SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
February, 21 2022, 06:48am EDT
Contact:
Christine Mbithi
Email: christine.mbithi@350.org
Climate activists welcome green energy transition funding for Africa, in EU-Africa investment package
Following the EU-AU summit last week, climate activists have cautiously welcomed the announcement of the over EUR 150 billion EU-AU Global Gateway investment package, part of which is intended to support a just transition to green energy and climate resilience in Africa. They have expressed a need for clarity on the details of how the fund will be disbursed, the terms and timelines for the implementation of these plans. The funds come at a time when African nations are experiencing more severe and frequent climate impacts, despite contributing the least to the climate crisis.
AFRICA
Following the EU-AU summit last week, climate activists have cautiously welcomed the announcement of the over EUR 150 billion EU-AU Global Gateway investment package, part of which is intended to support a just transition to green energy and climate resilience in Africa. They have expressed a need for clarity on the details of how the fund will be disbursed, the terms and timelines for the implementation of these plans. The funds come at a time when African nations are experiencing more severe and frequent climate impacts, despite contributing the least to the climate crisis. Meanwhile, developed nations are yet to honor climate finance pledges of $100bn a year to developing nations, aimed at supporting adaptation to and mitigation against climate change.
Landry Ninteretse of 350Africa.org said,
"We welcome the move to support a just energy transition in Africa, away from fossil fuels towards sustainable, clean, energy solutions that also cater to the needs of fossil dependent workers. Africa has very urgent climate challenges and priorities. The type of climate action the continent needs should support human-centered development and economic diversification and transformation based on sustainable green solutions. It is crucial that clarity is offered on how much will be dedicated to this energy transition as well as concrete terms, plans and timelines for the funding, in order to ensure that the goal is indeed achieved. Additionally, as the EU pledges to support a green energy transition in Africa, some EU governments, such as France continue the development of fossil fuels infrastructure such as the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). This hypocrisy and contradictions have to stop."
Daouda Gueye of RAPEN, a network of organizations fighting against coal and gas in Bargny, Senegal said,
"Plans for a green energy transition in Africa should not include development of new gas infrastructure, as some African countries intend to do. Plans by some African nations to replace coal projects with gas plants, such as the Bargny coal plant in Senegal, are ill-advised and will only serve to lock Africans into fossil fuel dependence. The effects of fossil fuels, which have heightened global heating are being experienced across the continent in the form of devastating climate impacts. We will continue to put up a joint, spirited fight, to hold our governments to account on issues of coal and gas. African governments have to take action to move away from all polluting fossil fuels, gas included, and instead invest heavily in clean energy for the sake of the environment and local communities."
Apart from an energy transition and climate resilience in Africa, the over EUR150 billion Global Gateway Investment package is also meant to fund the Great Green wall initiative aimed at supporting greening of the Sahel, improving climate resilience in the area, in order to restore dignified and sustainable living conditions. Other areas of support featured in the investment package include education, digital transition, health and infrastructure.
The EU-AU which took place in Brussels, Belgium, saw the EU and AU commit to a joint vision for a "renewed partnership" aimed at addressing immediate opportunities and challenges for both regions.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
LATEST NEWS
As Oligarchy Pours $400 Million Into Pro-Collins Ads, Platner Says: 'Ban Billionaires From Buying Elections'
"People in Maine are tired of establishment status quo politics," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "They want to take on the billionaire class and fight for REAL change."
Jun 15, 2026
"Republicans are worried," said US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday, referring to Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner's historic primary victory in Maine last week, as local reports in the state pointed to a spending blitz as five-term GOP Sen. Susan Collins tries to hold on to her seat in the high-stakes election.
The Senate race in Maine could determine the balance of power in the Senate, and with primary voters showing clear enthusiasm for political newcomer Platner—who won the most votes in a Democratic primary in the state's history—overall spending in the race could reach an estimated $384 million, with the majority spent by pro-Collins groups, according to the media tracking company AdImpact.
If the firm's projections are accurate, the Maine Senate race could be the fourth-most expensive in the country this election cycle, after far more populous states including Texas, Michigan, and Georgia.
