Moment of Truth: Will INC-5 Deliver the Plastics Treaty the World Needs?

Published November 20, 2024 By Andrés Del Castillo, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Lindsey Jurca Durland, Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law The stakes couldn’t be higher as we enter the final scheduled round of plastics treaty negotiations. From November 25 to December 1, United Nations Member … Read More.

COP29: Time for Real Climate Finance and Fossil Fuel Phaseout

Published November 7, 2024 By Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney for the Climate and Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Rossella Recupero, Communications Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law. The stakes are once again high as the world heads to the 29th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change … Read More.

CBD COP16: A Crucial Moment To Address Oil and Gas Threats to Biodiversity

Published October 21, 2024 By Bruna de Almeida Campos, Senior Campaigner, Offshore Oil & Gas at the Center for International Environmental Law.  DEVELOPING UPDATE Oct. 29: Call on Ministers at CBD COP16 to Halt Oil & Gas Activity to Protect Biodiversity In a statement, 140+ groups of Indigenous Peoples, civil society organizations, and social movements are … Read More.

Why Geoengineering is a False Solution to the Climate Crisis

Published October 15, 2024 By Mary Church, Geoengineering Campaign Manager at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Rossella Recupero, Communications Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law This is the first in a multi-part series exposing the threats and risks connected to geoengineering and why these technologies must not be considered effective … Read More.

IFC’s Responsible Exit: A Critical Step for Accountability, But Real Test Lies Ahead

Published October 7, 2024 By Carla García Zendejas, Director of CIEL’s People, Land, and Resources Program. On October 4, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) published its long-awaited Approach to Responsible Exit, marking a significant milestone for the institution. This shift represents IFC’s commitment to act and respond to environmental and social harms faced by project-affected … Read More.

An Imperfect Storm: Hurricane Helene Exposes Insurers’ Climate Hypocrisy

Insurance companies facilitate climate change by financing fossil fuels — and then seek to raise rates because of the damage it causes. Published October 7, 2024 By Lindsay Fenlock, Senior Researcher at the Center for International Environmental Law, Charles Slidders, Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Nikki Reisch, Director … Read More.

The US Petrochemical Buildout: America’s Next Big Climate Mistake

Published September 24, 2024 By Barnaby Pace, Senior Researcher at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Lindsey Jurca Durland, Communications Campaigns Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law The US is on the brink of making a major climate misstep. According to a new CIEL analysis, planned petrochemical projects across the US could … Read More.

The End of US Environmental Protection Regulation as We Know It

Published August 5, 2024 By Patrick Boyle, Corporate Accountability Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Charles Slidders, Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies at the Center for International Environmental Law. The US Supreme Court recently issued decisions in four cases that could profoundly weaken the administrative state, foreshadowing widespread dysfunction for federal agencies and the … Read More.

Climate Crisis Triggers Dangerous Domino Effect: Insurance, Housing, Financial Crises

Published July 23, 2024 By Lindsay Fenlock, Senior Researcher at the Center for International Environmental Law, Charles Slidders, Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Nikki Reisch, Director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law. This is the second in a multi-part series analyzing … Read More.

IFC Poised to Unveil First Remedy Policy After Decades of Advocacy

Published July 10, 2024 By Aubrey Manahan, Campaigner for CIEL’s People, Land & Resources Program  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the private lending arm of the World Bank — is expected to publish its first remedy and responsible exit policy framework in just a few weeks. This long-awaited policy was driven by decades of … Read More.

Insuring the Climate Crisis: New Bill Aims to Rein in Predatory Insurance Practices

Published June 26, 2024 By Lindsay Fenlock, Senior Researcher at the Center for International Environmental Law, Charles Slidders, Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Nikki Reisch, Director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law. This is the first in a multi-part series, “Insuring … Read More.

Escazú COP3: Ensuring Environmental Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Published May 13, 2024 By Luisa Gomez Betancur, Senior Attorney, and Lani Furbank, Communications Campaign Specialist. The Escazú Agreement is the first legally binding regional treaty that upholds environmental democracy — the right to information, participation, and justice — in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the first in the world containing specific provisions aiming … Read More.

INC-4: Ticking Clock in Ottawa for Critical Plastics Treaty Negotiations

Published on April 18, 2024 In less than a week, over 4,000 representatives from UN Member States and observers from around the world will gather in Ottawa, Canada, for the fourth session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to advance a plastics treaty (INC-4). Previous negotiations have swirled around procedural issues, leading to delays and frustrations. … Read More.

The Global Coalition for the Right to a Healthy Environment: Making History & Protecting Our Collective Future

Published February 2, 2024 By Sébastien Duyck, Senior Attorney & Human Rights & Climate Campaign Manager, and Lani Furbank, Communications Campaign Specialist. On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a diverse, people-powered, global coalition made history at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  The Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous … Read More.

