"Historic Verdict in Indonesia’s Fight Against Deforestation", 5 Apr 2017

In a historic verdict in defense of forests and human rights, a court in Central Kalimantan has ordered the government of the Indonesian province to review the permits of palm oil companies associated with massive forest and peat land fires in 2015. The case...was filed in 2016 by seven Indonesian citizens and supported by Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI)...The 2015 Indonesian forest fires lasted for months and caused massive air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, at one point releasing more carbon dioxide than the entire U.S. economy and causing an estimated 100,000 premature deaths in the region...To date, the companies implicated in the verdict [including entities owned by Wilmar International, Bumitama Gunajaya Agro, Sinar Mas, Best Agro International and Genting group] have not responded. The local government is now considering appealing the verdict...In its ruling, the court ordered the central government to...Actively enforce civil and criminal laws to penalize companies whose concessions were implicated in the 2015 fires...

[also refers to CalPERS, Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase, TIAA-CREF, Vanguard]