NEWS & EVENTS
Green extractivism and the Australian energy transition
Scouring the globe, Australian corporations and investors are expanding into new territories, both domestically and internationally, for new sources of “critical and strategic” minerals for the “green energy transition” to a zero carbon world. These minerals include lithium, copper, nickel, rare earth, and cobalt.
Aid/Watch joins the Reality of Aid hybrid Regional Meeting & Workshop
The Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific and the Asia Constituency of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness will convene their first hybrid Regional Meeting and Workshop, in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 26-28, 2022, with the theme “Forging through Crises, Fostering Solidarities.”
ODA, the Military, and Escalating Dynamics of Containment
There is a creeping militarization of the aid agenda in Australia. Aid has long been closely associated with Australian military interventions, from Afghanistan to East Timor, from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines. With the closure of AusAID in 2013, Australian Aid now favours national interest and private finance over the need for real aid. It has become more closely integrated with Australian diplomatic, strategic and military priorities especially as Australia’s Pacific sphere of influence comes under increased challenges.
RIO TINTO PLANS FOR SERBIA LITHIUM MINE SUSPENDED AFTER PROTESTS
Local authorities in western Serbia have suspended a plan that would allow the mining company Rio Tinto to operate a lithium mine, after protests by environmentalists that shook the country’s populist leadership.
Post Extractivism – What could life look like beyond the extractive economy?
A webinar on post-extractivism on how modern industrialised societies have been built on an extractivist culture and economy, and explore what our society and economy could look like if we shift to a regenerative, rather than an extractivist mode of operating.
Aid/Watch’s Lee Rhiannon joins Filipinos in calling for vigilance days before Marcos inauguration
Aid/Watch partner Asia Pacific Research network commits to step up its rights advocacies, calls for further vigilance amid the new Marcos regime
Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN) Biennial Conference
From 4-8 April 2002, Aid/Watch Coordinator, Nat Lowrey participated in the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN) Biennial Conference: Redefining Development: People Leading the Way Towards System Change in the COVID-19 Era.
RIO TINTO SUSPENDS PROPOSED LITHIUM MINE IN SERBIA AFTER PROTESTS
Rio Tinto has suspended plans to build Europe’s largest lithium mine after sustained protests across the country in opposition to the project.
A call for renewed commitments of Asia Pacific donors to the world’s marginalized
As the world faces a food, fuel and debt crisis brought about by the pandemic, increasing conflict and progressing climate emergency, donor countries and Official Development Assistance (ODA) have a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of these crises for the marginalized.
ARE YOU A MEMBER OF COPOWER?
If you are a member of Cooperative Power please vote for AID/WATCH in the CoPower democratic budget between 24 June – 8 July. If you are not a member, make the switch and vote for us!
NICKEL COMMUNIQUÉ: From the ‘Devil’s Metal’ to the ‘Holy Grail’ of Clean Transport
Nickel is rapidly emerging as a ‘critical’ metal for the shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage.
COPPER COMMUNIQUÉ: In the race to net zero, ‘Copper is the new oil’ – but at what cost?
Copper, according to Goldman Sachs, ‘is the new oil’ deemed most important for decarbonisation. Demand for the metal, used in large quantities in wind, solar, electric vehicles and energy infrastructure, is set to increase by 600% by 2030. Wealthy nations and companies associated with copper related products are by proportion the highest consumers of the metal, and so are generating most of the demand.