What on Earth?

Busting the myths spread by Big Chemical to keep climate-wrecking refrigerants in play

Climate-damaging F-gases are synthetic substances widely used in refrigeration, air-conditioning and elsewhere.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are the most common and are so harmful that they are to be phased down under the Montreal Protocol and phased out altogether in the EU.

However, the chemical industry is pushing to replace them with a new generation of lucrative products which, although easier on global warming, also come with their own environmental and health concerns …

In this episode, EIA Climate Campaigner Adam Aucock, the author of our new briefing Refrigerant Myth Busting, debunks at some of the misinformation spread by Big Chemical to support its own harmful products and sow distrust over the viability of alternative natural refrigerants.

As UN talks fail to deliver a Global Plastics Treaty, what went wrong in Busan and what’s next?

What was expected to be the fifth and final session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee met in South Korea last month, but ultimately it failed to agree a Global Plastics Treaty.

Instead of cause for celebration, our campaigners came away from the talks concerned that the process had been hijacked by vested financial interests.

In this episode, EIA Ocean Campaign Leader Christina Dixon and Ocean Campaigner Jacob Kean-Hammerson join Senior Press & Communications Officer Paul Newman to talk about what went wrong in Busan and contemplate what may happen next.

INC-5 - Will we get a viable Global Plastics Treaty or will compromise water it down?

The fifth round of talks in pursuit of a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty kicks off in Busan, South Korea shortly — but will we emerge with an agreement capable of tackling the world’s plastic crisis or will vested interests compromise the final vision.

In this episode, EIA Ocean Campaign Leader Christina Dixon and Ocean Campaigner Jacob Kean-Hammerson join Senior Press & Communications Officer Paul Newman for an update on the progress so far and a look ahead to the challenges remaining for negotiators in Busan.

EIA at 40 – ‘EIA helped change the narrative around organised criminality and environmental crime’

In the countdown to EIA’s 40th anniversary in September, as well as sharing films and stories from our archive, we’ve also recorded a short series of new podcasts with some of the longest serving campaigners to get an insight into how the organisation has evolved over four decades.

In this episode, EIA’s Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman talks with Debbie Banks, the leader of EIA UK’s Tigers and Wildlife Crime campaign, about her experiences with EIA over the years and the challenges to come.

Image (c) Elliott Neep / www.elliotneep.com

EIA at 40 – 'You've got to worry about being accused of espionage or something more serious'

In the countdown to EIA’s 40th anniversary later this year, as well as sharing films and stories from our archive, we’ve also recorded a short series of new podcasts with some of the longest serving campaigners to get an insight into how the organisation has evolved over four decades.

In this episode, Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman talks with EIA UK Campaigns Director Julian Newman about his early days in the organisation, from going undercover as a refrigerant trade with an unwieldy camera hidden in a sports bag to night trekking through the forests of Indonesia to expose major illegal logging operations, and looks at the challenges that lie ahead in investigation environmental crime.

EIA at 40 – ‘You can take on the biggest, whether it's the oil industry or illegal logging’

In the countdown to EIA’s 40th anniversary later this year, as well as sharing films and stories from our archive, we’ve also recorded a short series of new podcasts with some of the longest serving campaigners to get an insight into how the organisation has evolved over four decades.

In this episode, EIA’s Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman talks with EIA US Executive Director Alexander von Bismarck about the changes he’s seen in the organisation and the challenges it faces in the future.

With the clock ticking, can we agree a Global Plastics Treaty by the end of 2024?

After a strong opening to UN talks in pursuit of a Global Plastics Treaty, recent rounds of negotiation have been hindered by the efforts of fossil fuel industry lobbyists as well as by some countries keen to water it down and rein in its ambition.

In this episode, EIA Ocean Campaign Leader Christina Dixon and Ocean Campaigner Jacob Kean-Hammerson join Senior Press & Communications Officer Paul Newman to talk about progress to date and what to expect when the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee – INC-4 for short – opens in Canada later this month.

Will Mexico’s crackdown on illegal fishing give vaquita porpoises a fighting chance?

With only an estimated 10 individuals left, the vaquita porpoise is the world’s most endangered marine mammal, pushed to the edge of extinction by illegal fishing for the dried swim bladders of totoaba fish which are in high demand in Asia.
 
But despite the species’ alarmingly low numbers, recent action in their range by Mexico’s Navy appears to give them a fighting chance – now we need consumer countries to take meaningful action to curtail the illegal trade that’s killing them.
 
In this episode, EIA Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman is joined by Senior Ocean Campaigner Sarah Dolman and special guest Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, an internationally recognised authority on vaquitas.

EIA at 40 – ‘I've been threatened by senior government officials, shouted at and screamed at’

In the countdown to EIA’s 40th anniversary later this year, as well as sharing films and stories from our archive, we’ve also recorded a short series of new podcasts with some of the longest serving campaigners to get an insight into how the organisation has evolved over four decades.

In this episode, EIA’s Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman talks with EIA UK Executive Director Mary Rice about the highs and lows she’s experience and about the challenges to come.

Oppression, sanctions and blood teak, hallmarks of Myanmar’s coup on its third anniversary

On the third anniversary of the Myanmar military seizing power, the country has effectively seen a return to the violence, plunder and human rights abuses of the former dictatorship in pursuit of control and hard currency.

Despite international sanctions, the current regime still seeks to fund itself through illicit exports of valuable commodities, especially of precious teak which is much sought after for luxury boatbuilding.

In this episode, EIA Senior Press and Communications Officer Paul Newman is joined by Forests Campaigner Kate Klikis to talk about the ongoing impacts of the coup and efforts to stop the military junta from cashing in on Myanmar’s natural commodities.