Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

Chevron Guilty Verdict Upheld by Ecuador Appellate Court

Stefanie Spear
Jan. 04, 2012 09:04AM EST Energy

Rainforest Action Network

An Ecuadorian appellate court upheld a historic $18 billion award Jan. 2 against Chevron for the company’s deliberate contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The decision is the largest environmental award ever handed down and the result of an 18-year legal battle brought by some 30,000 indigenous peoples and farmers seeking a clean-up of contaminated sites, clean drinking water and health care.
 
Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action Network, which have spent years fighting on the side of the Ecuadorians in their effort to hold Chevron accountable for these egregious environmental crimes and human rights abuses, released the following statement in response to the verdict:

“For a second time, in a jurisdiction of its own choosing, Chevron was found guilty of widespread oil contamination in Ecuador’s Amazon. It is a historic triumph for the thousands of victims who have suffered for over four decades from Chevron’s drill-and-dump practices.

“Yesterday’s ruling, based in large part on Chevron’s own evidence, once again proves that the company is responsible for deliberately dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste sludge into local streams and rivers, which thousands depend on for drinking, bathing and fishing, and created a public health crisis in the rainforest region.
 
“Chevron has spent more than a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars in a vain attempt to evade accountability and in doing so exacerbating the suffering of thousands of rainforest residents. The company says it will continue deploying its armies of lawyers with yet more legal stonewalling tactics, still hoping that its unlimited resources can outspend and outlast the course of justice. But the guilty verdict sends a loud and clear message—It is time for Chevron to clean up the Ecuadorian Amazon."
 
The Ecuador decision comes at a time when Chevron also faces criminal charges and fines up to U.S. $11 billion in Brazil for its negligence in its operations.  If convicted, the company will be permanently banned from doing business in the South American country.

For more information, click here.

——————

Rainforest Action Network runs hard-hitting campaigns to break North America’s fossil fuels addiction, protect endangered forests and Indigenous rights, and stop destructive investments around the world through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. For more information, click here.

human rights oil rainforest action network oil spill energy oil contamination amazon watch amazon chevron crude fossil fuels lawsuit ecuador

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

sea turtles

Women on the Solomon Islands Are Protecting Critically Endangered Sea Turtles

Animals
youtu.be

On the Solomon Islands, rats and poachers are the two major threats to critically endangered sea turtles. A group of local women have joined forces to help save the animals from extinction.

Read More
sea turtles conservation endangered species marine life positive news
whaling

Iceland Didn’t Hunt Any Whales in 2019 — and Public Appetite for Whale Meat Is Fading

Animals
Whale watching (here, off Húsavík, Iceland) may be better for the local economy than whale hunting. Davide Cantelli / Wikimedia / CC BY

By Joe Roman

One of the most important global conservation events of the past year was something that didn't happen. For the first time since 2002, Iceland — one of just three countries that still allow commercial whaling — didn't hunt any whales, even though its government had approved whaling permits in early 2019.

Read More
whales hunting whaling iceland animals oceans marine life
Sponsored
water crisis

Supreme Court Decision Means Flint Residents Can Sue Over Water Crisis

Popular
People participate in a national mile-long march to highlight the push for clean water in Flint Feb. 19, 2016 in Flint, Michigan. Bill Pugliano / Stringer / Getty Images

The Supreme Court made a decision Tuesday that means Flint residents can sue state and local officials over the water crisis that leached lead into their water and resulted in at least 12 deaths.

Read More
drinking water lead environmental justice water crisis flint river water lake huron flint michigan
sharks

4 New Walking Shark Species Discovered

Animals
One species of walking shark. Mark Erdmann, California Academy of Sciences

Scientists have identified four new species of walking shark in the waters off Australia and New Guinea.

Read More
fish oceans coral reefs marine life conservation science animals sharks
ozone

Ozone-Depleting Substances May Have Driven Arctic Warming, Study Finds

Science
A new study shows that half of all Arctic warming and corresponding sea-loss during the late 20th century was caused by ozone-depleting substances. Here, icebergs discharged from Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier. Kevin Krajick / Earth Institute / EurekAlert!

The world awakened to the hole in the ozone layer in 1985, which scientists attributed it to ozone-depleting substances. Two years later, in Montreal, the world agreed to ban the halogen compounds causing the massive hole over Antarctica. Research now shows that those chemicals didn't just cut a hole in the ozone layer, they also warmed up the Arctic.

Read More
antarctica arctic ozone greenland science