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This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler

Last week, I attended a meeting at Columbia University on attribution science and climate law, hosted by the Sabin Center. It was a fantastic event, bringing together scientists and legal experts working at the intersection of extreme event attribution and climate law.

For those unfamiliar with it, extreme event attribution attempts to quantify the contribution of climate change to an extreme event. For example, severalgroupsanalyzed the impact of climate change on Hurricane Harvey’s enormous rainfall totals over Houston, Texas and they found that climate change increased rainfall by 15 to 38%.

One thing that came up again and again was how terrified fossil-fuel interests are of extreme event attribution science. They are acutely aware that this research could land them in court. And losing those cases would leave them legally liable for billions of dollars in climate damages.

Because the legal stakes are so high, the blowback has turned ugly. I spoke with several scientists at the meeting who are facing ongoing harassment over their work.

This blowback is a coordinated campaign to make the entire field look suspect. The goal is to create the impression that attribution science is too uncertain, too political, or too conflicted to be useful in court or in public policy. The strategy is not based on actual science or evidence of misconduct, but on the generation of doubt.

The new Merchants of Doubt

We’ve seen this before. In fact, not that long ago: We only have to go back a year to the Department of Energy (DOE) Climate Working Group (CWG) report to see an example of using doubt as the tool to push back against well-established science.

This strategy is laid out in an email from a member of the CWG, Dr. Roy Spencer, that was released during litigation over the Climate Working Group process.

shameful

The key quote is:

About all I can hope is that what we write will provide sufficient “reasonable scientific doubt” regarding the science claims in the 2009 TSD [technical support document], based upon almost 2 decades of new science, to call into question the original reasoning for the EPA Administrator’s decision that CO2 presents a threat to human health and welfare.

This statement is strong evidence that at least some members of the committee were working to support a particular policy outcome: revoking the Endangerment Finding. The email also explains how they planned to do it: by attempting to generate “reasonable doubt”.

This is going to be hard, Spencer implies. Despite falsely claiming that “2 decades of new science” weakens the case, Spencer explicitly acknowledges that the actual peer-reviewed science of climate change overwhelmingly rejects his position:

But if the science argument is decided upon by a vote, or by the number of published citations, we lose the science argument.

We can go back even further: This CWG email shares unmistakable DNA with the infamous 1969 tobacco memo that declared: “Doubt is our product, since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.”

equally shameful

The tobacco memo also acknowledges the limit of this strategy: Like the CWG, they knew the science was not on their side.

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The new new Merchants of Doubt

The people attacking the IPCC chapter on extreme event attribution are the newest iteration of the Merchants of Doubt. Their goal, like all Merchants before them, is to introduce doubt into the process.

Because the report is not even out yet, they cannot attack its conclusions. So they are attacking the authors instead. Here is a press release from the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee:

In the letter, the Chairmen express concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving members of the Attribution Committee, stating that “publicly available information suggests a troubling pattern” in which committee members are affiliated with nonprofits that support climate accountability lawsuits, “raising the appearance of impropriety and member bias.”

Merchants of Doubt

To be clear, this is just innuendo. There is no actual evidence of bias. And given the robust process that these reports go through, including multiple lines of peer review, it seems very unlikely that significant bias can survive into the report.

When the report comes out, critics will have the opportunity to make legitimate criticisms of the report — if any exist. If none do, however, they’ll still make criticisms, but they’ll be bogus, simply designed to generate doubt. We’ll see.

A note to the press: Fix your frame

To any journalists reading this: The public debate over extreme event attribution science is not going away. The science is simply too dangerous to fossil-fuel interests for them to stop fighting it.

You very well might be assigned to write an article about this area of research in the future. When you do, do not automatically adopt the framing that climate misinformers want you to use.

They want you to frame the story around questions like: Are climate scientists trying to put their thumb on the scale to achieve a predetermined, politically motivated result? Are climate scientists improperly letting their politics invade the science of the IPCC?

That frame is a trap.

Instead, you need to view this through the historical lens of the Merchants of Doubt. How does the ecosystem of doubt operate? Who funds it? What methods do they use to misrepresent science and slime researchers? What scientific results are they trying to keep people from understanding are legitimate?

Ultimately, you need to focus your article on the generation of doubt as a way to maintain the fossil fuel industry’s social and legal license to keep burning oil, gas, and coal.

If you treat the misinformers’ frame as a legitimate, good-faith scientific critique, you are helping them produce doubt. Don’t do it. Don’t be a Merchant of Doubt.

June 22, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on Approval of 10 New Backcountry Airstrips in Southern Utah’s Redrock Country – 6.22.26  None of the airstrips were previously designated or open to use and many were reclaimed 

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a decision approving 10 backcountry airstrips in the BLM’s Canyon Country District, which includes the Moab and Monticello field offices in the heart of Utah’s redrock country. These airstrips, many of which show no signs of recent use and none of which were open to use, are scattered across some of the most remote and ecologically sensitive landscapes in southern Utah—including the Gemini Bridges/Labyrinth Canyon area and the remote backcountry immediately adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark and additional information. Clark and additional information.

“The BLM continues to push motorized use in remote, wilderness-quality landscapes, to the benefit of a handful of private pilots and the detriment of wildlife, native vegetation, and public lands users seeking quiet, backcountry experiences,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “The unwillingness of both BLM and the backcountry pilots to acknowledge the reality of conditions on the ground and remove six of the airstrips from consideration – including those adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument – is unfortunate. We’ll be exploring all options to stop new and intrusive backcountry airplanes in these areas.”

Additional information: 

Based on recent on-the-ground fieldwork, SUWA called on the BLM to reject six of the ten proposed airstrips: Spring Canyon, Big Flat, Castle Creek, Nokai Dome, Piute, and Red Canyon; a map of those six airstrips can be found here. None of these airstrips have ever been officially designated, and despite unauthorized past use, many of these locations will require extensive clearing and ground disturbance as they have begun reclaiming and are not functional for takeoff or landing. Reopening them would require removal of mature native plants like blackbrush and junipers, fragmenting habitat and degrading wilderness characteristics. Several locations are within BLM-identified wilderness-quality lands or directly adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument, where aircraft noise and visual intrusions would diminish the solitude, natural soundscapes, and cultural landscapes these areas were meant to protect. 

The Spring Canyon and Big Flat airstrips lie within crucial bighorn habitat along the Green River corridor and near Canyonlands National Park—the same landscape where the BLM already restricts other recreation activities to protect these important species during lambing season. Similarly, raptors nesting near Big Flat, Nokai Dome, and other sites are highly sensitive to aviation noise, which discourages use of otherwise suitable nesting habitat. 

 SUWA’s members submitted over 2,500 comments in opposition to the decision. This decision comes on the heels of BLM approving the Keg Knoll airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness on June 12, 2026.  

### 
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

 

 

The post SUWA Statement on Approval of 10 new Backcountry Airstrips in Southern Utah’s Redrock Country – 6.22.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump Department of Agriculture today seeking records revealing who advocated behind the scenes for — and potentially ghost-wrote — the president’s Feb. 18 executive order directing the department to accelerate domestic production of glyphosate.

The order to increase U.S. production of the nation’s most-used herbicide was issued under the emergency powers granted to the president by the Defense Production Act — a Cold War-era law designed to address wartime shortages of critical goods.

Despite annual glyphosate use of more than 300 million pounds, the Trump executive order declared that increasing production of the pesticide was critical to national defense and ordered the federal government to ensure its continued availability.

Of Trump’s 13 executive orders invoking the Defense Production Act, the glyphosate order is unique for its language granting immunity to the chemical companies that make glyphosate should they take otherwise illegal actions in complying with the order.

“This executive order is another corrupt giveaway to the pesticide industry, and people have a right to know who pushed for it behind the scenes,” said Brett Hartl, the Center’s government affairs director. “The pesticide industry is doing everything they can to avoid accountability for the harms their products have caused across this country, and the only reason this administration is hiding these important records is that they will almost certainly show just how deeply the poison-makers’ influence permeates the Trump government.”

The executive order also declared elemental phosphorus, a key ingredient for glyphosate production, to be critical for national security. The order’s language mimics text that artificial intelligence generates when prompted to explain consumption of elemental phosphorus in the United States, including language that the nation imports “more than 6,000,000 kilograms” from other nations annually. The glyphosate executive order is the only executive order in the history of the nation to use the word “kilogram.”

“Everyone knows that Trump doesn’t write, let alone often read, the executive orders he signs,” said Hartl. “But the chatbot slop that makes up the majority of this executive order shows that virtually anything can reach the president’s desk if the right levers of power are pulled around Trump and his cronies.”

Glyphosate has been linked to a variety of human health impacts including cancer, liver disease, and developmental and metabolic disorders in young children that could lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Recent analysis has shown that despite acknowledged links between pesticides and cancers, regulators in the United States have consistently allowed pesticides to go to market with a cancer risk as high as 1 in every 100 people exposed, a far greater level than the EPA’s benchmark of a one in a million chance of developing cancer.

The executive order was released at the same time that the Trump administration was intervening in support of a lawsuit at the Supreme Court that could broadly shield pesticide makers from liability when their products fail to warn of their “likely” human carcinogenic qualities.

The Center submitted its Freedom of Information Act request in February but has not yet received any response from the USDA. The law is meant to ensure public access to information about the functioning of federal agencies by guaranteeing a response within 20 business days of a request.

Today’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Center expects to receive records from the suit in the next two to three months.

© Beckwith & FisherCarbon certifier Verra has re-certified for the second time a controversial carbon credits project in Kenya. #

The United States celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1976, and in a lot of ways it felt like a year-long celebration of everything that made our country great.

But there were dark sides to the American Bicentennial, including civil rights struggles, a gas crisis, and (of course) American capitalism.

The over-commercialization of the Bicentennial started long before 1976. As early as September 1974 people were already starting to call it the “Buy-centennial,” with many products designed to part fools from their money with maximum efficiency. Commemorative cars? Check. Special coins? Check. Red, white and blue lawn chairs? Check. Useless parchment certificates proclaiming your patriotism? Check.

Literally, write and mail a check (in those pre-Venmo days) and all of that could have been yours.

The “patriotic” commerce was everywhere. SeaWorld renamed one of its captive killer whales “Yankee Doodle.” Companies marketed toilet seats with eagles underneath the lids. George Washington and other Revolutionary icons were painted onto just about any piece of crap you could imagine.

