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Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.
A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool
Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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The U.K. Is Burning Canadian Forests for Fuel

Expert BlogCanada, InternationalCourtenay Lewis

Twenty-three environmental organizations stress that the U.K. government funding the incineration of imported Canadian wood pellets threatens climate progress.

The World Is Mobilizing Against Big Biomass

Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Courtenay Lewis, Elly Pepper, Rita Frost

This week, communities around the world will highlight that the production and export of forest-based biomass threatens communities and the climate.

Paper Excellence Expands Control into Canada’s Logging

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis
With Paper Excellence’s planned purchase of one of Canada’s largest logging companies, the country's forestry industry is increasingly falling under the sway of the controversial Sinar Mas family empire.

Canada Rewards Ontario’s Failure to Protect Caribou

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis
Canada needs to course correct if it wants a global reputation as a steward of forests and threatened species. This means using its authority to protect species, not greenlighting more habitat destruction.

Canada Is Undermining Meaningful Certification

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis
Canada is taking a page out of industry’s playbook by characterizing all of its voluntary certifications as being strong indicators of sustainable forestry.

Canada Should Mark Forests Day by Rejecting Logging Giveaway

Expert BlogCanada, OntarioCourtenay Lewis
Canada has near-finalized an ill-named “Conservation Agreement” with the province of Ontario, whose current government has attracted international attention for slashing environmental protections while promising to ramp up widespread industrial logging.

SFI Offers Greenwashing of Unsustainable Logging

Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaCourtenay Lewis
As the climate crisis intensifies, scientists stress that conserving never-logged primary forests must be a global priority for protecting carbon stores.

Pulp Fiction: New Report Shows P&G Is Spinning Tales

Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaCourtenay Lewis

In recent years, P&G has faced mounting criticism over the fact that many of its tissue products are made from virgin forests, which is contributing to the clearcutting of some of the world’s last primary forests, including in the climate-critical…

Paper Excellence Expansion Shows Threats to Canada’s Forests

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis

Domtar’s shareholders have approved the company’s acquisition by Paper Excellence: a move which would make Paper Excellence far-and-away the largest pulp producer in Canada, and further jeopardize Canada’s reputation as a source for sustainable wood.

Corporate Takeover Adds to Urgency for Protections in Boreal

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis

Paper Excellence’s announced acquisition of Domtar spells trouble for Canada’s boreal forest, and adds to a myriad of reasons why governments and companies need to prioritize safeguarding the boreal’s carbon-rich forests, biodiversity and Indigenous rights.

P&G and its Suppliers’ Words Undercut FSC

Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaCourtenay Lewis, Shelley Vinyard

The collaboratively-established Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is widely considered by to be the strongest forest certification body in Canada. While FSC is not perfect, it is far superior to its key competitor, the industry-created Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), which has…

New Report Shows Toll of Unsustainable Logging in the Boreal

Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis
Canada’s boreal forest is the world’s largest intact forest, but industrial logging operations are chipping away at it, undermining its role in stabilizing the global climate and as a refuge for many of North America’s iconic species. A new report…

FSC Canada Pulls Even Further Ahead of the Pack

Expert BlogCourtenay Lewis
In order to honor Indigenous Peoples’ rights to make decisions about their traditional territories, stabilize the global climate, and protect threatened species, safeguards around forestry in Canada are urgently needed.

How Widespread Logging in Canada Is Escaping Scrutiny

Expert BlogCourtenay Lewis
In recent years, Canada has had the third highest rate of intact forest landscape loss in the world, behind only Russia and Brazil. Yet widespread logging in Canada has managed to fly under the radar of international scrutiny.

Caribou Are Canada’s Reindeer. Canada Is Letting Them Vanish

Expert BlogCourtenay Lewis
Caribou and reindeer are the same iconic species. But Canadian policies are allowing rampant logging of the boreal forest: a critical habitat for boreal caribou. If boreal caribou are to be saved, their forests will need to be protected.