Again and again, our work makes clear to us that the world is filled with people ready to stand up. The world is filled with leaders. They are mobilized. They are fighting in cities and countrysides and courtrooms across the world.
Every day, the movement to defend human rights and the environment grows, and we’re so grateful to have you by our side in this effort. This year, your support helped…
Tackle the Plastic Crisis at its Source
This year, CIEL exposed the deep links between fossil fuels and the plastic crisis and highlighted how the fracking boom is driving a massive buildout of unsustainable plastic production. We worked with partners to equip and connect frontline communities across the full lifecycle of plastic — from oil wellhead, to petrochemical production, to disposal and marine waste — building power, increasing capacity, and unifying groups to defend their homes, health, and futures.
Plus, we played a central role in rallying countries to begin work on an international treaty to address the plastic crisis that tackles not just the pollution in our oceans, but also the impacts of plastic from its very beginnings, starting with extraction. Read more.
Defend the Right to Water
In 2018, our Colombian partners faced the most attacks for defending their rights and the rights of their community against the destructive Hidroituango Dam.
To challenge the project, we accompanied Colombian partners seeking accountability for investments in the dam and amplified their voices. When our partners faced a wave of intimidation, violence, and assassinations, we helped to bring US and international attention to the situation. Read more.
Build the Case for Climate Accountability
Thirteen US cities, counties, and states are suing major fossil fuel companies, drawing on evidence gathered by CIEL through our Smoke & Fumes work. We extended this evidence by helping expose what Royal Dutch Shell knew about climate change and when they knew it.
We testified three times before the Philippines Human Rights Commission in its investigation into whether major carbon-producing companies are responsible for the human rights impacts of climate change. We filed an amicus brief in support of the landmark Juliana v. US lawsuit defending the right to a livable climate in the US. And we provided legal support to Norwegian youth suing their own government for opening the Arctic Ocean to oil drilling in violation of environmental and human rights enshrined in the Norwegian Constitution. Read more.
Bolster the Divestment Movement
The divestment movement now spans 37 countries, 900+ institutions, and over $6 trillion in assets. At the beginning of the year, the city of New York announced a bold and unprecedented move — that they would sue major fossil fuel companies for climate impacts and divest their public pension fund from fossil fuels. To accelerate the transition from fossil fuels, we have made the case that pension funds have a fiduciary duty to consider climate risk, and we have provided legal support and expertise to the growing global divestment movement. Read more.
Protect our Health against Industry Meddling
We fought chemical industry meddling that would undermine health protections for hazardous nanomaterials in the European Union (EU). Titanium dioxide, a chemical used in a variety of products we use daily (like sunscreen and toothpaste), has been linked to some forms of cancer. But when industry launched a massive lobbying effort against efforts to label the chemical as a suspected carcinogen, CIEL worked to expose and oppose industry meddling that has no place in our public health protections. Read more.
Strengthen International Law and the Right to a Healthy Planet
We celebrated the adoption of the Escazú Agreement that guarantees access to information, participation, and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean and defines States’ responsibilities to protect environmental human rights defenders.
We also contributed to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognizing the right to a healthy environment as fundamental to human existence, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment calling on countries to affirm the right to a healthy environment, and a UN Human Rights Council resolution that referred to the 1.5°C climate target as a human rights issue. Read more.
Win Policy Victories in Climate Finance
In 2010, governments created the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to provide financial support to developing countries for tackling climate change. As the GCF designs its policies and procedures, CIEL has been a champion for a rights-based approach to ensure that GCF activities do not contribute to human and environmental harms.
This year, we won strong new policies requiring the Green Climate Fund to protect the rights of communities affected by its projects. We also helped create an independent accountability office to allow communities access to redress if a project harms them. Read more.
Defend the Peruvian Amazon
We exposed the illegal origins of timber exported from Peru, proving that companies likely know when their timber was harvested illegally. This research is helping hold exporters accountable and stem the tide of illegal logging from Peru’s globally significant forests.
After multiple investigations of Peruvian timber, the US government used provisions of the US-Peru trade agreement to exclude a major exporter from selling timber to the US market for three years — sending a strong signal to companies that there will be financial repercussions for continuing illegal activity. Read more.
Counter-Balance Corporate Power
We worked with partners to push forward a new binding treaty to require transnational corporations to respect human rights — and hold them accountable when they don’t. With an international coalition of Feminists for a Binding Treaty, we secured recognition of the specific impacts on women and girls in the draft treaty and worked to translate that into meaningful protections. Read more.
Challenge World Bank Immunity
There are few ways for people affected by development bank-funded projects to hold the bank responsible for even the direst human rights and environmental abuses. In the US, these organizations have absolute legal immunity, meaning that they can’t be sued even in cases of explicitly illegal behavior. But for the first time, the US Supreme Court is addressing international organizations’ immunity from harmful or illegal conduct. This case could pave the way for communities around the world to finally achieve meaningful relief from the damage international institutions leave behind.
We filed an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court in the landmark IFC v. Jam case, arguing that immunity from lawsuits undermines the mission and accountability system of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank. Read more.
Please make a gift today to support this work in 2019. Through December 31, your donation will be matched, doubling your impact!
To learn more about this year’s accomplishments, read our 2018 Impact Report.
Please consider making an end-of-year donation to CIEL. Your support to CIEL makes you an essential part of this effort and a vital member of our community and our movement. Between now and December 31, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar, meaning that your donation has double the impact!
