Once touted as a model for sustainable energy, the Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project became one of Chile’s most controversial infrastructure developments and a cautionary tale of environmental destruction, human rights violations, and massive financial fallout. While Alto Maipo has left lasting scars for the affected communities, it also catalyzed key policy changes aimed at preventing … Read More.
New research unveils the toxic supply chain fueling global plastic production, shedding new light on the critical players driving the plastics and climate crises. A new investigation by Stand.earth Research Group (SRG) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) reveals that 25+ of the world’s largest household brands are driving fossil fuel expansion in … Read More.
Fossil fuel companies are sinking ever more money into undersea reserves, taking their operations to ever deeper and more remote waters. Today offshore projects represent more than 30 percent of global oil and gas production and they are only growing in numbers. This rising wave of offshore oil and gas activity threatens two global commons … Read More.
The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Azerbaijan, a petrostate with a detrimental human rights record, and framed as a “Finance COP.” When COP29 came to an end a day after planned, the outcomes were an overall lack of … Read More.
On 29 March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an Advisory Opinion (AO) on States’ obligations in respect of climate change. The ICJ has now, for the first time in history, the mandate to clarify the legal obligations of States with … Read More.
The climate crisis is undeniably a human rights crisis. Intensifying extreme weather events and slow-onset effects such as rising temperatures, persistent drought, and sea-level rise are leading to widespread human rights violations. Those impacts are disproportionately affecting individuals, Peoples, and communities who are in vulnerable situations due to historical and present marginalization and intersecting forms … Read More.
The plastics crisis directly infringes on a variety of human rights, including the right to life, to the highest attainable standard of health, to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, to adequate housing, to water and sanitation, to food, and an adequate standard of living. States have an obligation to protect, respect, and promote human … Read More.
The urgent need to address climate change is hindered by legal barriers within international investment law, particularly through Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. ISDS provisions enable foreign investors to sue governments over climate policies that affect their investments, particularly in the fossil fuel sector. This legal threat has a chilling effect on governments, deterring them … Read More.
In 2022, United Nations Member States adopted a mandate to negotiate an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. The mandate sets out a goal for the plastics treaty to be negotiated before the end of 2024. In November 2024, Member States will come together to participate in the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating … Read More.
Geoengineering, once confined to the periphery of climate crisis discussions, has started to enter the mainstream discourse, creating a dangerous distraction for decision-makers from the real climate solutions that can and must be implemented today. Defined as the “deliberate intervention in the planetary environment of a nature and scale intended to counteract anthropogenic climate change … Read More.
As global temperatures rise and governments implement decarbonization policies, the fossil fuel industry is pushing for a major expansion in the production of plastic and petrochemical products. The unchecked expansion of petrochemicals would be devastating for the environment, climate, and human health. The financial sector plays a crucial role in enabling or limiting this damage. Consumers … Read More.
The governing bodies of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are often known as the Conference of the Parties (COP). COPs are frequently given the mandate to “review, evaluate and adopt decisions related to the implementation of the treaty; consider and take any action necessary to achieve the objectives of the treaty.” While this text may make … Read More.
Decisions about how a treaty is structured impacts the treaty’s initial text and what will need to be decided in future agreements, protocols, and annexes. Structure and Elements of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty provides an analysis of different options for treaty design and the risks associated with each. Heading … Read More.
Final provisions — the technical provisions that help describe how a treaty will enter into force, be ratified, and undergo future revisions — are critical for a future treaty’s success. The brief Final Provisions of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty provides insight and analysis into how multilateral environmental agreements, including … Read More.
Petrochemicals are a major and escalating threat to the climate. From the extraction and processing of fossil fuels to the production, use, and disposal of petrochemicals — the petrochemical industry is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the petrochemical sector poised for growth, its potential to exacerbate the climate crisis will only … Read More.
Después de que la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos celebrara audiencias para su Opinión Consultiva sobre la emergencia climática, los Pueblos Indígenas y Tribales, las comunidades y la sociedad civil se unieron para crear la Declaración de Manaos sobre Derechos Humanos en la Emergencia Climática. Esta declaración insta a la Corte a articular estándares mínimos … Read More.
After the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) held hearings for its climate Advisory Opinion, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, communities, and civil society united to create the Manaus Declaration on Human Rights in the Climate Emergency. This Declaration calls on the Court to articulate minimum standards for safeguarding human rights in the context of the … Read More.