There were even awards to celebrate the “most tasteless exploitation” of the Bicentennial, with “winners” such as “Paul Revere” ice cream and red-white-and-blue funeral caskets. (I’m sure that last one was some sort of violation of the Flag Code.)

And it wasn’t just these Bicentennial-themed products. Retailers also got into the act, with special “Spirit of 76” sales or “wrapped in the flag” marketing campaigns starting in January and running rampant as Independence Day approached.

What was funny — or, perhaps, completely predictable — is that a lot of the people who set out to exploit the Bicentennial ended up losing their shirts. Come July 5, 1976, whatever Bicentennial-branded products remained on the shelves became instantly worthless. One guy in Utah bought 7,200 Bicentennial chains and medallions; by the end of 1976 he had about 7,120 left that he couldn’t even give away. Our nation’s landfills must all have a layer of red, white and blue crap from around this time for any hardy archeologists with enough intestinal fortitude to dig deep and explore.

Of course, none of this is much different from the aisles of cheap, imported junk we still see in stores every year come July 4 — especially this year as our nation’s 250th anniversary looms. Right now you can go to any local grocery store, drug store, or big-box retailer to buy poorly made flag T-shirts, flag plastic plates, patriotic disposable forks, cups with bald eagles on the side, and maybe — if you look hard enough — an actual flag or two buried amidst the disposables and Monster energy drinks we use to “celebrate” Independence Day.

Photo: John R. Platt/The Revelator

And this year has the extra capitalist curse of the Trump presidency looming over it. Our Grifter in Chief and his family have emblazoned his name and ugly mug on a veritable infinite number of products designed to siphon the few remaining dollars from his acolytes’ wallets or bank accounts.

The one saving grace compared to 50 years ago is that a lot of this ephemeral Trump “merch” is print-on-demand, so there won’t be as much unsold excess to end up in a landfill — just hundreds of AI-generated images destined for a computer’s trash bin.

But even ephemera can last a long time, thanks to the wonders of the Internet. I spent a few years researching the Bicentennial (a project from which this essay is adapted), and I’ve uncovered a host of things that still speak to the lessons we haven’t learned over the past 50 years.

So as the Trump-infused Semiquincentennial bears down on us, let’s look back at the capitalist dystopia of the Buy-Centennial through the wonder of 1976 newspaper advertisements. Maybe they can offer a few reminders that unchecked capitalism and waste aren’t patriotic — or worth celebrating.

Sexism never went out of style.

Your constitutional right to banking.

A lot of stories ran prices like this during the Bicentennial.

Free flag with a bucket of chicken!

Existing mascots often found themselves wearing tri-corner hats and waving flags.

This clip art of sexy “Uncle” Sam showed up in newspapers all over the country.

Here’s that same model in an ad for “Buy-sale-tennial Specials.” Sheesh.

High inflation and labor exploitation … sounds like today.

The British are coming … to watch HBO!

Follow the troops to Beth’s Kitchen. Wow, this one’s offensive.

Metal detectors helped in the Revolutionary War?

I call this George Washington-washing.

Ouch. That’s some awful artwork. But soooo Seventies.

This one is actually kind of cute.

Not the greatest drawing, but…

…it sure got used a lot. For a lot of different things. All over the country.

Another mascot embraces the day.

A sexy minuteman — er, maid — sells cars. This photo was used by companies all over the nation. Because sex.

Our founding fathers’ best quotes turned into ads for various companies. This same spread shows up in regional papers all over the country selling different stuff for each town.

200th birthday, save $200. This clipart of a town crier showed up all over the place. I love the awful paste-up job on the text here.

So many companies did this. “America is 200, and we’re 50, so it’s exactly the same thing!”

Is pointing a gun at your customers ever a good idea?

Local businesses often ran photos or caricatures of their salespeople in their ads, but rarely like this.

I don’t even know what this mascot is supposed to be.

What are the most egregious Semiquincentennial products you’ve encountered? Let me know at jplatt@therevelator.org — and send photos!

Republish this article for free! Read our reprint policy. Previously in The Revelator:

Let’s Rename the Day After Thanksgiving ‘Extinction Friday’

 

The post America 250: Echoes of the Buy-Centennial appeared first on The Revelator.

The House Committee on Ways and Means is currently considering a set of cryptocurrency taxation bills that could potentially offer huge tax benefits to President Trump’s sons as well as his allies and donors in the crypto industry. Concerningly, a number of members who have benefited greatly from cryptocurrency donations and SuperPAC spending in recent elections will decide whether or not to create massive new tax loopholes for the industry.

One bill in particular would create a functional subsidy for cryptocurrency firms by allowing them to defer taxes owed on their mined coins indefinitely and without interest, so long as the firms do not sell the coins. These firms—which could then borrow against these assets without ever having paid taxes on them as received income—are expecting recipients of the industry’s largesse to enshrine these proposed giveaways to its oligarchs. For example, Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith received $105,168 from the industry in the 2026 cycle, more than a tenfold increase in the donations he received from them last cycle.

Many others, Democrats and Republicans alike, have received significant sums, with Nevada Democrat Steven Horsford alone receiving close to $2 million from the industry in the past two cycles. A full report on cryptocurrency donations to the Ways and Means Committee can be viewed here. An executive summary is also available here.

The bill that would allow for deferral of tax payment on cryptocurrency mining could prove particularly valuable for the sons of President Trump. Eric and Donald Trump Jr. reportedly hold a 20% stake in the bitcoin mining firm American Bitcoin, which mined 817 bitcoin in Q1 of 2026 alone. At current prices, this represents a value of more than $50 million, and the company has stated that it already intends to hold assets it mines. If passed, this loophole could mean millions of dollars in taxes owed by the Trump sons’ firm could be deferred endlessly. Larger firms in the industry would receive even more benefits from this loophole.

Warning of this potential payoff to the Trump family and the crypto insiders who have funneled money to candidates on both sides of the aisle, The Revolving Door Project’s Executive Director, Jeff Hauser said the following: “The cryptocurrency industry believes it is owed massive tax loopholes and functional subsidies because it has bought the president, paid for his ballroom project, and has funded dozens of congressional campaigns. The lack of campaign finance reform is the principal reason that the ludicrously corrupt Trump family is set to enjoy yet another tax loophole to exploit. Polls have repeatedly shown that voters are not in support of the crypto industry’s agenda, yet sweetheart legislation continues to be this Congress’ highest priority. If Members of Congress wish to prove that their influence is not for sale, rejecting the industry that has lavished them with so much support is the perfect opportunity to do so.”

Revolving Door Project Assistant Director Timi Iwayemi chimed in, adding “The cryptocurrency industry has facilitated the Trump family’s corruption at every turn. Lawmakers should be wary of creating new tax loopholes to benefit the Trump family and their donors in the crypto industry. Rewarding this behavior will embolden the crypto industry and other corporate lobbies eager to seize on our elected representatives’ prioritization of donor interests at public expense.”

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Even the most ambitious national climate plans aimed at cutting emissions to meet the 1.5C global warming goal in the Paris Agreement often lack a vital ingredient for success: private investment.

With governments facing fiscal and political pressures, attracting private capital will be crucial for accelerating climate action in the coming years.

Yet many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) still do not have the sector-specific plans, economic incentives, policy certainty, infrastructure investment and ongoing dialogue needed to break silos between the public and private sectors and bring more businesses on board.

“If you just have the high-level (NDC) target from the government in a vacuum, it’s not going to spur much business action,” said Greg Briner, senior manager for policy at the We Mean Business Coalition, which works with companies pushing for stronger climate action.

“But that target combined with … more specific policies and measures that get put in place as a result of that target-implementing process, or as a result of the NDCs, is where the magic starts happening,” he explained.

NDCs: late and inadequate

NDCs are voluntary climate action plans created by countries under the Paris Agreement. They include commitments such as expanding renewable energy, reducing fossil fuels, halting deforestation and other measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming.

First submitted in 2015 for the Paris Agreement, NDCs should be updated with more ambitious targets every five years, although some governments have not stuck to this timetable.  

Last year, most countries missed an initial February deadline to finalise the latest round of plans, known as “NDCs 3.0” – and at least 50 countries, mainly developing nations, have still not done so.

Paris Agreement committee snubbed over missing NDC climate plans

Although these national plans have helped drive emissions reductions in some sectors – including falling deforestation rates and greater investments in renewables – climate experts say progress remains far too slow to meet the Paris goals and urgent action is now needed.

Last November, the UN climate body projected that global emissions would fall by around 12% from 2019 levels by 2035, based on a preliminary assessment of new NDCs announced by countries that produce nearly 70% of the world’s greenhouse gases.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said countries should cut emissions far more rapidly, with a 60% drop by 2035 needed to limit global warming to 1.5C.

But for developing economies especially, the multi-billion-dollar costs associated with transitioning to greener energy systems and curbing their emissions are still a major barrier. Climate experts say governments and businesses need to move in step if NDC targets are to be achieved.

“There are positive actions going on but we need a significant ramping up. It’s not happening quickly enough,” said Briner. “It’s (about) building on these foundations that are being put in place.”

Nurturing the conditions for private investment

Last September, consumer goods giant Unilever published a report, entitled Bold Plans, Real Impact, examining how corporate climate transition plans and NDCs can support each other.

Among its recommendations, the report called for governments to provide clearer roadmaps for private-sector engagement. It also highlighted the need for stronger regulatory frameworks, market incentives, sector-specific transition pathways and integrated, economy-wide planning.

For businesses, the report recommended aligning their transition plans with national climate priorities, collaborating more closely with industry peers, strengthening monitoring and verification systems, and unlocking finance through public-private partnerships.

Comment: The missing piece in COP climate talks – market signals for adaptation 

A year earlier, the We Mean Business Coalition published a similar report, Time to Deliver: Business Call to Action for Ambitious and Investible NDCs.

This report urged governments – particularly in the G20 economies – to unlock private investment through sectoral targets, clean energy expansion, energy efficiency measures, fossil fuel phase-outs and commitments to halt deforestation.

It also stressed the importance of translating climate targets into concrete policies, backed by national implementation strategies and coordination across ministries.

