CONTACT: v4climateleaders@gmail.com On Friday, September 15, Ms. Ngo Nhien (Nhien), Executive Director of Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition (VIETSE), an independent Vietnamese energy think tank, was detained by the police. This comes on the heels of U.S. President Biden’s recent visit to Hanoi in which the two countries strengthened their partnership and discussed human rights…
Read MoreDeveloping news: Controversial Pak Beng Dam on the Mekong hits major milestone, despite warnings of widespread damage to environment and people
On September 13, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, or EGAT, signed a Power Purchase Agreement for the controversial Pak Beng Dam on the main stem of the Mekong River. Located in northern Lao PDR, Pak Beng would be built on the Lower Mekong mainstream and is expected to displace people in over 25 villages….
Read MoreThe Future of Thailand’s Rivers is in the Hands of its Prime Minister
Originally published in the Bangkok Post by Pai Deetes, “Future of rivers in PM’s hands” In a speech to Parliament on 11 September, the new Thai Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisn, outlined policies, commitments and actions his government will take over the next four years for the “benefit and happiness of all Thai people.” While limited…
Read MoreSTATEMENT | International Coalition to Free Vietnam’s Climate Leaders Responds to the UN Development Programme’s First Public Speech on Draft Plan of Just Energy Transition Partnership
On August 11, 2023, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Viet Nam, Ms. Ramla Khalidi, delivered a speech at the consultation workshop for the draft “Resource Mobilization Plan” (RMP) – essentially the implementation plan – for Viet Nam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This $15.5 billion JETP was announced on December 14, 2022, by…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | Joint Statement: Lao Dam Disaster – NGOs decry lack of effective remedy for survivors five years on
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Yujung Shin (+82 010 8452 0108, yjshin@jihyanglaw.com) Pillkyu Hwang (hopenvision@naver.com) or Youngah Park (mashil049@gmail.com) Emilie Pradichit (emilie@manushyafoundation.org) Joint statement in Thai On July 23, 2018, the auxiliary dam (Saddle D) of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project in Laos collapsed, killing 71 people, displacing thousands, and flooding homes and villages….
Read MoreRight to a Healthy Environment Global Coalition Wins UN Human Rights Prize
20 July, 2023, Manila (PHP), Geneva (CH), Casablanca (MAR), New York (US), Mexico City (MX), Buenos Aires (ARG) — Today, the Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment was recognized as one of the recipients of the prestigious…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | Namibia at an Energy Crossroads: continue relying on climate-risky hydropower or harness its abundant and cost-effective renewables
TMP Public electricity sector assessment demonstrates that solar and wind represent the least-cost pathway to meeting Namibia’s current and future energy demand FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2023 Media contacts: Aqeelah Hassen, Communications and Campaigns Coordinator, International Rivers, ahassen@internationalrivers.org Windhoek, Namibia – Today, International Rivers and EarthLife Namibia released a study by TMP Public on…
Read MoreInternational Rivers and allies call for permanent river protection in Brasilia
Last month, International Rivers and coalition partners took our message on river preservation to Brasília. On June 22, the Brazilian Coalition for Rivers, the Angá Association, International Rivers, and the Federal University of Southern Bahia hosted a three-hour event in the Chamber of Deputies on river protections as part of a month-long congressional session on…
Read MoreProtect Rivers, Support Women: Unleashing the Success of the Women and Rivers Accelerator
Three thousand miles apart, Nirmala’s and Violet’s experience led them both to the same calling: to protect the rivers in their communities. Growing up on a farm in rural Kenya without electricity, Violet Matiru developed a love of nature and the drive to fight its degradation early on. She began her environmental work with elephant…
Read MoreSTATEMENT | International Rivers statement on attacks against members of the Indigenous Enawenê-Nawê people
Link to the statement in Portuguese and English International Rivers strongly condemns the attacks against members of the Indigenous Enawenê-Nawê people last week. This aggression was carried out by security employees of Hydria Energia, which controls a series of hydropower dams on Brazil’s Juruena River in the state of Mato Grosso. These dams have been…
Read MoreThe Kakhovka dam disaster — what next?
By Josh Klemm, International Rivers Co-Director and Oleksii Vasyliuk, co-founder Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG). Originally published in the EU Observer. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydropower dam has precipitated the manmade disaster unfolding in Ukraine, the impacts of which will be experienced by the environment and people for generations to come. Dams must not be…
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