As governments and intergovernmental organizations have recognized, climate change has adverse impacts on a wide range of human rights. Consequently, existing human rights obligations defined under legally binding treaties must inform climate action. These obligations require that climate policies are designed and implemented to effectively protect the rights of those most affected by the climate … Read More.
The United Nations Environment Assembly resolution that kickstarted the process of negotiating a future plastics treaty sets out an ambitious timeline, with the goal of finishing by the end of 2024. With the end of the negotiations nearing and a substantial amount of work still needed to finalize the treaty before it can be ratified, … Read More.
On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued its landmark Advisory Opinion (AO) on the protection of the marine environment from pollution caused by climate change. The Opinion is a groundbreaking first in international law — clarifying the legal obligations of States to address climate change as a … Read More.
Plastic pollution is not just an environmental issue; it’s a pervasive crisis that deeply impacts public health and economic stability. The burden of this crisis falls disproportionately on the shoulders of state, county, and municipal authorities, who invest vast resources managing significant challenges—from clogged water systems and littered landscapes to the immense costs of managing … Read More.
This advocacy brief underscores the importance of establishing robust, inclusive mechanisms for meaningful participation by all rightsholders, especially affected communities and groups. It also outlines the strategic modalities the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) should prioritize when developing operational policies and guidelines. This brief aims to bridge the gap between policy intentions and actionable outcomes, … Read More.
Plastic Polymers under the Full Life Cycle Approach: Key Considerations on the Scope of the Future Plastics Treaty demonstrates the central role of plastic polymers in the full life cycle of plastics from supply chain and pollution perspectives. It looks at precedents to establish that the full life cycle approach mandated in UNEA Resolution 5/14 … Read More.
Current and projected levels of plastic production are severely undermining any potential solution to end plastic pollution. To effectively address the climate crisis, safeguard human health, ensure the enjoyment of human rights, and mitigate biodiversity loss, the future plastics treaty must control and reduce the production of primary plastic polymers. Parties to other Multilateral Environmental … Read More.
In 2022, United Nations Member States adopted a mandate to negotiate an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. The mandate sets out a goal for the plastics treaty to be negotiated before the end of 2024. In April 2024, Member States will come together to participate in the fourth session of the Intergovernmental … Read More.
The INC process has been riddled with questions about decision-making from the beginning. Heading into INC-4, a small handful of countries continue to insist that voting should not be used to decide on substantive matters and are blocking the final adoption of the INC Rules of Procedure unless the possibility of a vote on substantive … Read More.
The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in December 2023 in a country with closed civic space and a track record of human rights violations and was presided over by an oil executive. This context further undermined the credibility of … Read More.
Governments that take action to accelerate the transition away from oil, gas, and coal are facing an escalating risk of legal challenge from foreign investors over the perceived impacts of such measures on their investment returns or other costs imposed. Through investor-State dispute settlements (ISDS), foreign investors can bring arbitration claims against governments to obtain … Read More.
Current and planned fossil fuel production and use are incompatible with agreed temperature limits. COP28 must deliver an agreement for a just and equitable phase out of fossil fuel production and use, as well as at least a tripling of renewable energy and a doubling of energy efficiency. The fossil fuel declines required by 2030 … Read More.
Facing growing scrutiny over their contributions to climate change, polluting industries are increasingly looking for ways to cover up their continued emissions rather than phase out the fossil fuels driving them. One way companies claim the world can continue producing and using oil, gas, and coal without harming the climate is through carbon capture and … Read More.
As our window to prevent catastrophic climate impacts narrows, technological fixes like direct air capture (DAC) are gaining dangerous momentum. While pulling pollution out of the atmosphere might sound like a good idea, DAC and other carbon capture schemes are unproven, expensive, and may actually accelerate climate change. Direct Air Capture: Big Oil’s Latest Smokescreen … Read More.
Consideration of Risks and Impacts associated with Prematurely Lifting the Trade Ban for SC77 October 2023 Research from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) indicates that the CITES trade suspension of Pterocarpus erinaceus – an endangered species of rosewood found in the dry savannahs of western and central … Read More.
Treaties provide obligations for States to undertake individual or joint action to implement international legal instruments. Implementation typically refers to the process by which countries establish national laws and policies that reflect treaty obligations. Measures can range from national implementation plans (NIPs) to periodic assessments, compliance provisions and mechanisms, and national reporting. This brief outlines … Read More.
