The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 13, Oct 2021

About ICIJ

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), legally International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc., is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 100 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries.

It is based in Washington, D.C. with personnel in Australia, France, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Belgium and Ireland.

Key Facts

• The ICIJ was launched in 1997 by American journalist Charles Lewis as an initiative of the Center for Public Integrity, with the aim of exposing crime and corruption that transcended national boundaries.
• In 2017, it became a fully independent organization and was later granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
• The ICIJ investigates a broad range of matters concerning “cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power.”
• The ICIJ has exposed smuggling and tax evasion by multinational tobacco companies (2000), “by organized crime syndicates; investigated private military cartels, asbestos companies, and climate change lobbyists; and broke new ground by publicizing details of Iraq and Afghanistan war contracts.

FACTS FOR PRELIMS

30 by 30’ agenda:

A bold vision for the future: Protect 30 percent of lands and waters in the United States by 2030 to meet the challenge of climate change and provide space for wildlife and communities to thrive.

Biodiversity fund:

• China on Tuesday pledged to inject $233 million into a new fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries during a key UN conservation summit, despite disagreements among major donors on the initiative. Beijing —
• the world’s biggest polluter — has sought to play a more prominent role internationally on biodiversity conservation in recent years.

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM:

• Formed by an ordinance, “Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020”, in October 2020. The Commission will be a statutory authority.
• It will supersede bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.