Tag: Global Witness

New research suggests majority of Europeans favour human rights and environmental protection in face of EU rollback

Stuart Mitchell

New polling by Ipsos reveals that a large majority of people (75%) across 10 European countries think it is important that the European Union (EU) uphold its own environmental laws. The new survey of 10,861 people – commissioned jointly by Amnesty International and Global Witness – also found that around three-quarters of respondents said large companies should be held accountable for human rights (75%) and environmental harm (77%) across their global value chains. The findings come at a time when the EU is considering drastically weakening environmental and human rights…

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Global Witness welcomes four new board members

Stuart Mitchell

Investigative campaigning organisation Global Witness is adding a wealth of new experience to its board of non-executive directors by welcoming four new members. Joining the organisation’s board with immediate effect is climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate, climate leader Rachel Owens, philanthropic advisor and entrepreneur Olaf Hahn and independent consultant and human rights advocate Oliver Hudson. Bios for the new board members can be found below. Mike Davis, Global Witness CEO said: “Global Witness is proud to welcome such a wealth of experience to its board in these four new members.…

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World’s major asset managers shoot down biodiversity resolutions despite soaring investor interest

Stuart Mitchell

Investors filed a record number of biodiversity resolutions in 2024, a new Global Witness analysis reveals – yet none passed*, and all received low levels of support overall. This is largely thanks to US-based asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (SSSA), who were found to have opposed the majority of the biodiversity and deforestation-related resolutions put forward by other shareholders. Published today, the new findings come amid growing concern for nature and biodiversity, with the world losing the equivalent of almost 10 football fields of forest per…

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UK banks poured over £1 billion into ‘forest-risk’ companies since 2022 – defying country’s landmark anti-deforestation pledge

Stuart Mitchell

The UK banking sector has poured over £1 billion ($1.4bn) into “forest-risk” companies globally since COP26, undermining the country’s commitments made at the 2021 Glasgow climate conference – according to new analysis by Global Witness in collaboration with the Forests & Finance coalition. This Global Witness analysis, published recently, is based on new Forest & Finance coalition data prepared by independent research organisation Profundo. The study found that in 2024, UK financiers ranked as the third-largest investors in shares and bonds issued by “forest-risk” companies, behind only the US and…

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