Paving the Way to a Toxic-Free Planet: The New Global Framework on Chemicals – for a Planet Free of Harm from Chemicals and Waste

Published January 31, 2024 By Giulia Carlini, Manager and Senior Attorney in CIEL’s Environmental Health program, David Azoulay, Director of the Environmental Health Program, and Catherine Allary, Communications Campaign Specialist. After years of negotiations, the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) successfully adopted a new global framework on September 30, 2023, in Bonn, Germany, … Read More.

The World Bank Needs a Remedy Framework to Deliver on Loss and Damage

Published December 18, 2023 By Aubrey Manahan, Campaigner for CIEL’s People, Land & Resources Program. This month, during the United Nations Climate Summit COP28 in Dubai, Parties finalized the creation of a Loss and Damage Fund aimed at addressing climate-related harms endured by vulnerable communities and countries. While this achievement follows decades of advocacy by … Read More.

COP28: A Crucial Crossroads for Fossil Fuel Phaseout and Human Rights

Published November 29, 2023 The United Nations climate conference gets underway in the United Arab Emirates this week against a backdrop of broken records and broken promises. From off-the-charts temperatures and unprecedented weather events to off-the-rails climate policies and missing climate finance, 2023 has raised the stakes for this year’s intergovernmental climate talks to new … Read More.

Will Canada Stand Up for Indigenous Rights or Continue Supporting Big Oil?

This article by Whitney Gravelle, Lindsay Bailey, Tamara Morgenthau, and Marco Simons was originally published on Just Security. One day in July 2010, residents of Marshall, Michigan, smelled something toxic in the air and called 9-1-1. It took over 17 hours for Canadian oil giant Enbridge to detect that its Line 6b pipeline had ruptured. In that time, … Read More.

Previewing the Second Round of Negotiations to Advance a Plastics Treaty

In a little under two weeks, thousands of negotiators and observers will gather in Paris, France, for the second intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-2) to advance a plastics treaty. Center for International Environmental Law staff will join allies and partners representing rightsholders, workers and trade unions, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and people living on the frontlines of … Read More.

Latest IPCC Report Warns: We Do Not Have Time to Waste on False Solutions

In March, the international authority on climate science released its new Synthesis Report on the current status of climate change, its impacts and risks, and our options to adapt to and confront the crisis in these pivotal years ahead. The takeaways from this massive document by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are numerous and detailed, … Read More.

Green Climate Fund: Updates from Songdo, South Korea

In March, the board of the Green Climate Fund met in South Korea to fund climate projects and shape its strategic plan for the next four years. The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 as a promise to channel billions of dollars to low-income countries to help them adapt to a changing climate and reduce … Read More.

Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air

As the world’s understanding of the plastics crisis grows, new facets of the problem emerge and reveal impacts on human health and the environment. Recent advances in science are allowing scientists to explore how micro- and nanoplastics form a critical piece of the plastic pollution problem. First thought to be mainly a marine pollution issue, … Read More.

Beyond Recycling: Reckoning with Plastics in a Circular Economy

As the world considers how to address the growing impacts of the triple planetary crises of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss, many discussions point toward a circular economy approach as a much-needed solutions pathway. The term circular economy is routinely used in conversations and policy discussions that center on re-envisioning the full system of … Read More.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Frequently Asked Questions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is purported to collect or “capture” carbon dioxide generated by high-emitting activities, and is therefore commonly proposed as a technology to help meet global energy and climate goals. However, CCS does not address the core drivers of the climate crisis or meaningfully reduce greenhouse emissions, and should not distract from … Read More.

The Inter-American Development Bank Closes the Door on Justice for Chilean Communities Affected by Alto Maipo

The Inter-American Development Bank’s accountability mechanism officially closed its case on the Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project after a flawed investigation and an ineffective action plan left communities with little to show for their years-long pursuit of accountability. At the end of November, the accountability mechanism of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) officially closed its case … Read More.

Peru’s Logging Interests Threaten to Overrule Science at Global Wildlife Summit

This piece was co-authored by Julia Urrunaga, Director of the Peru Program at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA); Susanne Breitkopf, Deputy Director of Forest Campaigns at EIA, and Melissa Blue Sky, Senior Attorney at CIEL. Peruvian scientists have been warning for years about the need to protect the country’s threatened shihuahuaco trees. But the government … Read More.

COP27 Must Treat Loss and Damage as the Human Rights Crisis It Is

This piece was co-authored by Joie Chowdhury, Program Coordinator for Environment and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at ESCR-Net — International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Lien Vandamme, Senior Campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL); and Heidi White lawyer and independent consultant working with the Loss and Damage Collaboration (L&DC). It was … Read More.

