Briefings

Briefing for Government Delegates

Sunday 4th December 2016

Key points:

• CBD Decision X/33, 8 (w) on geoengineering remains valid and should be affirmed and strengthened.

• The potential impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity have been scarcely studied. Studies and policy recommendations on the impacts on biodiversity and associated livelihoods caused by any geoengineering intervention are, and should remain, under the mandate of CBD and its bodies.

• New research papers continue to demonstrate high risks and uncertainties associated with the full range of geoengineering proposals.

Case studies exploring the impact of synthetic biology on natural products, livelihoods and sustainable use of biodiveristy

Tuesday 29th November 2016

A fundamental shift is underway in how food, flavor, cosmetic, and fragrance ingredients are being produced for global markets. The new game in town is synthetic biology, or GMOs 2.0—companies are now able to create yeasts that secrete artificial compounds that taste or smell like familiar substances but don’t actually come from the natural source.

Five key decisions for COP 13 & COP-MOP 8

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
December 2016 
 

A briefing from the Civil Society Working Group on Gene Drives

Thursday 1st September 2016

Imagine that by releasing a single fly into the wild you could genetically alter all the flies on the planet—causing them all to turn yellow, carry a toxin, or go extinct.

Available to watch on Synbiowatch.org

Wednesday 13th July 2016

What’s the role of synthetic biology in our food system and how does it relate to “climate-smart” agriculture? What are the costs and risks?

Available to watch at http://www.synbiowatch.org/2016/07/outsmarting-nature-webinar/

Who’s going to eat whose lunch … the Hardware Grunts or the Software Gurus? The Battle for the control of agricultural inputs is just beginning.

Monday 30th May 2016

Briefing Note, May 31st, 2016

If we act, we can stop the Big Six from becoming the Titanic Three.

Tuesday 22nd March 2016

Briefing Note, March 23, 2016

As ETC first warned in May[i] last year and again in February[ii] this year, the pressure of two mergers among the Big Six Gene Giants would make a third merger inevitable. In the last few days the business media have reported that Monsanto is in separate talks with Bayer and BASF – the two German giants among agricultural input companies. While anti-competition regulators are fussing about the hook up of DuPont with Dow and of Syngenta with Chem China, Monsanto urgently needs to make a match. They hope that if regulators let the other two deals go through, they won’t be able to deny Monsanto a chance to even the score.

Tuesday 9th December 2014

Some governments are exploring geoengineering as a way to reduce or delay climate change.   Geoengineering could technically take climate decisions away from all but the richest countries. Computer models show that stratospheric interventions to reduce sunlight and lower temperatures may benefit some temperate zones but negatively impact Africa with important social and agricultural consequences.

Tuesday 9th December 2014

Some governments are exploring geoengineering as a way to reduce or delay climate change.   Geoengineering could technically take climate decisions away from all but the richest countries. Computer models show that stratospheric interventions to reduce sunlight and lower temperatures may benefit some temperate zones, but negatively impact Asia’s monsoons with important social and agricultural consequences.

Tuesday 9th December 2014

Some governments are exploring geoengineering as a way to reduce or delay climate change.   Geoengineering could technically take climate decisions away from all but the richest countries. Computer models show that stratospheric interventions to reduce sunlight and lower temperatures may benefit some temperate zones but negatively impact Latin America with important social and agricultural consequences.

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