Global Witness

19/05/2026

Toxic waste from a manganese mine supplying the global EV market is contaminating water and harming communities in Ghana, a new Global Witness investigation reveals.

Despite warnings of “highly toxic” mine water and widespread illness, operators and authorities have failed to act.

Waste from Ghana manganese mine supplying material critical to EVs is creating a toxic environment for locals, with operators aware but doing little to stop it

28/04/2026

New Global Witness investigation finds the lobbyist leading the charge to remove leather from the EU Deforestation Regulation owns a tannery at high risk of sourcing hides linked to deforestation in Paraguay.

As leather boss Nuti wages lobbying blitz to erode EU deforestation law, another Paraguayan tannery he owns admits to likely sourcing hides from deforested land

15/04/2026

Escazú in Action | Save the date

As COP4 approaches, join us for this virtual side event on strengthening national roadmaps for the Escazú Agreement – aligning environmental justice, climate action, biodiversity & defender protection.

🗓️ 20 April | 💻 Virtual

🔗 https://bit.ly/COP4EscazuEnAccion

19/03/2026

86 organisations have written to the Prime Minister calling on him to increase climate finance and to fairly tax the wealthiest and largest polluters in our society to pay for climate action at home and overseas.

Read the letter: https://gwitness.org/40AAkyU

11/03/2026

Guatemala’s Indigenous leaders and defenders are being targeted by coordinated smear campaigns across Facebook, TikTok and X.

In our latest investigation, we uncovered how disinformation on social media platforms is being carefully designed to silence, isolate and criminalise those who are trying to protect their land and rights, and discredit their activism.

Social media companies must do more. We need to strengthen context‑specific moderation, including for disinformation networks posing as “news”, and to protect defenders in high‑risk moments.

More info: https://gwitness.org/3NsHS3A

05/03/2026

The US and Israel’s attack on Iran is rapidly reshaping global energy risks.

Iran – one of the world’s largest oil producers – is now at the centre of a widening conflict that’s already disrupting oil and gas supplies across the world.

US-Israel attacks and Iran’s strikes in response have led to facility shutdowns in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, while attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz threaten critical trade routes.

As a result, we’ve seen oil prices jump by 10% and gas by 50% in a single day, and any prolonged conflict could see oil surge past $100 per barrel.

With Iran and its neighbours producing over 20% of global fossil fuels, the consequences could be felt worldwide. A conflict not officially about oil is quickly becoming a major energy crisis.

Read our explainer on what the US and Israel’s attack on Iran could mean for energy: https://gwitness.org/4cuAQWm

24/02/2026

Nearly $500 billion dollars. That’s how much profit five oil supermajors have made since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since the conflict began:

➡️Shareholders of the big 5 have received a combined $444bn in share buybacks and dividend payments.

➡️The EU’s clean‑energy spending in 2025 was only $391bn.

➡️In the UK, households continue to face elevated energy bills.

Four years on, the invasion has reshaped energy markets. It’s time for governments to hold them accountable and push for a fair, fossil-free future.

Read the analysis: https://gwitness.org/4aWF7zs

16/02/2026

🚨 NEW: Europe set to bankroll US’ plunder of Venezuela.

Last year, the EU & UK bought *over $565 million* worth of diesel from a US refinery central to processing Venezuelan oil.

Without bans or sanctions, Europe is set to buy more US-controlled Venezuelan oil.

Europe and the UK already have a blueprint for supporting Venezuela's people – stop importing its oil while it is controlled by the US

10/02/2026

Last week, the US proposed 'Project Vault' at a conference in Washington, where some of the world's richest countries gathered to set the direction of key policies for the minerals needed for modern technologies. And what was clear was who wasn’t part of the talks.

'Project Vault' is effectively a restructuring of its critical minerals policy, designed to decrease reliance on China for rare earth and other minerals to create a US-led supply chain ecosystem that will source and stockpile minerals and allow allies, and private manufacturers, to buy materials at stable prices.

Emily Iona-Stewart, our Head of Policy and Advocacy, spoke to Al Jazeera on what 'Project Vault' might mean in the global rush for critical minerals, the crucial question being where are the stockpiled minerals coming from and do those countries have a say in the decision-making.

Missing from the table at the conference, were the world's resource-rich countries from the Global South, places like Zimbabwe, Chile and Indonesia where a large amount of minerals is sourced and supplied to aid the clean energy transition while facing conflict, labour abuses and environmental damage in return.

The US’s 'Project Vault' might end up locking up the world's minerals at a time when they are urgently needed for the energy transition. While this may provide price stability, this could end up delaying the much-needed energy transition, posing the question: what are these discussions really for?

Read more: https://gwitness.org/3OwvCiy

05/02/2026

Data centres are one thing, but there’s another – potentially bigger – issue with AI and climate that patchy emissions reporting is currently hiding.

The growth of AI has led to a lot of talk about how powering data centres is increasing greenhouse gas emissions. But what’s not talked about enough is how AI is quietly boosting fossil fuel expansion, helping some of the world’s biggest polluters to drill and extract more oil and gas.

Big Tech don’t have to report on the extra emissions that get released when fossil fuel companies use their tools – called enabled emissions – and most of them choose not to.

This explainer, drawing on insights from the Enabled Emissions Campaign, explains why enabled emissions should be a bigger part of the discourse around AI and its impact on the climate crisis.

Read the article: https://gwitness.org/4tkqMoF

20/01/2026

Explainer | Why the US attacked Venezuela: oil, sanctions and Maduro

The US first framed its illegal Venezuela attack as an operation to oust authoritarian Maduro as part of its war on drugs. But it didn’t take long for Trump to reveal a far more lucrative motive: oil.

Some would argue it’s a good thing that Maduro is no longer in power: he has an extensive record of human rights abuses and the country’s economy is in crisis.

But this attack was not designed to help Venezuelans determine their own future and control their own resources. It was designed to take the country’s oil and Trump has proven he can (and will) use the US’s military might to get what he wants.

Venezuela may be rid of a brutal dictator. But they have been overthrown by an American president hooked on oil, and apparently willing to restrict another country’s sovereignty to procure it.

Our explainer breaks down what has happened so far.

Ramping up oil production in Venezuela could emit pollution equivalent to emissions of all global shipping into the atmosphere each year, new analysis reveals