Another key recommendation was the need for more transparent and inclusive dialogue with businesses throughout the NDC process. Early consultation with companies, the report said, should be embedded into the development and implementation of NDCs to ensure that climate plans reflect commercial realities.

Briner of We Mean Business said the economics of decarbonisation have changed dramatically over the past two decades.

“Ten to 20 years ago, decarbonising and investing in clean energy and electrification was seen as nice-to-have and a more expensive option, but these days, it simply makes business sense,” he said, referring to recent geopolitical events in the Middle East that have roiled oil and gas markets, pushing up fossil fuel prices.

However, upfront costs for clean energy infrastructure remain a major hurdle. Governments therefore need to complement climate policies with investments, concessional loans, grants, subsidies and tax incentives to help reduce risks, Briner added.

“Globally, there are still significant subsidies going to fossil fuels in different forms,” he said. “If we could redirect some of those current incentives away from fossil fuels and into clean electrification and clean energy, then that would certainly help.”

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Brazil’s sector-specific climate planning

Brazil’s NDC targets include expanding renewable energy – which already accounts for nearly 45% of its energy mix – ending illegal deforestation and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to Briner, Brazil’s climate strategy – known as Plano Clima – offers an example of how governments can provide businesses with clearer implementation guidance.

Years in development, the initiative sets out how Brazil intends to meet its climate goals through a series of sectoral plans covering areas such as energy, transport and land use.

“They’ve put together some pretty detailed, impressive plans,” Briner said. “Those are the types of things that will influence business models and business decisions. It’s this more detailed second layer of setting out national plans which is of interest to business.”

A solar farm near the Brazilian city of Curitiba (Photo: C40 Cities) A solar farm near the Brazilian city of Curitiba (Photo: C40 Cities)

Last year, a transport coalition of more than 50 associations, companies and academia put forward a plan to help reduce the sector’s emissions and attract more than $600 billion in green investments in Brazil.  

The previous year, 55 companies operating in Brazil, including Natura, Nestle, Itau and Unilever, called for more ambitious NDCs and clearer implementation policies, as well as encouraging climate-friendly investment and private-sector involvement.    

Unilever, for example, has a global goal to create a deforestation-free supply chain and is partnering with a leading supplier in Brazil to ensure that soybean oil used at its factory there is not linked to forest loss.

Cheaper capital, high-quality projects

Although Brazil has relatively sophisticated capital markets, high interest rates still make long-term, low-carbon investments difficult, said Natalie Unterstell, president of the Talanoa Institute, a Brazilian environmental think-tank.

To address this challenge, Brazil is scaling up Fundo Clima – its National Climate Change Fund – as a central part of its implementation strategy by offering cheaper financing at scale.

But Unterstell said the private sector also needs to demonstrate that it can develop and deliver high-quality, low-carbon projects.

“Making Brazil’s policies investable is about making sure cheaper capital meets a pipeline of real, high-quality projects,” she said by email.

Brazilian firm behind SAF plan found growing oil palm on deforested Amazon land

While many companies have announced climate commitments, investment decisions have not always followed, she added.

“What companies can do better is move from targets to investment: adopt robust transition plans, and integrate carbon risk into core financial decisions,” Unterstell said.

On the government side, the priority is to “fix the signals”, she added. That means ensuring Brazil’s regulated carbon market – which is due to start in 2027 for sectors including iron and steel, cement, and oil and gas – operates with clear rules, credible enforcement and no delays, while aligning public finance with climate goals and providing long-term policy certainty.

“At the moment, both sides are waiting for stronger signals from the other, hence breaking that co-ordination problem is key,” she said.

Indonesia’s challenge: bridging the finance gap

Like Brazil, Indonesia is home to large areas of rainforest, but its energy mix relies far more heavily on fossil fuels, with coal providing about a third of supply. In its NDCs, Indonesia has pledged to reduce emissions by 31.9% by 2030 compared with business-as-usual levels, or by 43.2% with international support, on the way to reaching net zero by 2060.

Yet despite being promised more than $20 billion in international financial support from donor governments and investors under its Just Energy Transition Partnership, Jakarta has decided to row back on a plan to close a key coal power station early, saying it will focus on shuttering older and dirtier plants first.

To attract private investment to help achieve its emissions goals, Indonesia must provide policy clarity and long-term certainty, said Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, an Indonesian think-tank.

Comment: Indonesia’s failing Just Energy Transition Partnership is a cautionary tale

“Any investor wants to understand the long-term risks of the country so that they can assess the risks properly and come up with a risk mitigation strategy. Uncertain policies basically make investors unable to mitigate the risks,” Tumiwa told Climate Home News.

“To make Indonesia’s climate policies investable for the private sector, the core task is to convert climate ambition into bankable, enforceable, risk-adjusted projects,” he said. “Investors do not only need targets; they need predictable revenue, credible off-takers, permits, grid access, currency-risk management and policy durability.”

Indonesia has estimated the investment needed to meet its NDC goals at more than $400 billion but has yet to clearly outline how businesses can directly contribute, said Egi Suarga, senior manager for climate at World Resources Institute Indonesia, a research organisation.

He said climate action should be framed as an investment opportunity rather than an economic burden.

Evolving policies and regulations

Over 100 Indonesian companies have adopted net-zero and are ready to ramp up decarbonisation given clear national guidance, according to the We Mean Business Coalition.

Indonesia’s Indika Energy is making heavy investments in renewable energy such as solar, while cement company Solusi Bangun Indonesia is also investing in cleaner energy, fuel efficiency and pushing better biodiversity management.             

Meanwhile, Unilever’s climate transition plan states that the company is working with local government and environmental NGOs in Indonesia to protect and restore forests in Aceh and North Sumatra. It is also switching from natural gas to biomethane at its Indonesian sites.

An Indonesian ranger patrols a forest protected through a carbon credit project. Photo: Dita Alangkara/CIFOR An Indonesian ranger patrols a forest protected through a carbon credit project. Photo: Dita Alangkara/CIFOR

One positive development, Suarga noted, is the creation of carbon pricing regulations aimed at attracting private finance, with an initial focus on the forestry sector.

“It can create a good climate for investors,” he said. “It doesn’t directly mention that this is for achieving the NDCs but there is no trade-off between development financing with environmental protections – so that’s a good start.”

Indonesia also needs stronger incentives and regulations for renewable energy, he added.

“We also have to think about other sectors now – like the energy sector and renewables,” Suarga said. “How can the government provide more incentives or facilitating regulations that can be more profitable to create a level playing field for renewables and fossil fuels?”

Ambition loop to drive action

Like Tumiwa, Suarga stressed the need for greater dialogue between the government and businesses so companies can understand better how they can contribute to Indonesia’s emissions targets.

“They know about sustainability because of the market and demands of the market… [but] I’m not sure whether [they] really understand about Indonesia’s target to achieve a certain amount of emissions reductions in the NDCs,” he said.

Currently, the government and private sector are largely working separately, Suarga added. The challenge lies in bringing them together to set targets, plan implementation and monitor emissions reductions. “It will need two to tango. The government should engage more with the private sector,” he emphasised.

Big banks’ lending to coal backers undermines Indonesia’s green plans 

For the We Mean Business Coalition’s Briner, what is ultimately needed is an “ambition loop” in which businesses lead on emissions reductions while governments create policies that accelerate private-sector action.

“It really helps governments when they have a strong voice from business calling for policy action. It helps move things forward,” he said.

Without stronger policies and incentives, achieving NDC goals will become increasingly difficult to achieve and costly, experts say.

“It’s really a case of all hands-on deck right now,” Briner said. “We need all sides of this equation working together and trying to get this done because there isn’t an alternative.”

The post Two to tango: How governments can unlock private investment for national climate goals appeared first on Climate Home News.

A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 14, 2026 thru Sat, June 20, 2026. Stories we promoted this week, by category:

Climate Change Impacts (8 articles)

• What's driving up your expenses? Many Americans say climate change Most Democrats and moderate Republicans agree that global warming is increasing the cost of living, a new survey shows. The Daily Climate, Kate Yoder, Jun 14, 2026.
• As Global Warming Threatens Corals Worldwide, Woods Hole Scientists Search for `Super Reefs` That Can Take the Heat If protected, researchers say these coral strongholds may help repopulate more degraded reefs across the Central Pacific. Inside Climate News, Teresa Tomassoni, Jun 14, 2026.
• Tensions Are Rising Between States That Rely on the Colorado River A prolonged drought means the nation’s largest reservoirs are dwindling, and litigation over access to water could lie ahead. NYT, Scott Dance, Jun 15, 2026.
• The `super El Niño` is here. What happens next could upend food systems worldwide How the cyclical weather pattern interacts with climate change could spark hunger around the world. The Daily Climate, Grist, Jun 16, 2026.
• Antarctica Heatwave: Rapid Melt-Off Sparks Warning Over Doomsday Glacier A freak Antarctica heatwave in June has stunned scientists and deepened concern that the rapid melting could accelerate future sea-level rise. IBT, Kenneth Axl, Jun 16, 2026.
• A Texas-size chunk of winter sea ice is missing from Antarctica - and it's probably not coming back An area of ice nearly the size of Texas has failed to form over the Bellingshausen Sea, off western Antarctica, as researchers investigate the links between sea ice loss and global warming. Live Science, Patrick Pester, Jun 16, 2026.
• Climate change is now causing more local extinction in temperate regions than the tropics, study shows Phys.org, Kylianne Chadwick, University of Arizona, Jun 18, 2026.
• Seal pups and seabird chicks are suffering in extreme weather. How can we protect them? The Conversation, Milan Sojitra, Mark Hemer, Sophie Bestley and Stuart Corney, Jun 19, 2026.

