Post Tags: activism

European Public Service Union – Food & Water Europe – European Water Movement

 

Trade Unions and Civil Society Welcome the Introduction of the Human Right to Water into the Constitution of Slovenia

foodandwatereuropesloveniawaterBrussels, 18 November 2016 – Last night the National Assembly of Slovenia passed an amendment to its Constitution to include a new article that recognizes the Human Right to Water. The amendment affirms water should be treated as a public good managed by the state, not as a commodity, and that drinking water must be supplied by the public sector in a non-for-profit basis. It is a great success for Slovenian activists  and people.

“Citizens from across the EU and Europe have successfully mobilized to have the right to water and sanitation recognized as a human right – as decided by the United Nations – and have this put into EU law. The European Commission continues to ignore nearly two million voices of the first ever successful European Citizens Initiative. Commissioner Vella should listen to citizens and follow the Slovenian example as soon as possible,” said Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary.

Water is a controversial topic in Slovenia, as foreign companies from the food and beverage industry are buying rights to a large amount of local water resources. The Slovenian government has raised concerns about the impacts of free trade agreements like CETA (between Canada and the European Union) in its capacity to control and regulate these resources (1).

“Trade agreements and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms can limit the ability of states to take back public control over water resources when foreign investors are involved, as it is the case in Slovenia. To guarantee the right to water and the control over this key resource, the European and the Slovenian Parliaments should reject CETA when it comes to a vote in the coming months,” said David Sánchez, Director of Food & Water Europe.

The amendment is the result of a citizens’ initiative that collected 51.000 signatures to propose a constitutional amendment (2).

‘We welcome the introduction of the human right to water in the Slovenian constitution, as the great result of a citizens’ initiative. Now civil society should be vigilant to guarantee a democratic and transparent management of the integrated water cycle founded in the participation of citizens and workers,” said Jutta Schütz, speakperson at the European Water Movement.

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Notes

  • The Slovenian government raised concerns about the ambiguity of terms like “commercial use of a water source” in CETA, how the agreement applies to existing water rights and the future ability of national governments to put limits on concessions already granted without being subject to claim under ICS, among others.

Contact: 

Jutta Schütz, Speakperson, European Water Movement, +49 (0) 157 390 808 39 (mobile), [email protected]

David Sánchez, Director, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 485 842 604 (mobile), dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

Guillaume Durivaux, Policy officer, EPSU, +32 (0) 22501041, [email protected]

 

 

 

EU-Parliament Welcomes Fracked US LNG and Ridicules Paris Agreement

Brussels, 25 October 2016 – Today, a majority of 415 to 223 MEPs (55 abstentions) approved the report on an “EU strategy on LNG and gas storage”, drafted by EPP MEP András Gyürk.

Only a few days before the global Paris Agreement will enter into force, the European Parliament takes a worrying decision by welcoming the import of fracked US gas and a further lock-in to fossil fuel investments – with European tax money. Given that gas infrastructure is already heavily underused, this will result in numerous cases of stranded assets and even more European LNG overcapacities.

LNG – with its significant share of methane emissions and the disastrous impacts of fracked fossil fuels – is not a climate- or environmentally-friendly solution at all. Our planet reacts much more quickly to reductions of methane emissions, which will be crucial in order to keep global warming under control.

“The EU will not be able to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement by calling for the extraction of more fossil fuels and the expansion of gas infrastructure – while at the same time disregarding energy efficiency and renewables,” said Frida Kieninger, Campaigns Officer at Food & Water Europe.

The report also puts a particular focus on the import of LNG from the United States.”Two thirds of US gas is obtained through fracking. While several EU Member States declared moratoria or bans on fracking, it is cynical to push for the import of fracked gas from abroad at the same time”, said Frida Kieninger, “We need a clear commitment at the EU and Member State level to transition now to a decarbonized future in line with the Paris Agreement.”

Contact:
Frida Kieninger tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)4 872 49 905, fkieninger(at)fweurope(dot)org

Governments and Social Movements Concerned about the Impact of CETA on Water

Brussels – As the EU Council and the European Parliament are about to vote on the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA, or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), more questions have been raised about its impact on water as a resource and on water services. In response to a list of questions raised by the Slovenian Government to the European Commission (1), European and Canadian organizations sent a letter to EU governments raising their own concerns (2).