Fiscal incentives and subsidies for the production of primary plastics help to exacerbate the plastic pollution crisis by artificially reducing the cost of plastics. While there are subsidies that directly go to the production of plastic precursors, many are indirect, going to fossil fuels. For the future plastics treaty to comprehensively address the entire life … Read More.
Plastic production is currently on an upward trajectory and is projected to continue increasing exponentially. Global plastic polymer production doubled from 2000 to 2019, reaching 460 million tonnes (Mt) per year, and it is anticipated to almost triple from 2019 levels by 2050. This uncontrolled growth threatens the global climate, as well as human health, … Read More.
In 2022, United Nations Member States adopted a mandate to negotiate an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. The mandate sets out a goal for the plastics treaty to be negotiated before the end of 2024. The negotiations about the treaty’s design, reach, and function began first in an ad hoc Open-Ended Working … Read More.
Treaties, including multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), provide obligations for States to undertake either individual or joint action to implement international legal instruments. Implementation refers to the process by which countries establish national policies that reflect their treaty obligations. This brief clarifies the difference between three common implementation measures: national implementation plans (NIPs), national action plans (NAPs), … Read More.
Illegal logging and associated trade is a problem of global proportions, with devastating impacts on climate, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of millions of people. Forest crime has severe adverse economic and social impacts in both producing and importing countries through the loss of much-needed tax revenues. Illegal logging can only prevail as long as international … Read More.
Bilateral and multilateral trade and investment treaties often include investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, which enable foreign investors to sue States for taking actions that adversely affect the value of their investments. These mechanisms can undermine States’ ability to take robust climate and environmental action to respect, protect, and fulfill the human right to a … Read More.
In January 2017, CIEL supported Chilean organization Ecosistemas and the Coordinadora Ciudadana No Alto Maipo (CCNAM) to file complaints about the Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project at the accountability mechanisms of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). After nearly six years of waiting, these processes are in the final stages. In … Read More.
Facing growing scrutiny over their contributions to climate change, polluting industries are increasingly looking to the ocean as a potential dumping ground for their carbon dioxide waste. Rather than phase out fossil fuels, oil, gas, and petrochemical companies claim they can, instead, capture some of their carbon dioxide emissions and inject them underground or under … Read More.
The 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) climate negotiations took place in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt). COP27 ran as climate impacts raged across the globe, underscoring that climate change is a human rights crisis. The only way out is by acting urgently to keep warming below … Read More.
In March 2022, United Nations Member States adopted a mandate to negotiate a global plastics treaty at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2). The mandate, “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument,” sets out a goal for the treaty to be negotiated before the end of 2024. While … Read More.
International treaties frequently include definitions of relevant terms. Definitions of key terms can play an important role in facilitating and supporting treaty negotiations and are often critical for implementing a treaty after its ratification. The Compilation examines over 100 terms that may be relevant for the plastics treaty, offering examples of where those terms appear … Read More.
As governments and intergovernmental organizations have recognized, climate change has adverse impacts on a wide range of human rights. Consequently, existing human rights obligations defined under legally binding treaties must inform climate action. These obligations require that climate policies effectively protect the rights of those most affected by the climate crisis, including by averting harm … Read More.
Trade is an essential aspect of the plastic crisis that led to the adoption of a mandate to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. Plastic feedstocks, polymers, additives, plastic pellets, plastic products, and waste are largely traded internationally and the liberalization of trade in those products supports the rise in production … Read More.
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.
Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) aim to address environmental issues of global concern by creating uniform and streamlined approaches and rules that apply to all parties. Treaties serve as agreements between two (or more) States that enter into an agreement, thus creating specific obligations and rights for those parties. It is generally recognized that a treaty … Read More.
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.
The World Bank Group (WBG) has financed and incentivized up to $165 billion in fossil fuel investments since the Paris Agreement was signed. However, a combination of global scientific consensus and international political agreements now requires the WBG to set an example for both public and private financial institutions by supporting the rapid transition to … Read More.
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.
The Sixth Assessment Cycle (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will conclude in March 2023 with the release of a Synthesis Report (SYR) and Summary for Policymakers (SPM). This assessment cycle covers six major reports that the IPCC has released since 2014. Lost in Translation, a joint analysis produced by the Center for … Read More.