Climate Science and Research (6 articles)

• ‘Weird and capricious’: Experts struggle to understand new list of political jobs at science agencies NOAA among agencies to be commanded by political apparatchiks. Science, Jeffrey Mervis, June 10, 2026.
• Amoc collapse could change Europe`s climate 10x faster than expected. We aren`t ready The system of ocean current that moves heat in the Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in regulating climate, leaving us to wonder why monitoring of ocean behavior is being discontinued. The Guardian, Penny Holliday, Femke de Jong and Sjoerd Groeskamp, Jun 14, 2026.
• Climate models are missing the first warning signs of deadly Middle East heat waves, study finds Climate change deniers often criticize climate models as just more "alarmism," but here's yet another case where models are in fact underestimating hazards of human-caused climate change. Phys.org, HUJ press release, Jun 17, 2026.
• Trump U-turn on ending ocean initiative comes as UN says science is under attack The Trump administration is pausing plans to dismantle a deep-sea monitoring system after facing fierce opposition. New Zealand Herald, Agence France Presse, Jun 18, 2026.
• Does climate change lead to more migration? Here`s why researchers can`t agree on the evidence Over recent decades, the relationship between climate change and migration has become an active, dynamic field of research, but far from producing a unified view the topic is still plagued with major conceptual, methodological and political discrepancies. The Conversation, Alexis Cloquell Lozano, Beatriz Felipe Pérez, Joan Lacomba Vazquez, María Isolda Perelló Carrascosa, Jun 19, 2026.
• Is Climate Change Supercharging El Niño? As a new, potentially record-breaking El Niño begins, researchers are vigorously debating whether climate change is driving the phenomenon’s intensity. NYT, Chico Harlan, Jun 19, 2026.

Climate Policy and Politics (4 articles)

• Denial is back in vogue. As Australia leads climate talks, it`s beyond time we took the issue seriously The Guardian, Adam Morton, Jun 13, 2026.
• The UK has the means to avoid climate policy being driven by culture wars English - The Conversation, Chris Rapley, Professor of Climate Science, UCL, Jun 15, 2026.
• Bonn climate talks end in "gridlock" on adaptation and emissions-cutting Splits between developed and developing countries over finance and science held back progress on key areas of climate action, leaving disappointment and much work for COP31. Climate Home News, Joe Lo, Jun 18, 2026.
• Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to End Ocean Monitoring System The reversal comes after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday to block the removal of deep-sea monitoring instruments. New York Times, Maxine Joselow, Jun 18, 2026.

Miscellaneous (4 articles)

• 3 facts to ruin your World Cup watch party It's a tough job. But somebody has to do it. HEATED, Emily Atkin, Jun 12, 2026.
• 2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #24 A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 7, 2026 thru Sat, June 13, 2026. Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler & Doug Bostrom, Jun 14, 2026.
• Analysis: UK`s EV drivers are now saving £1,100 each a year - and £3bn in total Battery EVs (BEVs) are roughly four times more efficient than combustion-engine cars, making them far cheaper to run – particularly since the Iran crisis caused a spike in fossil-fuel prices. Carbon Brief, Simon Evans, Jun 15, 2026.
• Trump admin abandons fight against wind energy as clean energy output surges Legal victories have dampened the Trump admin’s efforts to halt wind and solar power. Ars Technica, Aman Azhar, Jun 16, 2026.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (2 articles)

• The easiest climate change win ever Youtube, Simon Clark, June 12, 2026.
• Efforts to combat climate change often exclude Indigenous people-and they may not have any recourse Phys.org, Buket Alt?nçelep, The Conversation, Jun 15, 2026.

Climate Education and Communication (2 articles)

• One of the world`s most important climate threats has an image problem The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is Immense in size, immense in potential impacts as it shows signs of fading due to warming, and presents similarly large challenges for conveying risks to the general public. The Conversation, Fionagh Thomson, Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, Jun 17, 2026.
• Cooking up the Climate Stripes, with Ed Hawkins June 20 is "Climate Stripes Day" across the world and the creator Ed Hawkins of this iconic graphic recently talked with Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan on their "Totally Cooked" podcast about them. 21st Center Weather on Youtube, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan, June 17, 2026.

International Climate Conferences and Agreements (1 article)

• Science `under attack` from fossil fuel interests at UN climate talks A coalition of some rich nations and the world’s most vulnerable have vowed to protect climate science in UN negotiations Climate Home News, Megan Rowling, Jun 17, 2026.

Public Misunderstandings about Climate Science (1 article)

• The Shifting Politics of Climate Change A new poll suggests Republicans may be more movable on climate change than previously thought. NYT, David Gelles, Jun 18, 2026.

If you happen upon high quality climate-science and/or climate-myth busting articles from reliable sources while surfing the web, please feel free to submit them via this Google form so that we may share them widely. Thanks!

June 20 is "Climate Stripes Day" across the world and the creator Ed Hawkins of this iconic graphic recently talked with Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan on their "Totally Cooked" podcast about them.

From the video's description:

In this episode of Totally Cooked: The Climate & Weather Podcast, hosts Iain Strachan and Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick sit down with one of the world’s most recognisable climate communicators: Professor Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading. Ed is the climate scientist behind the now-iconic Climate Stripes, a deceptively simple graphic made of blue and red bars that tells the story of global warming at a glance. First published in 2018, the stripes visualise more than a century of rising global temperatures, with each stripe representing the average temperature for a single year and shifting from cooler blues to warmer reds as the planet heats up.

The Climate Stripes have travelled far beyond academic journals. Downloaded more than a million times within days of their public release, they’ve appeared everywhere from social media campaigns and fashion to projections on famous landmarks, helping people around the world understand climate change without needing a single axis label or number. In this conversation, Ed explains how the idea emerged from a desire to communicate climate data more clearly, why the stripes resonated so strongly with the public, and how visualisations like the climate spiral (another of his widely shared creations) can make complex science instantly understandable.

But this episode goes beyond the stripes. Ed also discusses his research into climate variability and extreme weather, his work with the UK’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and the Weather Rescue citizen science project, which recruits volunteers to digitise historical weather records from handwritten archives. Together, these efforts help scientists extend the climate record further into the past, giving us a clearer picture of how quickly our climate is changing, and why communicating that change effectively matters more than ever.

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

Link to the episode's page.

Horne 5: une épée de Damoclès en zone urbaine surpolluée Quebec, Canada

Image : Horne 5. Crédit : Ressources Falco Ltée, Rouyn-Noranda.(1)

Résumé

Notre cas emblématique de résistance à l’extractivisme concerne la réouverture d’une mine dans la ville de Rouyn-Noranda, au Québec (Canada). Le projet minier Horne 5 de Ressource Falco Ltée vise l’extraction d’un gisement polymétallique dont le principal attrait économique est l’or. Le projet est situé dans le quartier Notre-Dame et sous la Fonderie Horne de Glencore qui, depuis son ouverture en 1927, pollue drastiquement l’air de Rouyn-Noranda. 

 

Le projet Horne 5 figure parmi les projets miniers les plus dangereux, inacceptables et nuisibles des dernières décennies au Québec. En plus de présenter des risques psychosociaux importants, ce projet comporte des dangers catastrophiques pour la sécurité publique, l’équilibre socioéconomique, ainsi que pour la protection de l’environnement.

Image : La Fonderie Horne – Symbole de la pollution à Rouyn-Noranda, 1978. Crédit : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.(2)

Image : Les travailleurs de la Mine Noranda — photo prise entre 1962 et 1978. Crédit : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image : Travailleurs de la Mine Noranda sur la ligne de piquetage pendant la grève de 1946-1947. Crédit : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image : Marche anti-pollution organisée par le théâtre de Coppe qui avait pour thématique l’enterrement du lac Osisko, 1985. Crédit : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image : La Fonderie Horne de Glencore sous la neige et les rejets toxiques, photo prise entre 1962 et 1978. Crédit : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image : La Fonderie Horne de Glencore pollue encore aujourd’hui. Crédit : Guillaume Proulx, 2019. Rouyn-Noranda.

 

Le paysage culturel de Rouyn-Noranda

Rouyn-Noranda est une ville de 42 000 habitant·e·s, située sur le Nitakinan, anicinape aki, territoire anicinabe non cédé. Le contexte politique de Rouyn-Noranda a été marqué par des luttes critiques sur les plans sociaux et juridiques et favorisant historiquement les industries extractives. Cette ville est un îlot de culture (musique, arts visuels, arts performatifs, théâtre, etc.) au sein de la forêt boréale. Rouyn-Noranda est le berceau d’une communauté pluriculturelle, résistante, militante et familiale. Le projet Horne 5 est situé notamment sur le territoire ancestral de la Première Nation de Long Point. Rouyn-Noranda cohabite avec les activités industrielles historiques depuis sa création, il y a 100 ans cette année.

Image : Page Facebook du Collectif 33 (3), Rouyn-Noranda.

Si accepté, le projet minier Horne 5 s’insérerait au cœur même de ce milieu de vie, sous une zone déjà fragilisée par de nombreuses galeries minières abandonnées. La littérature reflète d’ailleurs un manque de données sur les mines en milieu urbain, puisque ces études de cas sont peu nombreuses.

 

Horne 5 – L’épée de Damoclès

Image : Ressources Falco Ltée (4).

Le projet Horne 5 qui prévoit l’extraction de 15 500 tonnes de minerai par jour à des profondeurs allant jusqu’à 2 000 m et générant 80 millions de tonnes de résidus miniers a été soumis au BAPE (Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement) pour une consultation publique en 2024. Cette procédure nécessite, lorsque le gouvernement confie un tel mandat, que le président du BAPE forme une commission d’enquête chargée d’évaluer les impacts du projets., Cette évaluation formelle a mis en lumière  est associé à plusieurs enjeux critiques, dont :

1. Affaissements de terrain et sismicité induite : Sans compter tous les risques liés aux affaissements de terrain et la sismicité induite, notons que le projet est situé sous la Fonderie Horne — composée d’infrastructures désuètes — où des bassins d’acide sulfurique et autres produits toxiques pourraient engendrer de véritables catastrophes environnementales et des risques de mortalités importantes chez les travailleur·euse·s de même qu’au sein de la population. Rouyn-Noranda aura d’ailleurs déjà été témoin d’affaissement de terrain soudain en 2013, en plein coeur du parc Mouska — une aire de détente et de jeux familiale. Le trou de plus de 3 mètres se trouvait au-dessus du site de l’ancienne mine Chadbourne, l’une des nombreuses mines abandonnées dans les sous-sols de la ville. (5)

2. Droits ancestraux : L’apparence de contravention aux droits ancestraux de la Première Nation de Long Pointe constitue un enjeu important à ce projet minier. En effet, lors de la commission d’enquête, les réponses fournies par le gouvernement ont soulevé « des doutes raisonnables à l’effet que l’obligation constitutionnelle de consulter les autochtones détenteurs de droits ancestraux n’a pas été respectée pour l’ensemble des communautés dont le territoire est visé par le projet minier Horne 5, à commencer par la Première Nation de Long Pointe. ». (6)

3. Protection de l’eau : En plus de menacer l’intégrité de nombreux plans d’eau par l’implantation de pipelines de prélèvement d’eau douce, le projet Horne 5 comporte de nombreux risques de contamination grave du lac Dufault, soit le lac qui approvisionne l’unique station de pompage en eau potable de la ville de Rouyn-Noranda. Cette contamination pourrait se matérialiser par des fuites des pipelines de 17 km transportant les résidus miniers ou des fuites provenant des digues des parcs à résidus.