TIAA Participants File a Complaint with Principles for Responsible Investing

On October 19, 2022, nearly 300 TIAA account holders filed a complaint against the financial services giant and its wholly-owned subsidiary Nuveen at the United Nations-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The complaint alleges that TIAA’s substantial investments in fossil fuels and deforestation violate the company’s climate pledges and commitment to the PRI Principles and … Read More.

Civil Society Defends Policy Gains and Advocates for Further Change at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

This week, CIEL’s experts will be engaging at the meetings to discuss major issues and challenges facing communities who have been directly affected by development projects. This week, the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are holding their Annual Meetings in Washington, DC. The meetings bring together finance ministers, government delegates, … Read More.

Investors v. Climate Action

What recent case law and treaty reforms may mean for the future of investment arbitration in the energy sector Download a PDF of this document. As governments step up action to end reliance on fossil fuels, oil, gas, and coal companies may wield investment law as a shield to insulate themselves from the cost of … Read More.

The New Energy Charter Treaty in Light of the Climate Emergency

This piece was co-authored by the Center for International Environmental Law, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and ClientEarth. It was originally posted on Jus Mundi. After two years and fifteen negotiation rounds, on June 24, 2022, the Contracting Parties of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) finally reached an agreement in principle on a … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Melissa Blue Sky

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Momentum Towards a Global Plastics Treaty: Update After UNEA 5.2

Six years ago, a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution seemed impossible. But last month, the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) concluded with the historic passage of a mandate to do just that. One hundred seventy-five countries adopted a resolution titled End Plastic Pollution: Towards a legally … Read More.

Escazú, Environmental Democracy, and Development Finance 

Published April 21, 2022 By Carla García Zendejas It has been a year since the landmark Escazú Agreement entered into force (April 22, 2021), and while the Agreement was envisioned in a pre-COVID world, it is critical to take stock of the context in which it will be implemented. This week, States are gathering in … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Jeffrey Wanha

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Does Divestment by Multilateral Development Banks Leave Communities in the Lurch?

When exiting investments, MDBs must address negative impacts of projects on communities What happens when the private sector arms of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) exit their investments without addressing negative impacts and project-related harms, thus leaving project-affected communities without proper remedial actions? We examine seven IFC and IDB Invest cases to draw specific recommendations for … Read More.

Toward a Toxic-Free Future: Five Chemicals Issues We’re Following at UNEA 5.2

Starting next week, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will host the 5th Meeting of the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives to UNEP (OECPR) and the second session of the 5th UN Environment Assembly, the highest political forum on environmental matters. While much of the buzz surrounding the meetings is about the push for a … Read More.

Momentum Towards an International Instrument on Plastics: Update Ahead of UNEA 5.2

Since 2017, state parties, regional groups, and multiple stakeholders have introduced formal propositions and issued declarations concerning a new global instrument to address the plastics crisis, demonstrating that movement towards such an instrument is picking up. But new global instruments do not happen overnight — before negotiations can begin, a mandate must be established and … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Taylor Black

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

The Rise in Forward-Looking Corporate Climate Cases: From Shell to Santos

Climate litigation has taken on even greater importance after the failure of COP26 to deliver the action and resources required to accelerate the energy transition and remedy mounting climate harms. As progress in international negotiating rooms stalls, litigation in national and regional courtrooms plays an ever more critical role in efforts to compel urgently needed … Read More.

False solutions prevail over real ambition at COP26

The climate talks, COP26, in Glasgow started with a plethora of declarations. But in the end it failed to deliver on the real and immediate action needed to avoid climate catastrophe, and to address the demand for justice and equity for those most impacted by climate harms. The message outside of the negotiating halls at … Read More.

Highlights from 2021: Join Us in Celebrating Important Victories!

We are living in a moment of transformative change. Our world is in the midst of an accelerating climate crisis, an ongoing global pandemic, rising threats to democracy and human rights, and the growing recognition that we cannot address any of these challenges without confronting the legacy and ongoing impacts of systemic racism and oppression. … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Andrés Del Castillo

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Public Participation and COP26: A Report from Glasgow

Three days into COP26 and the promise of the “most inclusive COP ever” has shaped up to be nothing more than a farce with limited access and negotiations almost entirely off-limits to observers.  Alok Sharma opened the Climate Leadership Summit thanking everyone for their efforts to get to Glasgow, and it’s true: Delegates, civil society … Read More.

Real ambition vs. false solutions: What’s at stake during COP26?

