over the next few days," said Ioualalen. "We are alarmed about some of the options in this text that seem to carve out large loopholes for the fossil fuel industry. These will need to be opposed. The draft is also missing a clear recognition that developed countries will need to phase out faster and provide their fair share of finance, as well as a recognition that the decline of fossil fuel production must start immediately, not in the distant future."
Ghiwa Nakat, executive director of Greenpeace MENA, said the latest draft and "everything so far" at COP28 "has been just a prelude to what we really want to hear—commitment to a just and equitable phaseout of all fossil fuels by mid-century, coupled with key milestones for this critical decade."
While "alternative formulations on fossil fuel phaseout" have never "made it this far into a draft text," said Greenpeace International, "there are still no guarantees on a decision on fossil fuels, so all is in play."
Shortly after the draft was made public, letters from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were leaked to multiple news outlets and made it even more clear that campaigners' fight for a strong final Global Stocktake is not over—but that major fossil fuel producers are growing concerned that COP28 could be a turning point for the industry.
The letters, dated December 6 and signed by OPEC secretary-general and Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham al-Ghais, were sent to members countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Nigeria.
Al-Ghais urged the countries to "proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy, i.e. fossil fuels, rather than emissions."
"These letters show that fossil fuel interests are starting to realize that the writing is on the wall for dirty energy," Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, toldThe Guardian. "Climate change is killing poor people around the globe and these petrostates don't want COP28 to phase out fossil fuels because it will hurt their short-term profits. It's shameful."
While the draft text "offers hope with several options for a phaseout of fossil fuels," said Cansın Leylim, associate director of global campaigns for 350.org, fossil fuel lobbyists are still "trying to block progress" at COP28.
"OPEC needs to get with the program or move out of the way of our just transition to a 100% renewable energy powered future," said Leylim. "The spotlight is now on the COP28's presidency and if they will broker a deal for a just transition or instead align themselves with the oil industry."
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300+ Groups Appeal to US at COP28: End All Support of LNG
The coalition charged that "the explosion of LNG exports from the U.S." is "an especially egregious move considering that the United States has already used up far more than its fair share."
Dec 08, 2023
With less than a week left of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, more than 300 groups from over 40 countries on Friday urged the Biden administration to end the permitting of new liquefied natural gas terminals in the United States and cut off diplomatic and financial support for LNG projects abroad.
The coalition began its letter to U.S. President Joe Biden—who is already under fire for skipping the conference—by pointing out that "the United States arrives at the COP28 climate negotiations as both the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas terminals (LNG) and the largest historic greenhouse gas emitter."
"The global expansion of LNG infrastructure is locking in decades of emissions–endangering the health of people and the planet today and for generations to come, exacerbating environmental injustice in historically marginalized communities, and entrenching fossil fuel sacrifice zones," the organizations wrote, specifically highlighting the U.S. Gulf Coast.
"Why must we let LNG poison our waters, destroy biodiversity, and drive us further to climate chaos?"
"The danger is further magnified by the pipeline of proposed projects, such as the mammoth Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana," the coalition stressed, echoing a recent letter from groups representing over 70,000 healthcare workers. "These pending projects threaten to lock in an annual 1,400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions—equivalent to 378 new coal plants."
The letter also emphasizes that "although leakage across the LNG supply chain helps make the fuel substantially worse for the climate than coal, reducing methane is not a silver bullet and risks justifying further industry expansion," and calls for pairing methane reduction pledges "with commitments to completely phase out fossil fuels."
Oil Change International global policy manager Romain Ioualalen—whose group is part of the coalition—noted in a statement Friday that the latest draft COP28 agreement "shows we have never been closer to an agreement on a fossil fuel phaseout. But, what that transition will look like will be a fierce battle over the next few days."
"We are alarmed about some of the options in this text that seem to carve out large loopholes for the fossil fuel industry," he added. "The draft is also missing a clear recognition that developed countries will need to phase out faster and provide their fair share of finance, as well as a recognition that the decline of fossil fuel production must start immediately, not in the distant future."
Other members of the coalition include the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, Extinction Rebellion U.S., Food & Water Watch, Fridays for Future USA, Friends of the Earth International, Global Justice Now, Greenpeace USA, Indigenous Environmental Network, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, and 350.org.
"The explosion of LNG exports from the U.S. represents an extreme grab of the limited carbon budget remaining to constrain global temperature rise to under 1.5°C, an especially egregious move considering that the United States has already used up far more than its fair share," the coalition charged, referring to the Paris agreement's bolder goal.
"Any push for a phaseout of all fossil fuels at COP28 risks falling flat if the world's leading LNG exporter shows no signs of changing course," the letter concludes. "We urge the Biden administration to publicly commit during the COP to no further regulatory, financial, or diplomatic support for LNG in the U.S. or anywhere in the world."
