[ [link removed] ]A firefighter in the Amazon rainforest in Amazonas state, Brazil.
Credit: Image: Reuters/Adriano Machado
Dear Ekō community,
This may be the most important thing we ever try to do together.
Scientist Ricardo Galvão had been documenting tree loss in Brazil’s Amazon
rainforest for years when he discovered something terrifying: not only was
the rate of forest loss sky-high – it was rapidly increasing.
From 10% to 13% to 17% loss – and if it hit 20%, we’d be past a crucial
tipping point, and the entire Amazon would be lost to us forever, this
precious habitat we rely on for carbon capture, unprecedented
biodiversity, and raw materials for essential medicines like cancer
treatments.
Ricardo, Brazil’s official deforestation monitor, sounded the alarm. Days
later, he was fired by far-right President Bolsonaro. But WE can pick up
where Ricardo left off and pull a once-in-a-generation inspiring story of
conservation and hope from the jaws of this deforestation defeat.
We have just under 12 months until the Brazil climate summit, where 195 of
the world’s governments will gather to decide the fate of the forests. It
seems like a long time. It’s not. It’s just 12 months to get the right
champions in positions of power, arm them with corporate allies, give them
a plan and hold them accountable for it.
It’s us vs. far-right corporate stooge politicians and corporate
lobbyists. And we need to make a strong start right out of the gate. If
enough of us can chip in today, we can plan ahead and make this happen,
while continuing all our campaigning for corporate accountability. Join in
now to get this ambitious plan going.
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$3[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$4
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$5[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$9[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate another amount
That last sliver of hope, the distance between 17% and 20% forest loss, is
all that stands between us and a future without 1.6 billion acres of
bustling ecosystems and vast stores of natural resources and knowledge.
We’re facing down the oil companies, the meat companies, and the big
agricultural giants trying to extract as much as they can from the
beautiful Amazon. If Ekō was built for anything, it’s for this moment,
this fight. There is no other global corporate accountability community
ready to take on a fight of this magnitude, with the numbers and bravery
to try in the face of massive lobbying and government opposition.
Here’s the plan:
Supercharge the Indigenous Resistance – Ekō has years of history
partnering with Indigenous land defenders in many of the countries the
Amazon spans. They put their own lives on the line to save their land from
armed hooligans who burn their homes and murder their family members. What
they need is technology to map their traditional claims and document the
destruction. Then they need a massive mouthpiece to make sure their voices
are heard by the world’s people and politicians. We can partner to bring
the technology and the backing of millions of people to help make sure
they walk into the Brazil talks armed with the evidence and people power
they need to win their fight for safety and freedom on their ancestral
lands.
Break the Big Ag Stranglehold – The governments we need to show up and
argue FOR the Amazon are flooded with corporate lobbyists arguing AGAINST
conservation. We can change the calculus by mobilising unprecedented local
support for saving the Amazon, especially in parts of Latin America where
the forest needs protection most. This means we need to grow our community
strategically and unleash new tools to distribute public opinion
effectively across a great distance.
Define the Deal – Even in the face of planetary catastrophe, 195
governments in a room can be incompetent. We need to invest in top-quality
policy advice to develop ingenious strategies, mechanisms, and careful
compromises so that when the summit arrives, a critical mass of leaders
are already bought-in to a large part of the deal, and no one can claim
that good solutions don't exist.
We need thousands of us to pledge small donations to blast out of the
starting gate on this plan *and* support all our other work to hold
corporate giants to account. The amount doesn't matter as much as the
choice to hope, and to act, to save the Amazon:
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$3[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$4
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$5[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$9[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate another amount
Your donation will help power Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting for
people and the planet.
We know we can do this because we already have done so much together. With
a fraction of the resources we helped pass a European ban on products
linked to Amazon deforestation, bought hundreds of acres of Ecuadorian
sections of the Amazon and protected them from drilling forever, and shut
down a vast disinformation network in Brazil claiming all sorts of bogus
scientific support for destroying ancient trees. Think what we can do with
the whole community’s support and 12 months of time to plan, run and win
essential campaigns?!
Join in by clicking above.
Thanks for all that you do,
Emma and the entire Ekō team
---------------------------------
More information:
[ [link removed] ]Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon Mongabay,
29 November 2024
[ [link removed] ]Lula and Petro have the chance of a lifetime to save the Amazon. Can
they unite idealism and realpolitik to pull it off? The Guardian, 16
October 2024
[ [link removed] ]Drought leaves Amazon basin rivers at all-time low BBC, 18 September
2024
Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]
