Arthur Neslen

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Arthur Neslen is a British-born journalist and author. Nelsen has especially covered Middle East issues, fossil lobbies' influence on European institutions and climate change. He served as journalist for Haaretz , Jane's Information Group, The Observer , The Guardian , [1] and as a correspondent for the websites of The Economist and al-Jazeera . [2] NGOs credited policy changes at the European commission, [3] international financial institutions [4] and wildlife regulatory agencies [5]  in part to Neslen’s work.

Contents

Career

Neslen began his career at the City Limits magazine and worked as the international editor of for Red Pepper and as a broadcast journalist for the BBC.

In 1990, Neslen was hospitalised after a serious assault at a London tube station. Fascist activist Tony Lecomber was eventually convicted of the assault, and jailed for three years. [6]

Neslen wrote two books about identity in the Middle East. Occupied Minds: A Journey Through the Israeli Psyche [7] was published by Pluto Press in 2006 and In Your Eyes A Sandstorm: Ways of Being Palestinian [8] was published by University of California Press in October, 2011. He is also the author of the booklet Gaza: Dignity Under Siege [9] which was published by CIDSE (International Co-operation for Development and Solidarity) in 2009. All three are collections of interviews and photographs.

In 2009, while taking photographs for In Your Eyes a Sandstorm, Neslen was attacked with a knife in a Gaza street. Two years later, he returned to Gaza to meet the attacker, a young Palestinian diagnosed as schizophrenic. [10]

After moving to Brussels, Neslen began working for The Guardian in 2014 as the paper’s Europe environment correspondent, [11] where he contributed to its award-winning Keep it in the ground [12] campaign.

His investigative reports often focused on how EU climate policy had been influenced by lobbying from fossil fuel majors including BP, [13] Shell, [14] Chevron, [15] Exxon and others acting in concert. [16] One report showed [17] how US officials had pressured the EU into weakening pesticides regulations, in negotiations over the aborted [18] TTIP trade deal.

Other stories that he broke included the European Food Safety Authority’s use of an EU report that copy and pasted analyses from a Monsanto study [19] to justify a recommendation for relicensing glyphosate. The story was later vindicated by a cross-party inquiry in the European parliament. [20]

He is currently a senior reporter for Politico.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundup (herbicide)</span> Glyphosate-based herbicide made by Monsanto

Roundup is a brand name of herbicide originally produced by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018. Prior to the late-2010s formulations, it used broad-spectrum glyphosate-based herbicides. As of 2009, sales of Roundup herbicides still represented about 10 percent of Monsanto's revenue despite competition from Chinese producers of other glyphosate-based herbicides. The overall Roundup line of products represented about half of Monsanto's yearly revenue in 2009. The product is marketed to consumers by Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. In the late-2010s other non-glyphosate containing herbicides were also sold under the Roundup brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glyphosate</span> Systemic herbicide and crop desiccant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuels lobby</span> Lobbying supporting the fossil fuels industry

The fossil fuels lobby includes paid representatives of corporations involved in the fossil fuel industry, as well as related industries like chemicals, plastics, aviation and other transportation. Because of their wealth and the importance of energy, transport and chemical industries to local, national and international economies, these lobbies have the capacity and money to attempt to have outsized influence on governmental policy. In particular, the lobbies have been known to obstruct policy related to environmental protection, environmental health and climate action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecocide</span> Mass environmental destruction from human activities

Ecocide is the destruction of the environment by humans. Ecocide threatens all human populations who are dependent on natural resources for maintaining ecosystems and ensuring their ability to support future generations. The Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide describes it as "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Chambers of Commerce</span>

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"Over the past decades the European Union has put in place a broad range of environmental legislation. As a result, air, water and soil pollution has significantly been reduced. Chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances has been restricted. Today, EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership</span> Proposed free trade agreement between the EU and the US

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade between 2010 and 2014, the TTIP would have been the largest bilateral trade initiative ever negotiated, not only because it would have involved the two largest economic areas in the world but also "because of its potential global reach in setting an example for future partners and agreements".

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Glyphosate-based herbicides are herbicides made of a glyphosate salt usually combined with other ingredients needed to stabilize the formula and allow penetration into plants. Roundup was the first glyphosate-based herbicide, developed by Monsanto in the 1970s. It is used most heavily on corn, soy, and cotton crops that have been genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide. Some products include two active ingredients, such as Enlist Duo which includes 2,4-D as well as glyphosate. As of 2010, more than 750 glyphosate products were on the market. The names of inert ingredients used in glyphosate formulations are usually not listed on the product labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Weyand</span>

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References

  1. Neslen, Arthur (18 March 2008). "Profile". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  2. Cartwright, Jill (7 July 2006). "Anti-Zionist, pro-Israeli". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 20 July 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  3. Neslen, Arthur (28 May 2015). "Brussels moves to limit coal lobby's influence on pollution standards". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  4. Neslen, Arthur (30 October 2015). "Macedonia dam faces the axe over risk of Balkan lynx extinction". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  5. Neslen, Arthur (5 May 2016). "Europe to crack down on wildlife smugglers to protect rare lizard species". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  6. Peled, Daniella (21 June 2016). "Jo Cox's murder sheds light on Britain's tradition of far-right extremism". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  7. Neslen, Arthur Occupied Minds: A Journey Through the Israeli Psyche, January 2006, Pluto Press, ISBN   978-0-7453-2365-7
  8. Neslen, Arthur In Your Eyes A Sandstorm: Ways of Being Palestinian], October 2011, University of California Press, ISBN   978-0-520-26427-4
  9. Gaza: Dignity Under Siege
  10. Neslen, Arthur (2 March 2012). "Why I met the man who tried to kill me". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  11. "Arthur Neslen | The Guardian". the Guardian.
  12. "Keep it in the ground | The Guardian". the Guardian.
  13. Neslen, Arthur (20 April 2016). "EU dropped climate policies after BP threat of oil industry 'exodus'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  14. Neslen, Arthur (27 April 2015). "Shell lobbied to undermine EU renewables targets, documents reveal". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  15. Neslen, Arthur (26 April 2016). "TTIP: Chevron lobbied for controversial legal right as 'environmental deterrent'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  16. Neslen, Arthur; Brussels (22 January 2015). "Fossil fuel firms accused of renewable lobby takeover to push gas". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  17. "EU dropped pesticide laws due to US pressure over TTIP, documents reveal". the Guardian. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  18. Neslen, Arthur (1 May 2016). "Leaked TTIP documents cast doubt on EU-US trade deal". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  19. Neslen, Arthur (14 September 2017). "EU report on weedkiller safety copied text from Monsanto study". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  20. Neslen, Arthur (15 January 2019). "EU glyphosate approval was based on plagiarised Monsanto text, report finds". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.