Mohammed was 17 years old when he was shot by an Israeli sniper in Bethlehem. Two years on, his family say there is no accountability for his death. Their story is one of dozens from across the West Bank, it is claimed, with human rights organisations calling for child rights to be upheld.
Reform UK's Malcolm Offord claimed one million people came to the UK in the 20th century, and seven million people have come to the UK since 2000. This is not accurate.
Airbnb’s business practices in the West Bank have long been in the spotlight, prompting criticism from human rights campaigners. We can now reveal that the firm has lobbied the Scottish Government 52 times since 2018.
With nearly 1,000 representatives from the fossil fuel industry and big business — and over 40 official and unofficial side events involving them — there was no shortage of corporate events at COP26.
Some of the events – criticised as platforms for greenwashing – were filmed by The Ferret. They provided a space for corporates to meet with decision-makers, politicians and negotiators. These firms were promoting techno-fixes to the climate crisis such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and blue hydrogen, made from natural gas with CCS, that also enable their business models to stay profitable.
Just across the River Clyde from the main negotiating halls of COP26, the Sustainable Innovation Forum took place from 7 to 10 November. Its corporate partners included BMW, EDF, Neste, Coca-Cola, Dow, and Drax Group, whose bioenergy power plant is the UK’s single biggest source of CO2.
Speaking at the event, Will Gardner, Drax Group CEO, commented: “Maybe different to other COPS that have happened before is that the corporate presence has been bigger here than maybe in the past.”
The Hilton hosted the World Climate Summit – The Investment COP on 7 and 8 November. The event was sponsored by firms with oil or gas interests, like Neste, Centrica and National Grid, and investors who’ve bankrolled fossil fuels for decades.
Its speakers included Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who echoed the fossil fuel industry’s interest in hydrogen and carbon capture.
Scottish oil and gas services firm Wood organised a two-week series of events during COP26, with corporate partners like Bentley, Microsoft and the Hydrogen Council, whose members include BP, Chevron, Shell, Equinor and Total.
In an interview recorded at the Wood event, Dan Carter, the firm’s Global Director of Decarbonisation and New Energies, told The Ferret the company was “developing new solutions around renewables, integration of hydrogen technology and carbon capture”.
He added: “We are moving from where we are today to a future state where we have a decarbonised fossil fuel portfolio but that also has a lower potential in terms of its percentage makeup in terms of the energy mix.”
However, with industry’s technofixes not expected at scale until the 2030s, and the IPCC warning that drastic emissions cuts are needed before 2030, Friends of the Earth’s Myriam Douo said that “false solutions” proposed by the fossil fuel industry are a “desperate attempt to stay relevant and to keep getting public subsidies from governments”.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been heralded by some as a technological answer to the climate crisis and others as a false solution.
In the last fortnight The Ferret has looked in-depth at the dominant presence of fossil fuel industries at COP26.
You can also see more videos from our coverage of COP26 on our YouTube channel. The introduction to this article was amended on 16 and 17 November 2021 to clarify attendance and events at COP26.
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council monitors standards at Scottish fish farms to help consumers choose “environmentally and socially responsible” farmed seafood. But it showcased a farm that had breached its rules on sea lice 11 times.
There have been hundreds of applications for battery energy storage schemes (BESS) across Scotland. They are part of the Scottish Government’s drive to meet net zero targets but some communities oppose them including villagers in Kintyre.
Emails reveal that naval chiefs piled pressure on environment watchdog to hide details of radioactive contamination on the Clyde.
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