Coalition members echoed that call for action. Krishna Ariola of Youth for Climate Hope Philippines declared that "Southeast Asia is being shaped into an LNG import hub. Lies peddled by countries like Japan, the United States, South Korea, and countries in Europe paint gas as a transition fuel, but our people and environment have paid a steep price."
"In the Philippines, the biodiversity-rich Verde Island Passage hosts the biggest concentration of LNG projects in the country," she continued. "Why must we let LNG poison our waters, destroy biodiversity, and drive us further to climate chaos? The Philippines and Southeast Asia are more than capable of powering our region with renewables at a timeframe compatible to 1.5°C. The mad dash for gas is nothing but a blockade to a renewable energy future."
Roishetta Ozane, founder and director of the Vessel Project of Louisiana, said that "communities like mine in the Gulf South are dying from the Biden administration's failure to stop fossil fuel expansion."
Noting that the Calcasieu Pass 2 facility "would produce the largest volume of LNG ever approved in the United States for export," Ozane argued that "to be on the right side of history, Biden must reject CP2 and all other gas export projects, and support a fast, fair, and full fossil fuel phaseout here at COP28."
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War for Oil Fears Grow as US Holds Military Drills in Guyana Amid Venezuela Dispute
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered to help forge a diplomatic solution, saying, "If there's one thing we don't want here in South America, it's war."
Dec 08, 2023
U.S. forces held joint military drills within Guyanese airspace on Thursday as a longstanding and intensifying territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana sparked fears of war in South America.
At the center of the dispute is Essequibo, an oil-rich region that Guyana has controlled for more than a century. Venezuela has claimed sovereignty over Essequibo for decades, and the two nations agreed in 1966 to resolve the controversy in a way that's "satisfactory" for both sides.
On Sunday, 95% of Venezuelan voters approved a referendum in support of declaring ownership over the disputed territory, and President Nicolás Maduro swiftly "ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region," AFPreported.
"The president also gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions issued by Guyana to halt operations within three months," the outlet added.
Irfaan Ali, Guyana's president, called Maduro's moves a "direct threat" and said his country's military forces are on alert.
"Our first line of defense is diplomacy," Ali said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday. "But we are also preparing for the worst-case scenario... We are preparing with our allies, with our friends, to ensure that we are in a position to defend what is ours."
The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to hold an emergency closed-door meeting on the dispute on Friday at Guyana's request.
"Washington does not have the appetite to deepen its conflict with Venezuela. But ExxonMobil does."
The primary target of Maduro's ultimatum to companies was ExxonMobil, a U.S.-based fossil fuel giant that has made major new oil discoveries in the disputed territory this year. Exxon announced its first oil discovery in Guyana in 2015, and the country's government gave the oil behemoth a green light to drill in disputed waters.
Citing an industry analyst, The Houston Chroniclereported earlier this week that "the roughly 380,000 barrels per day that Exxon produces in Guyana account for roughly 10% of its 4 million barrels per day globally."
"The company plans to expand its production there to more than 1 million barrels per day by the end of the decade," the Chronicle noted.
Escalating tensions over Essequibo have sparked warnings of a possible military conflict in the region. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that "if there's one thing we don't want here in South America, it's war."
"We have been following the development of the Essequibo issue with growing concern," Lula said, expressing his nation's willingness to assist in negotiations for a diplomatic resolution. "We don't need conflict. We need to build peace."
Brazil shares a border with both Venezuela and Guyana. The BBCreported that Brazil deployed troops to its border with Venezuela following Sunday's referendum vote.
On the same day as Lula's remarks, American forces held joint military drills with Guyana that the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said were part of "routine engagement" aimed at enhancing the two nations' "security partnership."
"The U.S. will continue its commitment as Guyana’s trusted security partner and promoting regional cooperation and interoperability," SOUTHCOM added.
Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Venezuela's defense minister, called the drills an "unfortunate provocation" aimed at protecting the interests of ExxonMobil.
"We warn that we will not be diverted from our future actions for the recovery of the Essequibo," Lopez wrote on social media.
Historian Vijay Prashad argued earlier this week that "war does not seem to be on the horizon," given that the U.S. has recently "withdrawn part of its blockade on Venezuela's oil industry, allowing Chevron to restart several oil projects in the Orinoco Belt and in Lake Maracaibo."
"Washington does not have the appetite to deepen its conflict with Venezuela. But ExxonMobil does," Prashad wrote. "Neither the Venezuelan nor the Guyanese people will benefit from ExxonMobil's political intervention in the region. That is why so many Venezuelans who came to cast their vote on December 3 saw this less as a conflict between Venezuela and Guyana and more as a conflict between ExxonMobil and the people of these two South American countries."
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