Just a hundred business organizations are Behind 20% of conflicts that threaten the health of the environment throughout the planet. Corporations such as Shell, Glencore, Repsol or Bayer-Monsanto among many others that are reflected in a report by the report Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB).
One of the conclusions of this analysis is that these companies, which in most cases are in the northern part of the globe, are the ones that make resources and benefits even other than the countries of the south, the most exposed to the Social and ecological impacts that bring your bad praxis.
The vast majority of these companies, as replicated in this report, are transnational giants that operate mainly in the Energy, mining and hydroelectricity sectors.
This is what the 1000 most conflicting companies with the environment do
Only a hundred multinational companies are behind a fifth of the documented extractive conflicts worldwide, according to a recent study of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). The report shows that companies from Norte Global countries They take over resources and benefits, while the Global South supports social and ecological impacts.
The results are based on the data analysis of the Global Environmental Justice Atlas (EJATLAS), an interactive map that locates and documented more than 4,300 extractive conflicts worldwide, as mines in dispute, Pipelines o Hydroelectric dams to whom environmental justice activists and local communities oppose resistance.
The 100 most conflicting corporations -among them Shell, Glencore, Repsol or Bayer-Monsanto, “they represent only 2% of the 5,500 companies documented in the Ejatlas, but they are involved in 20% of the conflicts analyzed. The vast majority of these companies are transnational giants that operate in the energy, mining and hydroelectricity sectors, are based in the global north and, nevertheless, their activities generate serious negative impacts in communities of the Global South.
The study reveals that almost half of the conflicting extractive projects of Global Northern Companies are located in the Global South. Besides, 50% of the companies involved in conflicts in impoverished countries come from economies developed such as the United States, China and Europe.
«The current rules of global trade, such as free trade agreements, arbitration courts in controversies between investors and states, and tax incentives for foreign investment, promote growth without restrictions of large transnationals involved in a large number of extractive conflicts, andThey tax the environmental and social impacts of their extractive operationsmainly in the global south, ”explains Marcel Keychain-Pasquina, researcher at the ICTA-UB and main author of the study, published this week in the scientific journal Global Environmental Change.
The sectors in which these conflicting companies with the environment operate
Transnational corporations are especially involved in conflicts related to High value products or with a great environmental footprint, such as corn, cotton, oil, gas or precious and rare minerals. On the other hand, conflicts over resources of lower value, such as coal or waste, usually involve national companies more frequently. The extraction and transport of these strategic assets allow companies of the North Global to concentrate wealth more efficiently, while transferring damage – such as land dispossession, deforestation or oil discharges – to Communities and ecosystems of the Global South.
The study also shows that the participation of transnational corporations in these projects aggravates the socio -environmental consequences for local populations. The authors document more violent events, forced displacements, landing of land, loss of media and traditional knowledge, as well as a greater impact on women and indigenous people. In many cases, these conflicts give rise to repression, corruption and even murders of community leaders and environmental activists.
The reports of the report question corporate social responsibility policies and voluntary sustainability commitments. Although many of these companies are part of initiatives such as UN World PactThey continue to operate in extractive sectors with high negative impacts.
Warm voluntary initiatives, based mainly on self -assessment, offer a deceptive image of transparency and corporate responsibility. However, the voices of the environmental defenders who oppose their operations reveal a history of generalized business impunity and a systemic lack of accountability and justice, ”says Keychain-Pasting, Ejatlas coordinator.
Behavior of companies with the social and environmental environment
Researchers call on the academic world and international organizations to judge the social and environmental behavior of companies based on the damages suffered by the affected communities and not of the voluntary policies of the companies. The results of the study urge political leaders to rewritten the rules of world trade on the basis of Principles of equity, autonomy and reciprocity, and to apply to transnational binding, mandatory and executable transnational companies to avoid damage And, when necessary, provide tools to guarantee accountability and responsibility for impacts related to their bad practices.
“This research sheds light on the darkest corners of corporate abuse, clearly showing the extension and depth of the tentacles of bad business practices,” said Rachel Rose Jackson, director of Research and Climate Policy of Corporate Accountability, a business surveillance organization.
«It also clearly illustrates the failure of existing mechanisms to do justice, address damage and end future irregularities. The solutions to business impunity are not voluntary commitments, self -regulation or half -or no supervision measures. Addressing business abuse requires significant measures that are legally binding and that really protect people and the planet (not business greed). Until we take responsibility for companies of the damage they cause, they will continue to sow destruction in their excessive desire for profit, ”he says.
“This article clearly shows that world trade standards are a legacy of colonialism that gives free rein to the transnationals of the global north to continue looting the global south at the expense of communities and ecosystems,” says Meena Raman, responsible for programs of the Third World Network. “Only a change of system that counteracts the imperialist and neoliberal order and allows the economic and ecological sovereignty of the peoples, a fair distribution of world resources, as well as forms of development that are ecologically sustainable and meet human needs, can offer authentic justice for the poor and the planet.”
The study comes to light while the European Parliament debates the package of deregulation measures of the European Commission that will dilute the obligations of the companies to prevent the violations of the human rights and the environment in their world supply chains by virtue of the directive on due diligence for the sustainability of companies.
In statements to the European Coalition for Corporate Justice, Nick omonuk, an activist for the opposition climate justice to the Eacop Pipeline of Totalenergies in Uganda, said: «The irresponsible companies Not only do they extract resources, they extract life. They move to people, destroy livelihoods and contaminate the water and the ground we depend on. These companies know exactly what they do, but they don’t care, because the system protects them, not us. It is we who are treated as criminals. The European Commission is turning business impunity into the norm; It is a death sentence for our communities. If the proposals of the bus are approved, They will give white letter to the pollutants and directly attack the victims and the communities«.