COP26 takes place against the backdrop of nationalist health policies with daunting consequences, failed promises to adequately scale up climate action and financial support, and an unprecedented push for false solutions that divert global attention from the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.     Originally scheduled to take place in 2020, COP26 was … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Ka’sha Bernard

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Carbon Capture and Storage: An Expensive and Dangerous Plan for Louisiana

Louisiana is gaining an ever-increasing amount of national and international attention for Cancer Alley, an eighty-five-mile stretch along the Mississippi River lined with industrial plants, and the corridor’s role in perpetuating environmental racism and threats to public health. Simultaneously, the state’s policymakers are turning toward a new pernicious industrialization effort that threatens to impact Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities: carbon … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Amanda Kistler

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Nathaniel Eisen

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Giulia Carlini

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Steven Feit

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Highlights from 2020: Join us in celebrating important victories!

This year has been marked by profound challenges, from the intensification of the climate crisis, to a global pandemic, to police violence that has spurred global movements for racial justice. It has placed into stark relief that the greatest challenges facing people and the planet are deeply interconnected. 2020 has also demonstrated the importance of … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Cate Bonacini

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Pushing for the Environment at the United Nations: An Inside Look at the 45th Human Rights Council

There is no longer doubt about the intersection of the environment and human rights. As illustrated throughout the pandemic, all environmental threats, from climate change to toxic exposure, are impacting individuals’ daily lives and human rights, especially in vulnerable communities. Therefore, governments and other stakeholders can’t afford to deal with the environment and human rights … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Francesca Mingrone

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Karin Cicelski

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

2020: A “green switch” for chemicals and waste?

The year 2020 was supposed to be the “super year for nature.” Many people around the world were expecting new, ambitious goals to protect our oceans and biodiversity and to better regulate chemicals and waste. Events were scheduled and hopes were high. After all, this decade is the last real chance to reverse biodiversity loss … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Sarah Dorman

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day … Read More.

Juneteenth: Honoring a Legacy and Future of Resistance

We are in the throes of a cultural reckoning. While that conversation has often felt specific to the United States — and many parts of it are — this is an international reflection process, a deepening of our collective understanding of how white supremacy and racial capitalism have made an indelible mark on our collective … Read More.

Meet Our Staff: An Interview with Marie Mekosh

Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day to … Read More.

Civil Aviation Bailouts: Violating Our Children’s Rights?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought international travel to a grinding halt as nations around the world imposed travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. The suspension of travel has, in turn, played a role in slashing fossil fuel demand to an unprecedented low and likely accelerated the systemic decline of the oil, gas, … Read More.

Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance

CIEL joined 45 organizations and individuals on a statement regarding the dismissal of the Executive Director of the Peruvian forest authority SERFOR. The statement is below. We, the undersigned, reject the breach in forest sector institutionality committed by the Ministry of Agriculture in its dismissal of the Executive Director of the Peruvian forest authority SERFOR … Read More.

CIEL Joins the Finance Climate Challenge

This morning, CIEL joined over 160 organizations from around the world in the Finance Climate Challenge. The full text of the challenge is included below. To learn more about how your organization can join the Challenge, please visit the Finance Climate Challenge. The undersigned organizations call on the finance sector to end all support for new … Read More.

Money Talks: Taking Aim at Wall Street’s Investments in the Climate Crisis

“If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil.” In January, a coalition of environmental, youth, and Indigenous groups, including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club, formed a new, people-powered movement called Stop the Money Pipeline. Our mission: to cut off the cash … Read More.

Our Commitments to You During the COVID-19 Crisis

With the world rapidly changing around us, we want to let you know what you can expect from CIEL in the weeks and months ahead. The outbreak and impact of COVID-19 is reminding us of just how interconnected we all are with each other and with our planet. During this period, CIEL is committed to … Read More.

European Green Deal — A New Hope for Safer Chemicals?

The European Green Deal has been presented as an ambitious plan to transport the European Union to a bright, sustainable future for chemicals management. But is it really? The European Green Deal, presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on December 11, 2019, is meant to be the “boarding pass” for the European … Read More.

Potential Disaster Looms Off the Coast of Guyana

Following the discovery of oil off the coast of Guyana, fossil fuel industry giants rushed to sign a contract with the government. The resulting “deal” is shockingly unjust and devastatingly reckless.  Fossil fuels have profoundly impacted the world in which we live today. Their proponents insist that without them, we cannot continue to enjoy the … Read More.

Tackling the Plastic Crisis with the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act

As plastic continues to suffocate the planet, the first comprehensive legislative plan in the United States to combat plastic pollution, the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, was launched today at the US Capitol. The bill, introduced by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), seeks to address the plastic pollution crisis by … Read More.