David Sánchez, a campaigner with Food & Water Europe said: “CETA will open the door to corporate water grabs, and push further commodification of water resources. It also creates new legal uncertainty for public authorities delivering water services.”

The EU and Canada are discussing a draft “Joint Interpretative Declaration” to be published at the time of signature of CETA. The aim would be to clarify the most controversial parts of the agreement. In the leaked first drafts possible impacts on water are denied (3).

Jutta Schutz from the European Water Movement added: “The European Commission and Canada had time enough to take water out of the treaty. Instead, they introduced dangerous provisions written in fuzzy legal terms that will only be clarified when decisions from public authorities are challenged in court. The draft joint declaration is legally uncertain and just a bad joke. If we want to consider water as a commons, and access to water as a Human Right, we need to reject CETA.”

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Notes

  1. The Slovenian government raised concerns about the ambiguity of terms like “commercial use of a water source”, how the agreement applies to existing water rights and the future ability of national governments to put limits on concessions already granted without being subject to claim under ICS, among others. The document can be found here.
  2. The letter from Food & Water Europe, the Council of Canadians, the European Water Movement, Blue Planet Project and Wasser in Bürgerhand can be found in this link.
  3. A leaked draft can be checked here.

Contact:

David Sánchez, campaigner, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 485 842 604 (mobile), dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

Jutta Schultz, Speakperson, European Water Movement / Wasser in Bürgerhand, +49 (0) 157 390 808 39 (mobile)

Fracking and the Food System

Categories

WaterFood

FoodandWaterEuropeFrackingFoodThe oil and gas industry likes to promote fracking as a boon to farmers and rural communities, but the dream often turns into a nightmare. In the United States, fracking has polluted water wells, sickened people and livestock, and reduced available farmland — proving that fracking and a healthy food system are not compatible.

As seen in the United States, the rapid expansion of oil and gas fracking has created significant environmental and public health problems.

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Many of these problems are inherent to the practice and cannot be avoided through regulation, which is why fracking should be banned.

Find out more about why we need to:

  • Move past the false promises of the oil and gas industry
  • Invest in economic development in rural communities that safeguards our food and water
  • Develop policies that allow farmers to make a fair living farming on their land, rather than resorting to leasing their farms for polluting energy production.

Mention of Fossil Fuels Absent from COP Agreement

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

Paris and Washington, D.C. – “This agreement coming out of the Paris COP falls far short of what is needed to actually address our climate crisis. The science is clear: We need to take swift and bold action if we are to have any chance of preventing the worst impacts of climate change, yet this agreement does not contain the mandates and funding to make this happen. It doesn’t mention the words ‘oil’, ‘gas’ or ‘fossil fuels’ at all-all of which we must swiftly transition away from to avert climate crisis. There is overwhelming support across the United States and throughout the world for bold action to address our planetary crisis. Communities need to continue organizing and holding their elected officials accountable so that they ultimately deliver the solutions we all need.”

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

Food & Water Europe Echoes Calls to Allow Peaceful Protests in France During COP21

Statement from Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

Brussels: – “Food & Water Europe supports our French and European allies in calling for the peaceful mobilizations to go forward in Paris around the UN climate talks. Prohibiting public demonstrations undermines the legitimacy of the negotiations, and reduces the chances that meaningful agreements will be made at a time when our climate crisis needs maximum global attention. It is our hope that the French government will reconsider and allow peaceful mobilizations, and that the civil liberties of all participants will be ensured.

“The safety of Parisians, climate activists who would take part in such actions, and participants in the negotiations of course must be taken seriously in light of the tragic events of this past month, but cancelling all demonstrations severely hampers public participation, sends the wrong message.

“While taking some action on climate, President Obama and other global leaders have yet to take even close to strong enough action to stop the Earth’s climate from reaching the tipping point. We desperately need swift and bold measures if we are to have any chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate chaos. This needs to be done now, and for this to happen the ability of the global community to make their voices heard in Paris needs to be preserved.

“We hope that the French government will reverse its decision, but regardless, Food & Water Europe and our allies will be there, participating in meetings, panel discussions, reaching out to the media, and pressuring our elected leaders to keep fossil fuels in the ground, to ban fracking, and to move beyond dirty energy and towards public policies that require an immediate move to a sustainable energy future, including massive investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.”

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org