February 2022
Welcome to Caspian Voices, Crude Accountability's monthly newsletter for scholars, policy-makers, and civil society members with hard-to-find information from the Caspian and the Black Sea regions from the communities impacted by oil and gas development.

In this month's newsletter, we talk about China's energy investments in the region, countries' climate commitments, and new methods of conducting environmental research. Follow along for updates.
Pictured: Caspian Gull © Adobe Stock
Opinion: Unrest underlines need to reform Kazakhstan’s energy sector
There are many issues surrounding energy investments in Kazakhstan including environmental, social, economic strain on communities. Recent political unrest in the country - that initially started over hiking the price of liquefied petroleum gas and transformed to a country-wide political crisis - has underlined the volatility of fossil fuels and political risks of reliance on a non-renewable resource. 

Read an overview of many issues surrounding energy investments in Kazakhstan - including China's investments in the country's oil and gas - in the op-ed by Crude Accountability Executive Director Kate Watters for The Third Pole platform.
Report:
Road to China
For an in-depth look at China's investments in the oil and gas sector in central Asia, read our recent report, Road to China.

Drawing on our almost 20 years of experience working with communities impacted by oil and gas development, the report focuses on how Chinese-led projects impact the lives of residents living near the investment sites.

Read it here!
Flames of Toxicity Panel and Discussion
On January 31st, Crude Accountability, Omanos Analytics, and the University of Strathclyde hosted a presentation on Crude Accountability's latest report Flames of Toxicity: Environmental and Social Impacts of Azerbaijan’s Oil Development, and a discussion on analyzing satellite imagery for environmental research.

Omanos Analytics discussed its companion report, Sustainable Environmental Monitoring in the COVID-19 Era with Crude Accountability: EO survey of the Azerbaijan coast, and the University of Strathclyde researcher Seonaid Rapach discussed the findings of her dissertation, Monitoring flaring activity from the oil and gas industry with satellite data.
Report:
Flames of Toxicity
Crude Accountability’s new report, Flames of Toxicity: Environmental and Social Impacts of Azerbaijan’s Oil and Gas Development, compares findings from satellite imagery with information collected from communities in Azerbaijan, documenting the impacts of internationally-funded oil and gas development facilities on communities and the environment. 

Crude Accountability in the News:
Azatlyk radio has recently quoted Crude Accountability's report, Turkmenistan: Model Kleptocracy, both for its Russian and Turkmen broadcast services.
“Туркменистан – образцовая клептократия”. “Crude Accountability” выделила основные проблемы туркменского режима (Радио Азатлык, December 21, 2021)
“Türkmenistan nusgawy kleptokratiýa”. “Crude Accountability” türkmen režiminiň esasy meselelerini görkezdi (Радио Азатлык, December 21, 2021)
Resources:
For activists and environmental defenders, Crude Accountability offers resources including presentations, strategy guides, and helpful tips on fundraising, digital security, and group facilitation. We hope these materials can become a valuable resource for your environmental work.

Inquire about our private security sessions for activists!