4. Écoblanchiment : La compagnie utilise un discours d’écoblanchiment quant aux actions liées à son plan de gestion du passif minier du projet, alors que leur plan en ce qui concerne les résidus miniers menace sérieusement l’environnement et la santé humaine. En effet, après avoir sélectionné un site non restauré pour accumuler les résidus projetés, le promoteur cherche à faire croire à la communauté qu’ajouter des matières acidogènes, lixiviables et cyanurées dans l’environnement puisse constituer une option avantageuse.

5. Qualité de l’air : Les activités industrielles réalisées par la Fonderie Horne de Glencore dans la ville de Rouyn-Noranda génèrent des taux alarmants de métaux lourds (arsenic, baryum, cadmium, cuivre, nickel et plomb). Les niveaux inacceptables de pollution atmosphérique générés par la fonderie, ainsi que la complicité du gouvernement qui les tolère constituent l’un des scandales environnementaux les plus persistants et les plus controversés au Québec. La littérature démontre d’ailleurs que la population de Rouyn-Noranda est exposée à un surplus de cancers du poumon, de maladies pulmonaires obstructives chroniques, de problèmes neurologiques et à des retards de croissance intra-utérins. La Fonderie Horne est encore autorisée à opérer la fonte de déchets provenant des quatre coins de la planète pour en extraire le cuivre, sous le seuil de 45 ng/m³ d’arsenic dans l’air à Rouyn-Noranda. La compagnie réclame actuellement un report jusqu’en 2030 pour l’atteinte d’un seuil intérimaire de 15 ng/m³, nonobstant la norme québécoise de 3 ng/m³. Pourtant, l’Institut national de santé publique du Québec stipulait en 2022 que si le seuil de 15 ng/m³ protège les groupes vulnérables (comme les enfants) contre certains effets, la seule cible à considérer comme sécuritaire demeure la norme de 3 ng/m³. Le projet Horne 5 cherche ainsi à s’insérer dans un milieu où les normes sont déjà dépassées, contrevenant au régime d’application de l’article 197 du Règlement sur l’assainissement de l’atmosphère. L’autorisation d’un nouveau projet minier ne ferait ainsi qu’aggraver une situation illégale tolérée depuis trop longtemps.

 

Credit: Guillaume Proulx, 2019, Rouyn-Noranda.

 

6. Coûts sociaux et économiques multiples : Les impacts socioéconomiques incluent d’abord l’augmentation de la demande en logement induite par l’arrivée de nouveaux travailleurs et de leur famille. Cette demande se manifeste malgré un taux d’inoccupation extrêmement faible de 0,9 % en 2025 (7), ce qui est nettement inférieur au seuil d’équilibre de 3 % reconnu au Québec. Autrement dit, Rouyn-Noranda est déjà confrontée à une grave crise du logement qui ne fera qu’empirer avec l’arrivée de nouveaux travailleurs. « Par ailleurs, la relocalisation progressive de résident·e·s pour la création d’une zone tampon à proximité de la Fonderie Horne — mesure à venir après 2028 — témoigne de l’ampleur des défis environnementaux et sanitaires avec lesquels la ville et sa population doivent (déjà) composer» (8). S’ajoutent à cela l’anxiété et la fatigue sociale de la population ainsi que les menaces sur l’attractivité et la vitalité de Rouyn-Noranda sur le long terme.

Agenda des luttes et de la résistance

Voici un survol de l’agenda de la mobilisation citoyenne en lien avec le projet Horne 5.

• 17 mai 2024 | Appel à la mobilisation citoyenne

Diffusion d’un communiqué de presse qui invitait la population de Rouyn-Noranda à assister à la première rencontre d’information au sujet du projet Horne 5. 

• 21 mai 2024 | Envoi d’une lettre officielle au ministre de l’Environnement et d’une lettre officielle au président du BAPE 

Envoi d’une lettre officielle au ministre faisant la demande conjointe d’audiences publiques menées par le Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) concernant le projet Horne 5 ainsi que d’une lettre officielle au président du BAPE faisant la demande conjointe de tenir une rencontre préparatoire à l’intention du public avant l’audience publique. La rencontre préparatoire a eu lieu le 13 août 2024.

• 27 juin 2024 | Invitation à un atelier de planification de la participation communautaire

Diffusion d’un communiqué de presse invitant les citoyen·ne·s à un atelier gratuit le 7 juillet 2024 sur la planification d’une participation aux audiences du Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) pour le projet minier Horne 5.

• 14 et 26 août 2024 | Participation à des rencontres stratégiques avec les citoyen·ne·s de Rouyn-Noranda

Deux rencontres stratégiques tout juste avant le début de la commission d’enquête.

• 27 août 2024 | Début des audiences du BAPE à Rouyn-Noranda : Plusieurs questions cruciales à poser sur l’inquiétant projet minier Horne 5

Diffusion d’un communiqué de presse stipulant que : « La société civile est prête pour l’exercice. Malgré le déclenchement du dossier en plein été et une présentation de la documentation anarchique et sans préavis de la part de la compagnie, les groupes sont parvenus à étudier en détail le dossier en mettant leurs ressources en commun.»

Image : Rouyn-Noranda pendant le Bureau d’audiences publiques de l’environnement au sujet du projet Horne 5. Crédit : Radio-Canada / Lise Millette (9)

• Du 27 au 29 août 2024 | Participation aux cinq séances de la première partie des audiences publiques du BAPE à Rouyn-Noranda.

Période d’information et de présentation des tenants et aboutissants du projet ainsi que des enjeux environnementaux. Les citoyen·ne·s peuvent notamment poser des questions au promoteur. 

 

• 16 au 26 septembre 2024 | Période de temps octroyée à la transmission de points de vue à l’oral, par le biais d’un mémoire, par commentaire ou par image commentée.

Le 26 septembre était la date limite pour le dépôt des mémoires. La Coalition Québec Meilleure Mine et MiningWatch Canada ont fait un dépôt d’un mémoire conjoint concernant le projet minier Horne 5 de Ressource Falco Ltée.

 

• 30 septembre au 3 octobre 2024 | Deuxième partie d’audience publique du BAPE pour le projet minier Horne 5 de Ressources Falco.

Cette deuxième partie permet aux personnes de s’exprimer sur le sujet. C’est l’occasion d’émettre, par exemple, des recommandations ou même de faire la présentation à l’oral de son mémoire.

 

• Automne 2024 | Recommandation d’octroi d’un mandat d’analyse des risques sismiques de la part des autorités de santé régionales.

Les autorités de santé régionales (le CISSS-AT) ont recommandé au ministère d’exiger des études approfondies sur les risques de tremblements de terre causés par la mine. La préoccupation majeure concerne le centre de radio-oncologie — également situé dans le quartier Notre-Dame — de Rouyn-Noranda, où les vibrations pourraient endommager les équipements de soin.

• 23 décembre 2024 | Dépôt du rapport du BAPE au ministre.

 

Le nerf de la guerre

C’est par le processus du Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) que la Commission d’enquête a officiellement conclu, le 7 janvier 2025, que le projet Horne 5 est inacceptable. Le rapport stipule que le projet ne répond pas aux exigences minimales de sécurité, de santé publique et de protection de l’environnement. Un réseau important d’organisations s’est uni pour se tenir debout face à Ressource Falco Ltée avant et pendant la Commission d’enquête menée par le BAPE.

 

Portrait des combattant·e·s

Premières Nations

• Première Nation de Long Point (LPFN) : Suite à la commission d’enquête, la Première Nation se questionne au sujet des répercussions du projet sur la qualité de l’air, de l’eau et sur l’économie locale. Elle exige que des études environnementales et socioéconomiques soient menées directement par la communauté pour protéger ses droits ancestraux. La LPFN s’est exprimée lors des audiences du BAPE, a fait valoir ses droits sur son territoire traditionnel non cédé et a insisté sur le fait que le projet doit obtenir le consentement préalable et éclairé de la LPFN, tel que détaillé dans son communiqué de presse : « No Consent = No project ».

 

Groupes environnementaux

• Conseil Régional de l’environnement de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue — Organisme sans but lucratif (OSBL) visant à promouvoir la conservation et l’amélioration de la qualité de l’environnement) : a soumis 162 recommandations au BAPE, dénonçant le manque de considération des effets cumulatifs du projet. Le CREAT souligne l’insécurité sanitaire illustrée par les « gestes simples » (nettoyage par aspirateur avec filtres HEPA, alimentation spécifique pour limiter l’absorption de plomb et de cadmium) suggérés à la population par la Santé publique, témoignant d’un milieu déjà saturé de contaminants et de stresseurs environnementaux.

• Eau Secours — OSBL basée à Montréal visant la promotion de la protection et de la gestion responsable de l’eau au Québec : rappelle à la deuxième partie du BAPE le manque flagrant de cohérence dans la proposition de la compagnie de créer un parc à résidus minier (prévision de 40 millions de tonnes de résidus hautement réactifs et acidogènes) directement dans le bassin versant de la source d’eau potable de la ville, soit le Lac Dufaut. L’organisme souligne que le promoteur n’a d’ailleurs pas présenté de plan d’urgence en cas de bris d’installations.

• Action Boréale — OSBL basée en Abitibi-Témiscamingue visant à promouvoir la préservation des forêts boréales du Québec : Rappelle au gouvernement, suite au dépôt du dur rapport du BAPE, son rôle de responsable de l’environnement. L’Action Boréale affirme que le projet comporte plus de répercussions négatives que d’avantages pour la communauté.

• Société pour vaincre la pollution (SVP) — OSBL oeuvrant à défendre les droits des citoyen·ne·s à un environnement sain : Apporte un soutien, affirmant qu’« il s’agit d’une mine de trop pour Rouyn-Noranda ».