In response to the report, Platner said he plans to "defeat" the pro-Collins groups—and then end the campaign finance system that allows billionaires to buy elections.
One political writer based in Maine, Anthony Emerson, reported that the spending blitz was already evident over the weekend during the World Cup and Stanley Finals Cup games.
"Every single ad break had an attack ad on Platner or a Collins ad," said Emerson. "Saw only a handful of pro-Platner/anti-Collins."
Maine is home to just 1.4 million people, meaning that an election spending total of nearly $400 million would be equivalent to about $400 per registered voter, said journalist Alex Seitz-Wald of The Midcoast Villager.
Collins-aligned groups have already booked about $100 million in ads through Election Day, including dark money groups such as One Nation and Pine Tree Results Political Action Committee (PAC).
Those groups have booked more than $46 million combined in advertisements like a Pine Tree Results-funded attack ad against Platner that aired in April, seizing on comments the Democratic candidate made in 2013 on Reddit about sexual assault.
Along with Wall Street CEOs Stephen Schwarzman and Paul Singer and Palantir executive Alex Karp, the pro-Collins super PAC counts among its donors Republican legal activist Leonard Leo and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. Leo gave at least $1 million to Pine Tree Results PAC, while Griffin, who recently criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his tax on second homes, donated $2.5 million to the group.
According to The Maine Monitor, nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have donated nearly $10 million total to pro-Collins groups since the beginning of 2025.
The spending blitz by outside groups comes as Platner has proven to be a formidable fundraiser, bringing in about $16 million as of May compared with about $12 million for Collins.
Platner's campaign has nearly $350,000 in ads booked through Election Day, while Collins is so far largely relying on the PACs that are aligned with her to run attack ads against her opponent.
Groups including Majority Forward, Unrig Our Economy, and Duty and Honor have spent about $11 million combined on ads promoting Platner's campaign, which is focusing on his support of Medicare for All; his demand that the government invest money in schools, healthcare, and communities instead of pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the military each year; and his call for a billionaires' minimum tax.
Platner's platform also includes a call to "ban billionaires buying elections," by passing a constitutional amendment to overturn the US Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which struck down a centuries-old ban on corporate "independent" spending on elections—money that doesn't go directly to a candidate or party—allowing corporations and super PACs to spend unlimited amounts to help their preferred candidates.
"We have individuals spending tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars on political campaigns, a scheme of legalized bribery and vote-buying that drowns out the voices of regular people, effectively replacing what we used to call democracy," reads Platner's website. "Under this system, the prospects for any meaningful reform are grim. We must throw out of Washington any politician who will not commit to passing a constitutional amendment to ban billionaires buying elections!"
Journalist Zaid Jilani concurred with Sanders (I-Vt.) that Republicans appear concerned about Platner's momentum, saying their plan to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a small state does not seem like the strategy of a party that thinks "they have it in the bag."
Sanders expressed confidence that the money flowing into Maine will be no match for Platner's engagement with voters and his focus on issues that affect working people in the state.
"People in Maine are tired of establishment status quo politics," said Sanders. "They want to take on the billionaire class and fight for REAL change."
Keep ReadingShow Less
ICE Agent Shoots at Fleeing Car During Arrest Attempt in New Jersey
"ICE shows up, and nothing but chaos.”
Jun 15, 2026
This is a developing story… Please check back for updates…
Less than a week after Republicans in Congress passed $70 billion in new funding for President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, an immigration agent reportedly shot at a fleeing vehicle in New Jersey on Monday.
According to the police department of Stafford Township, Immigration and Customs Enforcement "was attempting to apprehend a suspect when the suspect fled from the scene in a vehicle, striking [an ICE agent]" on Monday morning around 9:30 am near a Wawa convenience store.
ICE identified the suspect as a Peruvian national, Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, whom the agency said was given a final order of removal on January 30. Aside from describing him as an "illegal alien," ICE provided no other information about his background or any criminal history.