Plastics trade is an essential component of discussions to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. Accordingly, trade provisions must be included in the future plastics treaty. “Non-Party Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements” examines how trade has been incorporated into other MEAs and provides lessons for plastics. Contents include: why States … Read More.
Integrating Human Rights in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): A Toolkit for Practitioners is a practical guide to aid States, policymakers, development agencies, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders in integrating human rights in their NDCs. Climate change threatens ecosystems, wildlife, and human rights. Many effects can already be seen today, including rising sea levels, glacial … Read More.
Fertilizers and pesticides are interdependent inputs to a destructive food production model that is contributing to catastrophic biodiversity collapse, toxic pollution, and the violation of human rights. But there is an often-overlooked dimension of the threat posed by these agrochemicals: their fossil fuel origins. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides are fossil fuels in another form, … Read More.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed, in a brutal way, Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, particularly Russian oil and gas. In the midst of an energy crisis, EU governments demand far more action — and adaptation — from individual citizens than from industry sectors that consume the lion’s share of fossil feedstock and fossil energy, while they also … Read More.
Decades of research have resulted in the banning and severe restriction of some highly hazardous pesticides including aldrin, dieldrin, and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) under international law. But there is no international, legally-binding agreement to phase out these highly hazardous pesticides more generally. In response, many States have adopted domestic measures to address the problem. However, many … Read More.
With plastic production expected to skyrocket in the coming years, microplastic pollution is set to become a runaway challenge if adequate preventive measures are not put in place quickly. Effective solutions that prioritize prevention must be implemented now to prevent microplastic pollution and minimize its impacts on our global ecosystems and climate for the generations … Read More.
Japanese private finance is currently backing one of the most controversial fossil fuel expansion projects in Africa: the 5 billion USD, 1443-kilometer East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which would transport 216,000 barrels per day of electrically heated crude oil from Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania for export. Construction of the pipeline … Read More.
In 2020, the International Finance Corporation (IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm) published its “Approach to Greening Equity in Financial Institutions” (Green Equity Approach or GEA). The GEA committed the IFC to end equity investments in financial institutions that do not have a plan to phase out coal-related investments by 2030. This initiative to “green” equity investments … Read More.
We are increasingly living on a plastic planet. Due to the explosion in plastic production and use, plastic pollution has grown exponentially in recent years. Tiny particles of plastic — or microplastic — are accumulating across the planet in even the most remote areas, in the air, in water, in soil, in plants, and in … Read More.
A Systematic and Searing Indictment of the Carbon Majors; a Stark Warning to the Financial Sector; and a Vital New Tool for Courts and Human Rights Bodies In December 2015, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) launched a landmark National Inquiry on Climate Change in response to a petition filed by Greenpeace Southeast Asia … Read More.
Following the United Nations Environment Assembly’s adoption of a mandate to negotiate an international, legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution entitled “End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument,” it is essential to prepare the work for the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC). The INC is tasked with discussing and finalizing the objective, scope, … Read More.
The plastics and petrochemicals industry has big plans to expand its footprint around the world. If this expansion moves forward, the industry will blow through our global carbon budget, exacerbate the plastics crisis, and threaten the health and safety of frontline communities, from the Gulf Coast of the US to Southeast Asia and beyond. Pushing Back: … Read More.
Illegal logging and trade in illegal timber is a major cause of deforestation, which contributes to the global impact of climate change, depletion of natural resources, and decreasing biodiversity, thereby frustrating efforts towards sustainable forest management. It further negatively affects countries’ socio-economic growth, food security, and poverty alleviation efforts, in particular local communities who depend … Read More.
IPCC Unsummarized: Unmasking Clear Warnings on Overshoot, Techno-fixes, and the Urgency of Climate Justice is a joint analysis produced by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, examining the stark and surprising gap between IPCC consensus and the mitigation pathways emphasized in the Working Group III report, particularly in the … Read More.
Investment law and policy can play a significant role in either addressing — or exacerbating — some of the world’s greatest challenges, from climate change to human rights and environmental protection. In light of this, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed a work program on “The Future of Investment Treaties,” which … Read More.
As governments and intergovernmental organizations have recognized, climate change has adverse impacts on a wide range of human rights. Consequently, existing human rights obligations defined under legally binding treaties must inform climate action. These obligations require that climate policies effectively protect the rights of those most affected by the climate crisis. They also require that … Read More.