• MiningWatch Canada — organisation non gouvernementale basée à Ottawa, agissant à titre de chien de garde de l’industrie minière : Demande encore à ce jour au gouvernement de cesser tout investissement dans ce projet nocif et de confirmer publiquement son opposition.

• Regroupement vigilance mines de l’Abitibi et du Témiscamingue (Revimat) — OSBL qui milite pour améliorer la Loi sur les mines et pour la protection de l’environnement : réitère son opposition au projet dans un communiqué de presse conjoint de réaction notamment puisque « la possibilité de mouvements sismiques peut causer des dommages aux structures de la fonderie et libérer des produits toxiques dans l’air ». 

• Comité Arrêt des rejets d’émissions toxiques (ARET) — groupe citoyen qui milite pour la réduction des polluants atmosphériques  : fais, pour sa part, référence à la qualité de l’air dans ce même communiqué de presse : « Nous comptons donc que ces recommandations mettront fin au projet, car la population est déjà surexposée à des rejets toxiques de façon inacceptable ».

Santé, justice sociale, et solidarité communautaire

• Mères au Front (Rouyn-Noranda) — groupe local du mouvement pancanadien Mères au front qui rassemble des mères et grands-mères mobilisées par le désir d’agir pour protéger l’avenir de nos enfants et la vie sur terre face à l’urgence climatique. Ce groupe, agissant uniquement par devoir de protection envers les générations futures, place au cœur de sa lutte le droit à la santé, à la sécurité et à un environnement sain. Elles considèrent que l’industrie minière est incompatible avec les périmètres urbains et s’opposent au projet Horne 5 parce qu’il accroîtrait la vulnérabilité d’une population déjà surexposée à de nombreux contaminants neurotoxiques.

Image : Manifestation organisée par Mères au Front le 13 octobre 2024 à Rouyn-Noranda pour rappeler au gouvernement Legault (premier ministre à l’époque) que la situation qui perdure à Rouyn-Noranda est inacceptable. Crédit : Maude Desbois (10)

• Centre Entre-Femmes : Présent dans la communauté depuis plus de 30 ans, cet organisme œuvre à l’amélioration des conditions de vie des femmes. Sa lutte contre le projet Horne 5 porte sur la pauvreté et les inégalités économiques : les emplois créés étant majoritairement masculins, le centre dénonce un accroissement des écarts salariaux en région industrielle et demande une analyse des impacts selon le genre, craignant également une hausse des risques de violence et des problématiques liées à la consommation d’alcool et de drogue.

 

• Coopérative d’habitation Boréale : S’opposant à la vision de 15 ans du promoteur, la Coopérative défend un cycle de développement urbain sur 40 ans en vue d’assurer l’avenir du quartier. Sa lutte met en lumière les coûts sociaux invisibles : elle rappelle que les populations portent dans leur chair les détresses (suicides, violences conjugales) liées aux fluctuations du prix de l’or, des drames humains dont aucun budget ne prévoit d’éponger les conséquences. La Coopérative a reçu une très forte demande dans les dernières années, demande auquel elle ne peut répondre.

 

 

• L’Association des locataires de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue : s’oppose aussi au projet Horne 5 et a participé au BAPE, revendiquant notamment au sujet de la pression que ce projet viendrait ajouter à cette « zone sacrifiée ». Cette association considère qu’un logement est « un lieu où toustes devrait être en sécurité jour et nuit. ». La ville de Rouyn-Noranda est en crise du logement depuis près de 15 ans. Leur argumentaire soulignait aussi qu’en plus de toutes les dangerosités soulevées du projet, le milieu a plus souvent qu’autrement le fardeau de trouver des solutions et les accommodements pour la population. Cette pression supplémentaire n’est absolument pas souhaitable sur les organismes communautaires de Rouyn-Noranda.

L’oppression systémique de l’extraction

 

Au Québec, les communautés visées par des projets miniers sont opprimées par un flagrant manque de suivi de la part du gouvernement dans les investissements massifs qu’il octroie au secteur minier, ainsi que par l’accélération des projets miniers au détriment des communautés. 

Pour sa part, Ressources Falco Ltée. exerce une rétention et une déformation de l’information perpétuelle, en plus de manquer d’écoute face aux inquiétudes de la population et de considération envers les évaluations environnementales. Le dépôt récent (sorti dans les médias à la fin mai 2026) du rapport d’experts mandaté pour l’analyse des risques associés à la sismicité abonde en ce sens. Ce rapport tant attendu par la population n’a pas éclairé le flou qui persiste quant à la sécurité des personnes et du centre de radio-oncologie. Une demande d’accès à l’information n’a permis d’obtenir qu’une version entièrement caviardée dudit rapport, empêchant de connaître presque l’entièreté du contenu. 

Parallèlement, la communauté de Rouyn-Noranda subit un cycle historique de menaces de fermeture industrielle de la part de Glencore, créant une polarisation profonde au sein des familles et de la population, plaçant les citoyen·ne·s dans un faux dilemme permanent entre survie économique ainsi que de la protection de l’environnement et de la santé globale. 

Toustes retiennent leur souffle depuis longtemps maintenant.

Un an et demi après le dépôt du rapport du BAPE, le projet Horne 5 franchit ses dernières étapes d’évaluation d’impacts. À ce stade critique précédant une possible exploitation, les communautés sont dans l’attente de la décision finale concernant le décret d’autorisation prétendu pour juin 2026, selon le dernier Comité consultatif de la compagnie en date du 18 mars 2026. Le paysage culturel de la ville dépend désormais de ce décret gouvernemental, qui déterminera si les autorités choisissent d’ignorer ou de respecter le constat d’inacceptabilité émis par le BAPE. Il est sincèrement souhaité que la décision finale serve le meilleur intérêt de la population locale et de la Première Nation Anicinape, tout en garantissant la protection de l’environnement ainsi que la qualité de l’eau et de l’air.

À ce jour, toutefois, le réseau de militant·e·s demeure mobilisé. 

Et dans quel but?

Une victoire signifierait le rejet et l’arrêt définitif du projet Horne 5 afin de garantir la sécurité et la santé des citoyen·ne·s de Rouyn-Noranda grâce à une considération réaliste des impacts cumulatifs du projet, de la capacité de support du milieu où siège le projet et du rythme effréné de l’agenda pro-extractiviste des entreprises qui prisent la région de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. En attendant, nous sommes fier·ère·s de dire que les gens de Rouyn-Noranda sont une grande inspiration pour la Coalition Québec meilleure mine et que leurs efforts représentent un exemple à suivre. Les moyens pris par la communauté pour se mobiliser contre tous ces géants extractivistes est « admirable à l’échelle mondiale ».

Image : La Fonderie Horne au coucher du soleil. Crédit : Guillaume Proulx, 2020, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image : Quartier Notre-Dame, la nuit. Crédit : Guillaume Proulx, 2019, Rouyn-Noranda.

Notes de fin d’ouvrage

 

1 – Profil Facebook de l’entreprise : https://www.facebook.com/RessourcesFalco/

 

2-  Rivard, J. (December 2021). Démarrage de l’usine d’acide sulfurique de la fonderie Horne – 20 décembre 1989 | Héros sans panache | Société d’histoire de Rouyn-Noranda.http://shrn.ca/des-jours-qui-ont-fait-rouyn-noranda/20-decembre-1989-demarrage-de-lusine-dacide-sulfurique-de-la-fonderie-horne

 

3 – Page Facebook du Collectif 33 :https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122104798005292317&set=pcb.122104801341292317&locale=fr_CA

 

4 –  Cotnoir, J.-M. (May 25, 2026).Horne 5 : le flou persiste quant aux risques sismiques. Radio-Canada.https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2256119/horne-5-mine-risque-sismique-cisss-at

 

5 –  Luneau, A.-C. (2013, February 6). Rouyn-Noranda : le sol s’affaisse au parc Mouska. Radio-Canada.  https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/599141/trou-parc-mouska

 

6 –  QMM and MWC. (2024, September 26). Mémoire | BAPE projet minier Horne 5 de Ressources Falco à Rouyn-Noranda | Mining Watch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/fr/blog/2024/9/26/memoire-bape-projet-minier-horne-5-de-ressources-falco-rouyn-noranda

 

7-  OBVAT. (2026, 4 juin). Taux d’inoccupation des logements, Abitibi-Témiscamingue et Québec, 1996 à 2026p – L’Observatoire de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. https://www.observat.qc.ca/statistiques/taux-dinoccupation-des-logements-abitibi-temiscamingue-et-quebec-1996-a-2026p/ 

8- BAPE, Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. (2024).Projet Horne 5 à Rouyn-Noranda par Ressources Falco ltée: rapport d’enquête et d’audience publique. Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. https://www.bape.gouv.qc.ca/fr/dossiers/mine_horne5/

 

9 –  Millette, L. (2025, 4 mars). Projet Horne 5 : Québec freine l’élan de Ressources Falco. Radio-Canada. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2145532/falco-horne-fonderie-rouyn-noranda-mine

10 –  Fortin-Rondeau, I. (2025, 18 novembre). Le Pudding à l’arsenic : une version industrielle signée Fonderie Horne. https://www.meresaufront.org/billets-de-blogue/le-pudding-a-larsenic-une-version-industrielle-signee-fonderie-horne

 

Horne 5: A Sword of Damocles Hanging Over a Heavily Polluted Urban Area Quebec, Canada

Image: Horne 5. Credit: Ressources Falco Ltée, Rouyn-Noranda. (1)

Abstract

Our emblematic case of resistance to extractivism concerns the reopening of a mine in the city of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec (Canada). Falco Resources Ltd’s Horne 5 mining project aims to extract a polymetallic deposit whose primary economic value lies in gold. The project is located in the Notre-Dame neighborhood and beneath Glencore’s Horne Smelter, which, since its opening in 1927, has drastically polluted the air in Rouyn-Noranda. The Horne 5 project ranks among the most dangerous, unacceptable, and harmful mining projects in Quebec in recent decades. In addition to posing significant psychosocial risks, this project entails catastrophic dangers for public safety, socioeconomic stability, and environmental protection.