On June 15, 2026, ICE law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Manahawkin, New Jersey to arrest Freidrich Castillo-Ormeno, an illegal alien from Peru who was released into our country under the Biden administration. He was given a final order of removal…
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 15, 2026
"The agent discharged his firearm at the vehicle, reportedly striking it," the Stafford police said. "The suspect fled the scene in the vehicle and has not been located at this time." Onlookers told NBC 10 Philadelphia that bullets struck the driver's van and may have blown out the back window.
The police added that “the agent reportedly sustained unknown injuries." According to Patch, officers went to the scene and performed first aid on the agent before transporting him for further treatment. Sources told NBC 10 Philadelphia that he is expected to make a full recovery.
"It is unknown if the suspect was injured at this time," the Stafford police said, adding that although Castillo-Ormeno fled the scene, “there is no reason to believe there is any concern for the public’s safety.”
Under the Department of Homeland Security's use-of-force policy, agents are not supposed to shoot at fleeing vehicles unless the officer believes they are at imminent risk of death or serious physical injury.
ICE said Castillo-Ormeno "weaponized his vehicle and struck an officer, resulting in the officer discharging his weapon."
According to Patch, local police are not conducting an investigation into the incident, and all further updates will come from the FBI.
Under Trump, the US Department of Justice has faced criticism for locking state and local investigators out of investigations into the shootings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year and spreading false information to justify their deaths.
Minnesota became the center of a national wave of resistance to ICE that ultimately pushed federal immigration agencies to retreat on some of their most extreme tactics, though the mass deportation push against immigrants largely without criminal histories has not subsided.
New Jersey has met ICE with its own share of pushback. Last month, US Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) was pepper-sprayed by federal agents outside the privately run Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark. Demonstrators had shown up in solidarity with hundreds of detainees who had gone on a hunger and labor strike to protest the squalid conditions in the facility, and protests have continued for weeks.
Although Stafford Township is overwhelmingly Republican, The Daily Beast found that in the immediate aftermath of Monday's reported shooting, some residents in a local Facebook group were wary about the tumult that ICE's presence could bring.
"Immigrants have been in Stafford for decades with no problems,” one resident wrote in a local Facebook group where the incident is being discussed. “They are respectful and hardworking. ICE shows up, and nothing but chaos.”
“Who shoots at a van?" wrote another Stafford resident, who added that "[ICE] training is brutal."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Like an Obedient Servant': Indian Opposition Blasts Modi's Response to US Killing of Sailors
One Indian politician called President Donald Trump "a cowardly, cold-blooded murderer" and vowed he "will be held accountable for the Indian lives lost."
Jun 15, 2026
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking heat from his political opponents for his response to the deaths of three ship workers who were killed in the Gulf of Oman last week by US forces as part of President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran.
Fury in India has only grown over the past few days as the US has refused to apologize for the deaths of the three men, who were killed by missile strikes as they were working aboard commercial oil tankers.
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition National Congress Party, took to social media on Sunday to blast Modi, leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, for remaining "silent" over the killing of the sailors by the US.
"Just days after the murder of three Indian sailors in American attacks—no remorse, no apology," wrote Gandhi, who accused Modi and his allies of behaving "like an obedient servant" by not confronting the Trump administration over the incident.
Indian politician Arvind Kejriwal, who previously served as the chief minister of Delhi, vowed that Trump "will be held accountable for the Indian lives lost," going so far as to call the US president "a cowardly, cold-blooded murderer."
"It is unfortunate that PM Modi remains silent," Kejriwal added, "but soon, India will have a strong prime minister who will make you pay for your misdeeds."
Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor took aim at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for emphasizing, in the wake of the killings, that all ships operating around the Strait of Hormuz "should immediately comply with orders from US forces" or else risk becoming targets.
"Deeply shocking to read this official US statement, which contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives," wrote Tharoor. "How can a 'friend' and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive?"
Tharoor added that "practically every merchant ship navigating these crucial waters has Indian crew on board," and asked whether they are "all considered fair fame for US missiles now?"
The US Central Command claimed last week that the ship where the three slain Indian crew members worked "repeatedly refused to comply with directions from American forces," after which US aircraft "fired precision munitions into the ship's engine room."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular