Briefings

Bringing Horizon Scanning, Technology Assessment and Monitoring into the future work of the CBD

Thursday 24th November 2022

At stake at COP15!

Is the Industrial Food Chain Unravelling... or Rewinding?

Monday 15th October 2018

Monsanto-Bayer to dominate in Microbials and Big Data-Driven Precision Agriculture

Tuesday 20th March 2018

If the Bayer-Monsanto merger is allowed to go through, the resulting company will have a monopoly stake in microbials and big-data enabled precision agriculture technologies, both important new markets for industrial agriculture.

Microbials:

A briefing from civil society on Geoengineering Governance

Monday 9th October 2017

Is it possible to govern Geoengineering?

When speaking about geoengineering governance, a sensible first question is whether geoengineering, with its inherently high risks, unequal impacts, long term effects and broad geopolitical, military, environmental and global justice implications, is even possible to “govern.”

A Proposed Approach to Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) Governance for Sustainability

Tuesday 23rd May 2017

In May 2017, ETC Group presented their proposal for a G.O.A.T.S approach to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) governance at the annual UN STI Forum

Climate change, smoke and mirrors

Wednesday 10th May 2017
For the past decade, a small but growing group of governments and scientists, the majority from the most powerful and most climate-polluting countries in the world, has been pushing for political consideration of geoengineering, the deliberate large-scale technological manipulation of the climate.
 
This briefing, prepared by ETC Group and Heinrich Böll Foundation in May 2017, gives an overview of what geoengineering is and why it is dangerous, as well as up-to-date information on proposed geoengineering technologies and governance.
 

Tuesday 28th March 2017

Geoengineer David Keith first made his intention to launch a geoengineering trial public back in 2012 – saying then that it would take place “within a year” and naming Fort Sumner in New Mexico as the likely location.[1] All indications were that he was ready to move forward, but was first waiting to get a signal of public support from the US government, ideally in the form of funding. Tellingly, the experiment never came.

Tuesday 28th March 2017

Solar Radiation Management (SRM) describes a set of geoengineering techniques that aim to counter human-made climate change by artificially increasing the reflection of heat from sunlight (solar radiation) back into space. Some advocates have started using the term “solar geoengineering” – but these techniques are not related to solar power production.

Thursday 15th December 2016

On Thursday, December 15, 2016 the Civil Society Working Group on Synthetic Biology circulated a short fact sheet to help clear up four of the most common questions arising about gene drives. 

1.      Are gene drives naturally occurring?

In brief: the engineered gene drives being discussed at COP 13 are NOT naturally occurring elements.

ETC Group’s Year-End Update on Global Agriculture’s Mega-Mergers

Tuesday 13th December 2016

OTTAWA, CANADA – ETC Group today released an end-of-year update on the high-profile mergers announced in the agri-inputs industry in 2016. Arguing that the three announced seed/pesticide mega-mergers will only be decided in 2017 and possibly much later, ETC’s new update, entitled “Software vs. Hardware vs. Nowhere,” shows that it is not only the $97 billion per annum seed and crop chemicals market that is at stake in the three announced mergers.

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