The right to effective remedy for harm is a core tenet of international human rights law, with substantive and procedural dimensions. Despite the principle’s wide recognition, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to remedy, and every situation is predicated on a wide array of factors, demanding tailored approaches that depend on the nature of the harm, … Read More.
A joint publication of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Heinrich Boell Foundation, “Beyond the Limits: New IPCC Working Group II Report Highlights How Gambling on Overshoot is Pushing the Planet Past a Point of No Return” examines the IPCC Working Group II report’s findings and significance for: overshoot scenarios, technologies and approaches … Read More.
Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28) FEBRUARY 2024, 10 pages This briefing note summarizes and analyzes key developments at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2023 related to the integration of … Read More.
Over the last decade, there has been a swell of voluntary initiatives and regulations designed to address the plastics crisis. More recently, the subject of an intergovernmental, legal instrument designed to address pollution from plastic has emerged in various international fora. Between 2017 and 2020, parties, regional groups, and stakeholders submitted 10 formal propositions concerning … Read More.
Trading flora and fauna can pose challenges to protecting endangered species, particularly when that trade is conducted illegally. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is tasked with regulating the trade of endangered species, certifying that species were not obtained in contravention of the laws that protect them. … Read More.
The protection that bilateral and multilateral investment treaties afford to the fossil fuel industry presents a significant roadblock to climate mitigation action. Under these investment law frameworks, foreign investors benefit from a broad range of protections against the impacts of changes to a host State’s regulatory regime. This legal briefing explains how the implications of … Read More.
Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs), when implemented effectively, can be transformative tools for justice. IAMs are a forum for communities whose human rights and environment are harmed by investments to raise their concerns and have them addressed. In 1993, the World Bank created the first independent accountability mechanism in response to political and public pressure from … Read More.
The transatlantic trade in petrochemicals — the fossil fuel-derived building blocks of plastic pollution — is booming. In the midst of a mounting climate emergency, this is not the kind of economic cooperation the world needs. As the European Union (EU) claims to step up its climate commitments, its pivot to fracked gas produced in … Read More.
The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is the all-encompassing global framework for supporting the realization of sound management of chemicals and waste throughout their lifecycle. Its core elements include the implementation of all binding chemicals and waste agreements, as well as providing guidance for work with issues that are of international priority but … Read More.
In April 2021, the Office of Evaluations and Oversight (“OVE”) at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) published the Evaluation of the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) (“OVE’s Evaluation”). The evaluation aimed to determine whether MICI was effective and efficient in three areas: (1) the resolution of complaints; (2) the promotion of institutional learning; and (3) … Read More.
To head off climate catastrophe, oil and gas production and consumption must decline. The opposite is happening in the Permian Basin, where production has more than quadrupled in the past decade, and is expected to grow aggressively in the coming decade. In partnership with Oil Change International and Earthworks, CIEL is producing a six-part series … Read More.
In recent years, the plastics and petrochemical industry has embraced the idea of “net-zero plastic” to greenwash expanded plastic production and use. Their narratives tout zero-emissions plastic, but there is no way around it: plastic is carbon. It is a major threat to our climate, and can never be a part of any solution to … Read More.
Indigenous Peoples have been warning about the climate crisis and combating false solutions to climate change for decades. Their advocacy has been instrumental in getting governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. Many Indigenous representatives advocate for a human rights-based approach to these policies — an approach that respects, protects, and fulfills the United Nations Declaration … Read More.
The world is in the midst of a perilous plastics and petrochemicals boom that is both disastrous from a health and environmental perspective and foolish from a financial and economic one. Among the companies leading the global expansion of plastic production is the Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwanese conglomerate that has grown over six decades … Read More.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report made clear: For the world to have a good shot at keeping temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, emissions would need to be cut in half by 2030 and globally stabilize by 2050. In accordance with the IPCC’s conclusions, several banks and other financial institutions … Read More.
Guiding Questions for Organizing International Negotiating & Meeting Spaces The COVID-19 pandemic upended long-held plans for international conventions, meetings, and negotiating spaces, forcing critical conversations onto digital platforms that, until March 2020, had never been tested by the global community. While the transition to online platforms was necessary, the design and execution of the reimagined … Read More.
