“You are claiming to fight climate change, but what you are actually doing is that you keep a whole people in an area of extreme risk for unsurvivable heat and humidity”: Speech by Zeina Abdulmaati Abdulrahmaan

Do you know the hot air you feel when you open your oven? That heat that feels like it will burn you instantly? Now, imagine being exposed to that feeling, not for just 10 seconds when you check on a cake, but for 24 hours straight. For 4 months. This is the reality of a summer in the Sahrawi refugee camps.

My name is Zeina, I’m 20 years old, and I was born in a refugee camp. Now, you might ask yourself, “Why was she born in a refugee camp?” and “Why has she continued to live in a place meant to be temporary, for two decades?” Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/siemens-energy-2/you-are-claiming-to-fight-climate-change-but-what-you-are-actually-doing-is-that-you-keep-a-whole-people-in-an-area-of-extreme-risk-for-unsurvivable-heat-and-humidity-speech-by/

“But one thing you should get very clear – money coming from Russia is bloody money”: Speech by Vladimir Slivyak, Ecodefense

Dear Mr Kaeser, dear Mr Bruch, dear members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board, dear shareholders,

My name is Vladimir Slivyak, I work for the Russian non-governmental organization Ecodefense, which has been campaigning for safe energy and climate protection for the last 35 years. Because of this work, Ecodefense was falsely accused and persecuted by the Russian Government. In 2022, the European Court on Human Rights ruled that the Russian Government violated our rights (see “Ecodefense and others v Russia” 9988/13). Unfortunately, my colleagues and I had to leave Russia in order to avoid going to prison.

It’s nearly three years since Russia started unprovoked and bloody war in Ukraine which turned to be the largest war in European history since the second world war. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/siemens-energy-2/but-one-thing-you-should-get-very-clear-money-coming-from-russia-is-bloody-money-speech-by-vladimir-slivyak-ecodefense/

Short-term profit from fossil fuels instead of long-term prospects for the future: Our countermotions

Regarding Agenda Item 3: To ratify the acts of the members of the Executive Board

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany requests that the acts of the members of the Executive Board not be ratified.

Rationale:

The Executive Board is not taking the necessary measures to achieve its long-term climate targets and is not fulfilling its human rights due diligence obligation.

Insufficient measures for climate protection: High emissions coupled with implausible climate targets

Although Siemens Energy has certainly recognized its responsibility, but also its own opportunities in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, the targets for achieving true climate neutrality are not plausible. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/siemens-energy-2/short-term-profit-from-fossil-fuels-instead-of-long-term-prospects-for-the-future-our-countermotions/

Omnibus proposal will create costly confusion and lower protection for people and the planet

On 8 November 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced she would introduce a proposal to amend three key pillars of the European Green Deal through an Omnibus law: the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Taxonomy Regulation.

As members of civil society, human rights and environmental defenders, trade unions and climate activists, we call on the European Commission to actively protect these EU corporate accountability laws, reaffirm the official timeline for their transposition and implementation, and be fully transparent about the Omnibus process.

The European Union must show leadership in the protection of human rights, environment and climate, and prevent further setbacks to corporate accountability. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/human-rights-due-diligence/omnibus-proposal-will-create-costly-confusion-and-lower-protection-for-people-and-the-planet/

“Stop the bulldozers once and for all”: Speech by Gianfranco D’Eramo, Custodi del Bosco d’Arneo

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

My name is Gianfranco D’Eramo, I am speaking on behalf of the Italian action alliance Custodi del Bosco d’Arneo.

Since 2012 Porsche manages the Nardo’ Technical Centre (NTC) in the Apulia region of Southern Italy. The NTC, known as “the Ring,” has over 20 test tracks, 40 workshops, and various accessory services that provide top conditions for developing and testing activities. When it took over the NTC, Porsche also committed to preserve the Bosco d’Arneo, a 500-hectare oak-tree forest that hosts the NTC premises. This forest is centuries old and due to its rich biodiversity it is part of the network of protected areas safeguarded by EU Law. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/porsche/stop-the-bulldozers-once-and-for-all-speech-by-gianfranco-deramo-custodi-del-bosco-darneo/

“It is time for BASF to recognise that the impact of the Marikana massacre is transgenerational”: Speech by Amina Hassan Fundi

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed shareholders and executives of BASF,

Allow me to paint a picture for you. Imagine a nine-year-old girl, surrounded by her loving family at the dinner table—mom, dad, and older brother. They’re sharing stories and laughter, basking in the warmth of their togetherness. Then, the phone rings, shattering the tranquility. You see, that call brought news of a man—a husband, a father, a hardworking employee—called to duty to serve his employers. But instead of returning home to his family, he met a violent end, killed in cold blood and lit up in flames. His story, once one of love and dedication, was reduced to a footnote—a mere “necessary sacrifice” in the pursuit of profit and production – by Lonmin, by Sibanye-Stillwater, by BASF. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/it-is-time-for-basf-to-recognise-that-the-impact-of-the-marikana-massacre-is-intergenerational-speech-by-amina-hassan-fundi/

“The Marikana massacre destroyed my whole family”: Speech by Ndikho Jokanisi Bomela

My name is Ndikho Jokanisi Bomela. I was nine-years-old when I became an orphan after my father, Semi Jokanisi, was killed on August 13 2012 in Marikana.

I am a man now. I have been to entabeni, the mountain, to perform the Xhosa cultural initiation rites to become a man. But I am also a man because I have had to grow up fast after my father was killed.

My father died for a wage of R12500, which BASF’s suppliers of platinum, Lonmin, refused to engage with the striking mineworkers about — colluding instead to have the strike resolved by the South African police. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/the-marikana-massacre-destroyed-my-whole-family-speech-by-ndikho-jokanisi-bomela/

Unacceptable working conditions, suppression of trade union activities and ineffective climate protection: Our countermotions

Re Agenda item 3: Discharge of the members of the Executive Board

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany proposes that the actions of the members of the Board of Directors be denied discharge.

Justification:

The Executive Board has once again failed to implement effective measures to protect the climate and human rights.

Human rights: Unacceptable working conditions and suppression of trade union activities

There are increasing indications that the Executive Board is not adequately addressing human rights risks in accordance with the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – LkSG), even in its own business area. This seems to be particularly true with regard to the prohibition of disregarding freedom of association, according to which employees may freely form or join trade unions, which may not be used as a reason for unjustified discrimination or retaliation, as well as the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/dhl-group-deutsche-post/unacceptable-working-conditions-suppression-of-trade-union-activities-and-ineffective-climate-protection-our-countermotions/