Image: The Horne Smelter – A symbol of pollution in Rouyn-Noranda, 1978. Credit: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. (2)

Image: Workers at the Noranda Mine—photo taken between 1962 and 1978. Credit: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image: Noranda Mine workers on the picket line during the 1946–1947 strike. Credit: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image: Anti-pollution march organized by the Théâtre de Coppe, themed around the “burial” of Lake Osisko, 1985. Credit: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image: Glencore’s Horne Smelter under snow and toxic waste, photo taken between 1962 and 1978. Credit: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image: Glencore’s Horne Smelter continues to pollute to this day. Credit: Guillaume Proulx, 2019. Rouyn-Noranda.

 

The Cultural Landscape of Rouyn-Noranda

Rouyn-Noranda is a city of 42,000 residents, located on Nitakinan, Anicinape Aki, unceded Anishinaabe territory. The political context of Rouyn-Noranda has been marked by critical social and legal struggles and including a long legacy of tensions with extractive industries. This city is an island of culture (music, visual arts, performing arts, theater, etc.) within the boreal forest. Rouyn-Noranda is the home of a multicultural, resilient, activist, and family-oriented community. The Horne 5 project is located notably on the ancestral territory of the Long Point First Nation. Industrial activities have been a central part of Rouyn-Noranda’s development since the city’s founding 100 years ago this year.

Image: Facebook page of Collectif 33 (3) , Rouyn-Noranda.

If approved, the Horne 5 mining project would be situated at the very heart of this dynamic city, in a vibrant residential area, beneath an area already weakened by numerous abandoned mine tunnels. The literature also reflects a lack of data on mining in urban areas, as there are few such case studies.

 

Horne 5 – A Sword of Damocles

Image: Falco Resources Ltée. (4)

The Horne 5 project, which plans to extract 15,500 tons of ore per day from depths of up to 2,000 meters and generate 80 million tons of mine tailings, was entrusted to the BAPE (Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement) for a public review in 2024. As is standard procedure when the government grants such a mandate, the BAPE president formed a commission of inquiry to evaluate the project’s impacts. This formal examination brought to light several critical issues including:

1. Land subsidence and induced seismicity: Even before considering the risks associated with ground subsidence and induced seismicity, it is worth noting that the project is located beneath the Horne Smelter—an industrial complex with outdated infrastructure—where ponds of sulfuric acid and other toxic substances could cause major environmental disasters and pose significant risks of fatalities to workers as well as the general population. Rouyn-Noranda has, in fact, already witnessed a sudden ground subsidence in 2013, right in the heart of Mouska Park—a family recreation and playground area. The hole, over 3 meters wide, was located above the site of the former Chadbourne Mine, one of the many abandoned mines beneath the city. (5)

2. Ancestral Rights: The apparent violation of the ancestral rights of Long Point First Nation is a major issue in this mining project. Indeed, during the commission of inquiry, the government’s responses raised “reasonable doubts that the constitutional obligation to consult Indigenous peoples holding ancestral rights was not respected for all communities whose territory is affected by the Horne 5 mining project, starting with the Long Point First Nation.” (6)

3. Water Protection: In addition to threatening the integrity of numerous water bodies through the installation of freshwater intake pipelines, the Horne 5 project poses numerous risks of serious contamination of Lake Dufault, the lake that supplies the sole pumping station in the drinking water supply of the city of Rouyn-Noranda. This contamination could result from leaks in the 17-kilometer pipelines transporting mine tailings or from leaks in the tailings pond dams.

4. Greenwashing: The company uses greenwashing rhetoric regarding actions related to its project’s mining liability management plan, even though its plan for handling mine tailings poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Indeed, after selecting an unreclaimed site to store the planned tailings, the developer is trying to convince the community that adding acid-generating, leachable, and cyanide-containing materials to the environment could be a beneficial option.

5. Air Quality: The industrial activities carried out by Glencore’s Horne Smelter in the city of Rouyn-Noranda generate alarming levels of heavy metals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, copper, nickel, and lead). The company’s unacceptable levels of air pollution from the smelter and the government’s complicity in allowing it are one the most persistent and controversial environmental scandals in Quebec. The literature shows that the population of Rouyn-Noranda is exposed to an increased incidence of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, neurological problems, and intra-uterine growth retardation. The Horne Smelter is still authorized to operate by smelting waste from all over the world to extract copper, provided that arsenic levels in the air in Rouyn-Noranda remain below 45 ng/m³. The company is currently seeking an extension until 2030 to meet an interim threshold of 15 ng/m³, despite Quebec’s standard of 3 ng/m³. However, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec stated in 2022 that while the 15 ng/m³ threshold protects vulnerable groups (such as children) from certain effects, the only target to be considered safe remains the 3 ng/m³ standard. The Horne 5 project thus seeks to operate in an environment where standards are already being exceeded, violating the enforcement regime of Section 197 of the Clean Air Regulation. Authorizing a new mining project would therefore only exacerbate an illegal situation that has been tolerated for far too long.

Credit: Guillaume Proulx, 2019, Rouyn-Noranda.

 

6. Multiple social and economic costs: The socioeconomic impacts include, first and foremost, the aggravation of the housing crisis. The arrival of new workers and their families will lead to an increased demand for housing. This demand occurs despite an extremely low vacancy rate of 0,9 % recorded in 2025 (7), which is significantly below the 3% balance threshold recognized in Quebec. In other words, Rouyn-Noranda is already facing a severe housing crisis that will be further exacerbated by the arrival of new workers. “Furthermore, the gradual relocation of residents to create a buffer zone near the Horne Smelter — a measure to be implemented after 2028 — underscores the scale of the environmental and health challenges that the city and its population must (already) contend with.” (8) Added to this are the population’s anxiety and social fatigue, as well as threats to Rouyn-Noranda’s long-term attractiveness and vitality.

Timeline of Resistance

Here is an overview of the timeline of citizen mobilization related to the Horne 5 project.

• May 17, 2024 | Call for citizen mobilization

Release of a press release inviting the residents of Rouyn-Noranda to attend the first information meeting regarding the Horne 5 project. 

• May 21, 2024 | Official letters sent to the Minister of the Environment and the President of the BAPE 

An official letter was sent to the Minister requesting that the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE – Office of Public Hearings on the Environment) hold public hearings regarding the Horne 5 project, along with an official letter to the President of the BAPE requesting a preparatory meeting for the public prior to the public hearing. The preparatory meeting took place on August 13, 2024.

• June 27, 2024 | Invitation to a community engagement planning workshop

Release of a press release inviting citizens to a free workshop on July 7, 2024, on planning participation in the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) hearings for the Horne 5 mining project.

• August 14 and 26, 2024 | Participation in strategic meetings with residents of Rouyn-Noranda

Two strategic meetings just before the start of the public inquiry.

• August 27, 2024 | Start of the BAPE hearings in Rouyn-Noranda: Several crucial questions to ask about the troubling Horne 5 mining project

Release of a press release stating: “Civil society is ready for the process. Despite the case being launched in the middle of summer and the company’s chaotic and unannounced presentation of documentation, the groups managed to study the case in detail by pooling their resources.”

Image: Rouyn-Noranda during the Bureau d’audiences publiques de l’environnement (BAPE) hearing on the Horne 5 project. Credit: Radio-Canada / Lise Millette (9)

• August 27–29, 2024 | Participation in the five sessions of the first part of the BAPE public hearings in Rouyn-Noranda.

Period for providing information and presenting the ins and outs of the project as well as environmental issues. Citizens may, in particular, ask questions of the proponent.

 

• September 16–26, 2024 | Period set aside for the submission of views orally, via a brief, through comments, or via annotated images.

September 26 was the deadline for submitting briefs. The Coalition Québec Meilleure Mine and MiningWatch Canada submitted a joint brief regarding Falco Resources Ltd.’s Horne 5 mining project.

 

• September 30 to October 3, 2024 | Second part of the BAPE public hearing for Falco Resources’ Horne 5 mining project.

This second part allows individuals to speak on the subject. It is an opportunity to, for example, make recommendations or even present one’s brief orally.

 

• Fall 2024 | Recommendation by regional health authorities to commission a seismic risk analysis.

Regional health authorities (the CISSS-AT) recommended that the ministry require in-depth studies on the risks of earthquakes caused by the mine. The primary concern is the radiation oncology center—also located in the Notre-Dame neighborhood—in Rouyn-Noranda, where vibrations could damage medical equipment.

 

• December 23, 2024 | Submission of the BAPE report to the minister.

 

The turning point

It was through the process of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) that the Commission of Inquiry officially concluded, on January 7, 2025, that the Horne 5 project is unacceptable. The report states that the project does not meet minimum requirements for safety, public health, and environmental protection. A large network of organizations came together to stand up to Ressource Falco Ltd. before and during the BAPE-led Commission of Inquiry.

 

Portraits of the activists

First Nations

• Long Point First Nation (LPFN) : Following the inquiry, the First Nation has raised concerns about the project’s impact on air and water quality, as well as on the local economy. It is demanding that environmental and socioeconomic studies be conducted directly by the community to protect its ancestral rights. The LPFN spoke at the BAPE hearings, asserted its rights over its traditional unceded territory, and emphasized that the project must obtain the LPFN’s prior and informed consent, as detailed in its press release: “No Consent = No Project”.

 

Environmental Groups

• Abitibi-Témiscamingue Regional Environmental Council — A non-profit organization (NPO) dedicated to promoting environmental conservation and improving environmental quality. They submitted 162 recommendations to the BAPE, criticizing the lack of consideration for the project’s cumulative effects. The CREAT highlights the health risks illustrated by the “simple measures” (vacuuming with HEPA filters, specific dietary guidelines to limit lead and cadmium absorption) suggested to the public by provincial public health authorities, reflecting an environment already saturated with contaminants and environmental stressors.

 

• Eau Secours — a Montreal-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the protection and responsible management of water in Quebec. Eau Secours has pointed out to the second part of the BAPE the glaring lack of consistency in the company’s proposal to create a mine tailings pond (projected to hold 40 million tons of highly reactive and acid-generating tailings) directly within the watershed of the city’s drinking water source, Lake Dufaut. The organization also points out that the developer has not presented an emergency plan in the event of a facility failure.

 

• Action Boréale — a non-profit organization based in Abitibi-Témiscamingue dedicated to promoting the preservation of Quebec’s boreal forests. They have consistently reminded the government, following the release of the BAPE’s scathing report, of its responsibility for the environment. Action Boréale asserts that the project has more negative impacts than benefits for the community.