The world is confronting a climate emergency. Avoiding climate catastrophe requires immediate and dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are possible only with a significant investment of public resources in proven mitigation measures, beginning with eliminating fossil fuel use and halting deforestation. Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, and carbon capture, utilization and storage, … Read More.
For decades, Indigenous Peoples have drawn upon knowledge and observations shared by their Elders and knowledge keepers and their reciprocal relationships with the natural world to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Their continued leadership has been essential to advancing rights-based frameworks during climate negotiations and is evident in documents such as the preamble of … Read More.
As the fossil fuel era faces its necessary and inevitable end, several questions loom large: When the oil and gas stop flowing, what will happen to the millions of wells drilled onshore and offshore, the pipelines and plants that transport and process the fuels, and the lands and waters where they sit? Who pays the … Read More.
As the climate crisis intensifies, so, too, do its impacts on human rights. Addressing these impacts requires urgent, ambitious action and significant funding to support dramatic emissions reductions, adaptation to a rapidly changing world, and action on loss and damage due to climate change. This funding is colloquially known as climate finance. Funding Our Future: … Read More.
The climate crisis is unfolding here and now. Preserving our collective future demands urgent and ambitious action, and the Paris Agreement is perhaps the best hope we have of coming together to reverse and prevent the catastrophic effects of warming. Achieving the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting warming to 1.5°C is crucial, if still risky … Read More.
This legal opinion is an analysis of the legal obligations for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members trading in plastic wastes, following the OECD’s inability to reach consensus on the incorporation of most of the Basel Plastic Amendments into the OECD Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations … Read More.
Climate change is an existential threat for people and the planet. Its harmful effects undermine the full enjoyment and realization of all human rights. Yet, no dedicated mechanism at the Human Rights Council addresses climate change holistically. As early as 2010, civil society organizations, echoed by member states of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and … Read More.
In October 2020, the European Commission published the “Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability,” which sets up a new long-term vision for chemicals policy in the European Union (EU) and presents some of the most potentially transformative initiatives of the past twenty years. The Strategy should help to achieve “a toxic-free environment,” as established in the “zero … Read More.
The climate change crisis poses a threat to human rights around the world. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) can play a critical role in responding to the crisis by working to ensure that human rights are protected from the impacts of climate change. Steps that NRHIs can take include: designing effective mitigation and adaptation measures, … Read More.
On November 20, 2013, the European Union adopted the Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR), which entered completely into force (as amended) in December 2018. The regulation was intended to integrate the provisions of the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention) into the law of the European Union … Read More.
Financing the Sound Management of Chemicals Beyond 2020 provides the essential background and facts for the proposed internationally coordinated chemical tax or fee on basic chemicals. Key Findings The chemical industry generates trillions of dollars in annual sales but does not shoulder the significant health and environmental costs that derive from its activities. Substantial management capabilities … Read More.
Oil, gas, and petrochemical companies are selling off assets at massively discounted prices, slashing dividend payouts for shareholders, and racking up debt to preserve a facade of stability. Even the petrochemical sector — hailed by industry leaders as a panacea for future growth — has been exposed for its unviable economic prospects. Debt-Driven Dividends & … Read More.
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest human-made threats our planet faces. Of the approximately 275 million metric tons of plastic waste produced annually, up to 12 million tons leak into oceans, wreaking havoc on livelihoods and ecosystems. The result is an estimated $13 billion in annual environmental damage to marine ecosystems, in addition to … Read More.
Amidst a global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, the oil, gas, and plastic industries are exploiting the crisis by aggressively lobbying for massive bailouts and special privileges in a desperate attempt to revive an oil and gas industry already in decline. Pandemic Crisis, Systemic Decline: Why Exploiting the COVID-19 Crisis Will Not Save the … Read More.
As governments and intergovernmental organizations have recognized, climate change has adverse impacts on a wide range of human rights. Consequently, States must uphold their existing human rights obligations defined under legally binding treaties in the context of climate change and climate policies. These obligations require that climate policies effectively protect the rights of those most affected … Read More.
The UN human rights treaties are monitored by dedicated “Human Rights Treaty Bodies” (HRTBs). States are required to submit reports on the human rights situation in their respective countries and the HRTBs assess the State’s compliance with its treaty obligations and publish a set of recommendations (“Concluding Observations”) to the State. Civil Society can submit … Read More.