Subject: This month: Focus on Palestine, Critical Raw Materials and China, A Conversation on Coca with Wade Davis and More

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Discover our new essay series, "A Focus on Palestine – Illustrated Longreads." In this second instalment, Kribsoo Diallo delves into the African response to the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. Notably, many African countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, have shown strong support for Palestine.

This solidarity underscores the evolving African attitudes toward Palestine over the past 50 years, despite Israel's diplomatic ties with 44 African nations. Historically rooted in African unity and liberation movements, the continent's stance on Palestine is now being redefined amid changing geopolitical dynamics.

The 'new Darwinian world' of the energy transition

CATL, capitalist strategies and emerging state-capital alliances

This longread examines CATL’s rise during China’s capitalist boom and explores its global strategies for securing raw material supplies and market access, featuring case studies from Indonesia and Hungary. We conclude by posing questions for further research on the less visible yet crucial actors in EV supply chains. This is the first in a series analyzing CATL's global accumulation strategies.

Podcast: Coca Chronicles Issue #3

A Conversation on Coca with Wade Davis

In this third issue of the Coca Chronicles, Wade Davis, a renowned Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, and writer, discussed the coca leaf’s history and significance in the Andean Amazon on our podcast. Davis is a professor at the University of British Columbia, he has authored over 25 books and has extensively researched the coca leaf and other ethnobotanical subjects.

Listen here

Publications

Niobium and the EU

Green Dreams or War Machines?

In late 2019, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the European Green Deal, aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan seeks to establish a leading green technology industry by securing critical raw materials (CRMs) necessary for green technologies. However, concerns arise that the EU’s green agenda might mask the sourcing of CRMs for carbon-intensive and military purposes. This briefing reveals niobium’s supply chain, primarily serving the automotive, aerospace, and arms industries, questioning whether the Green Deal’s goals are compromised. Are we truly advancing green technology, or inadvertently fuelling traditional industries?

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Ocean, Water and Fisher Peoples’ Tribunals

Cutting the nets of capital and weaving nets of solidarity

This report reviews evidence from seven Ocean, Water, and Fisher Peoples’ Tribunals across six countries, highlighting key testimonies, demands, and recommendations. It aims to amplify fisher peoples' struggles for justice, emphasizing their connection to nature and need for international solidarity.

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Climate in the Crosshairs

The planetary impact of NATO’s spending

As NATO marks its 75th anniversary at its summit in Washington D.C. in July 2024, what will be the climate impacts of the world’s most powerful military alliance? Our research shows that military spending increases greenhouse gas emissions, diverts critical finance from climate action, and consolidates an arms trade that fuels instability during climate breakdown.

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Transforming the Non-Military Structures of Global Governance

Assessing Priorities for Chapter 5 of the Pact for the Future

The complex web of challenges – climate change, pandemics, inequality, and conflict – demands robust global governance. The current UN-centered system is seen as inadequate. This document analyzes proposed UN reforms in the Summit of the Future context, prioritizing politically achievable solutions to climate change, inequality, and conflict. It highlights the need for institutional, consultative, decision-making, and financial reforms to enhance UN effectiveness and democratic representation.

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Open call: International Conference of Researchers and Farmers, 3-4 March 2025

Join the conference from March 3-4 by contributing your insights. We're calling on farmers and academics to submit proposals. Submissions are open until September 1.

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Annual report 2023

In 2023, TNI made significant strides toward a more equitable, democratic, and peaceful world. We celebrated major policy wins, including further discrediting the Energy Charter Treaty and highlighting green colonialism. We united organizations under a vision of energy democracy and advocated for public power pathways. Our publications challenged digital capitalism and called for taxing transnational e-commerce. In response to militarism, particularly in Ukraine and Palestine, we offered counter-narratives favoring peace. We connected securitization to issues like drug policy, migration, and climate change, proposing just and equitable solutions. Our efforts reached a global audience, influencing public opinion and policy.

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What we're reading

Public Ownership and Energy Democracy: Struggles for a Feminist Transition (Lavinia Steinfort)

Nato's two-percent of GDP target is a blank cheque to the arms industry (Niamh Ní Bhriain)

The psychology of oppression and liberation (Hamza Hamouchene)

Jerome Roos, a TNI Associate and a Fellow in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics, writes a substack full of compelling content on international affairs. 'Subscribe to Jerome Roos' Substack

Please consider a donation towards TNI to help us continue to be an independent and positive resource in creating an equitable, democratic and peaceful world. We know change is possible when we unite and give movement to ideas. Thank you for your support.

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