 

• Société pour vaincre la pollution (SVP) — a non-profit organization working to defend citizens’ rights to a healthy environment: Offers support and states that “this is one mine too many for Rouyn-Noranda.”

 

• MiningWatch Canada — an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization acting as a watchdog for the mining industry. They continue to call on the government to cease all investment in this harmful project and to publicly confirm its opposition.

 

• Regroupement vigilance mines de l’Abitibi et du Témiscamingue (Revimat) — a non-profit organization advocating for improvements to the Mining Act and environmental protection. They have consistently reiterated their opposition to the project in a joint press release, noting in particular that “the possibility of seismic activity could damage the smelter’s structures and release toxic substances into the air.” 

 

• Comité Arrêt des rejets d’émissions toxiques (ARET) — a citizens’ group advocating for the reduction of air pollutants. They refer to air quality issues in the same press release: “We therefore expect these recommendations to put an end to the project, as the population is already unacceptably overexposed to toxic emissions.”

 

Health, Social Justice, and Community Solidarity

• Mères au Front (Rouyn-Noranda) — a local chapter of the pan-Canadian Mères au Front movement, which brings together mothers and grandmothers driven by a desire to act to protect our children’s future and life on Earth in the face of the climate emergency. This group, acting solely out of a duty to protect future generations, places the right to health, safety, and a clean environment at the heart of its struggle. They believe that the mining industry is incompatible with urban areas and oppose the Horne 5 project because it would increase the vulnerability of a population already overexposed to numerous neurotoxic contaminants.

Image: Protest organized by Mères au Front on October 13, 2024, in Rouyn-Noranda to remind the Legault government that the ongoing situation in Rouyn-Noranda is unacceptable. Credit: Maude Desbois (10)

 

• Centre Entre-Femmes: Active in the community for over 30 years, this organization works to improve women’s living conditions. Its opposition to the Horne 5 project centers on poverty and economic inequalities: since the jobs created are primarily male- , the center condemns the widening wage gaps in industrial regions and calls for a gender-based impact analysis, also fearing an increase in the risk of violence and issues related to alcohol and drug use.

 

• Coopérative d’habitation Boréale: Opposing the developer’s 15-year vision, the housing cooperative advocates for a 40-year urban development cycle to secure the neighborhood’s future. Its struggle highlights the invisible social costs: it points out that communities bear the brunt of the hardships (suicides, domestic violence) linked to fluctuations in the price of gold—human tragedies for which no budget provides to absorb the consequences. The Cooperative has received a very high volume of demand in recent years, a demand it cannot meet.

 

• The Abitibi-Témiscamingue Tenants’ Association also opposes the Horne 5 project and participated in the BAPE, raising concerns in particular about the pressure this project would place on this “sacrificed zone.” This association considers housing to be “a place where everyone should be safe day and night.” The city of Rouyn-Noranda has been in a housing crisis for nearly 15 years. Their argument also emphasized that, in addition to all the dangers raised by the project, the community more often than not bears the burden of finding solutions and accommodations for the population. This additional pressure is absolutely undesirable for Rouyn-Noranda’s community organizations.

The systemic oppression of extraction

 

In Quebec, communities affected by mining projects are oppressed by a glaring lack of oversight by the government regarding the massive investments it grants to the mining sector, as well as by the acceleration of mining projects at the expense of communities. 

For its part, Falco Resources Ltd. engages in the constant withholding and distortion of information, in addition to failing to listen to the public’s concerns and to take environmental assessments seriously. The recent filing (released to the media in late May 2026) of the expert report commissioned to analyze the risks associated with seismic activity supports this view. This report, so eagerly awaited by the public, has failed to clarify the uncertainty that persists regarding the safety of people and the radiation oncology center. A freedom of information request yielded only a heavily redacted version of the report, making it impossible to access nearly all of its content. 

At the same time, the community of Rouyn-Noranda is enduring a historic cycle of threats of industrial closure from Glencore, creating deep polarization within families and the population, and placing citizens in a constant false dilemma between economic survival and the protection of the environment and overall health. 

Everyone has been holding their breath for a long time now.

A year and a half after the BAPE report was submitted, the Horne 5 project is entering the final stages of its environmental impact assessment. At this critical juncture preceding potential mining operations, communities are awaiting the final decision regarding the authorization decree, which is reportedly scheduled for June 2026, according to the company’s latest Advisory Committee meeting dated March 18, 2026. The city’s cultural landscape now hinges on this government decree, which will determine whether authorities choose to ignore or respect the BAPE’s finding of unacceptability. The community is sincerely holding out hope that the final decision will serve the best interests of the local population and the Anicinape First Nation, while ensuring the protection of the environment as well as water and air quality.

To date, however, the network of activists remains mobilized. 

 

And to what end?

A victory would mean the rejection and permanent stop of the Horne 5 project in order to ensure the safety and health of the citizens of Rouyn-Noranda through a realistic assessment of the project’s cumulative impacts, the carrying capacity of the project site, and the relentless pace of the pro-extractive agenda of companies targeting the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. In the meantime, we are proud to say that the people of Rouyn-Noranda are a great inspiration to the Coalition Québec meilleure mine, and that their efforts serve as an example to follow for other mining struggles throughout the province. The measures taken by the community to mobilize against all these extractive giants are “admirable on a global scale.”

Image: The Horne Smelter at sunset. Credit: Guillaume Proulx, 2020, Rouyn-Noranda.

Image: Notre-Dame neighborhood at night. Credit: Guillaume Proulx, 2019, Rouyn-Noranda.

Endnotes

 

1 – Company Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RessourcesFalco/

 

2-  Rivard, J. (December 2021). Démarrage de l’usine d’acide sulfurique de la fonderie Horne – 20 décembre 1989 | Héros sans panache | Société d’histoire de Rouyn-Noranda.http://shrn.ca/des-jours-qui-ont-fait-rouyn-noranda/20-decembre-1989-demarrage-de-lusine-dacide-sulfurique-de-la-fonderie-horne

 

3 – Collectif 33 Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122104798005292317&set=pcb.122104801341292317&locale=fr_CA

 

4 –  Cotnoir, J.-M. (May 25, 2026).Horne 5 : le flou persiste quant aux risques sismiques. Radio-Canada.https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2256119/horne-5-mine-risque-sismique-cisss-at

 

5 –  Luneau, A.-C. (2013, February 6). Rouyn-Noranda : le sol s’affaisse au parc Mouska. Radio-Canada.  https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/599141/trou-parc-mouska

 

6 –  QMM and MWC. (2024, September 26). Mémoire | BAPE projet minier Horne 5 de Ressources Falco à Rouyn-Noranda | Mining Watch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/fr/blog/2024/9/26/memoire-bape-projet-minier-horne-5-de-ressources-falco-rouyn-noranda

 

7-  OBVAT. (2026, 4 juin). Taux d’inoccupation des logements, Abitibi-Témiscamingue et Québec, 1996 à 2026p – L’Observatoire de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. https://www.observat.qc.ca/statistiques/taux-dinoccupation-des-logements-abitibi-temiscamingue-et-quebec-1996-a-2026p/ 

8- BAPE, Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. (2024).Projet Horne 5 à Rouyn-Noranda par Ressources Falco ltée: rapport d’enquête et d’audience publique. Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. https://www.bape.gouv.qc.ca/fr/dossiers/mine_horne5/

 

9- Millette, L. (2025, March 4). Projet Horne 5 : Québec freine l’élan de Ressources Falco. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2145532/falco-horne-fonderie-rouyn-noranda-mine

 

10-  Fortin-Rondeau, I. (2025, November 18). Le Pudding à l’arsenic : une version industrielle signée Fonderie Horne. https://www.meresaufront.org/billets-de-blogue/le-pudding-a-larsenic-une-version-industrielle-signee-fonderie-horne 

 

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Duke CEO admits “24/7” recruiting of data centers; regulator decries corporate focus on profits over public, calls for pause on new data centers

Statement by Executive Director Jim Warren:

Durham, N.C. – In a regulatory hearing this week, Duke Energy’s top executives admitted that they recruit the very data centers used to justify a $63 billion expansion of fossil fuels and nuclear power plants in the Carolinas. Today, NC WARN declares that the case for that expansion is dead, and that existing coal- and gas-fired power plants can be rapidly and inexpensively phased out by the far cheaper solar and battery storage that Duke Energy has blocked for years. 

Duke Energy CEO Harry Sideris recently boasted to corporate investors, “We have a [recruiting] team in place that their goal, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, is how do we get these things signed quicker?” Duke’s North Carolina president Kendal Bowman confirmed (1:03:00) during the hearing that this same aggressive recruiting of energy-guzzling data centers is in use in NC.

Duke conceded that use of electricity has fallen over the long term despite huge population growth, and that it has consistently and grossly exaggerated future projections for years while arguing it must build a huge number of new power plants for electricity usage that ultimately never materializes. 

Now, they’ve been caught admitting that they’re actively recruiting new large customers to try to justify the largest expansion of fossil fuels and experimental nuclear plants in the nation. 

This is a scandal and crime being perpetrated against the people of North Carolina who are already struggling with soaring power bills, repeated devastation by storms and assaults on their communities by massive data center developers who provide almost no jobs after initial construction. It is outrageous that a state-sanctioned monopoly should be allowed to drive even higher profits by gouging the public with constant rate hikes year after year.

A witness for the Utilities Commission’s Public Staff stated (1:42:55) that Duke is acting in the interest of shareholders over ratepayers by overzealously signing new large load customers. The Public Staff now recommends (4:03:15) that the Commission impose a 1-year pause on new data centers and scrutinize new contracts for any future data centers. 

NC WARN’s expert witness, engineer Bill Powers, provided evidence in the proceeding that local solar-plus-storage (SPS) can rapidly replace existing coal- and gas-fired power plants and avoid any new ones. Powers shows that the massive potential for local SPS in North Carolina makes it the fastest, cheapest, most equitable tool to move the state off its course toward climate and social chaos.

NC WARN is calling on Governor Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson to cut through the years of scandal and deception and stop the criminal behavior by this giant corporation run by a gang of millionaires. We cannot wait for a ruling in six months and hope the Utilities Commission will remedy this scandalous behavior by Duke Energy executives. 

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Now in its 38th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes. 

The post Scandal at Duke Energy Hearing Kills the Case for $63 Billion Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Expansion — NC WARN News Release appeared first on NC WARN.

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