The Relevance of the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as a Structural Lever for Environmental Justice

This briefing paper argues that the proposed United Nations Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) to regulate transnational corporations is a critical structural lever for achieving environmental justice. It contends that existing voluntary frameworks are inadequate to stop corporate-driven ecological destruction and that the LBI can transform the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (RtHE) into enforceable obligations, ensuring corporate liability and access to remedy across transnational value chains.

• The LBI process, currently in its 12th year, aims to close legal accountability gaps by establishing a binding regulatory framework. It is viewed as a 'structural lever' that can operationalize the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (RtHE) through strengthened prevention, liability, jurisdiction, and remedies.
• During the 11th session of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEIGWG) in October 2025, several states—including France, Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Egypt, Cameroon, and Palestine—proposed strengthening environmental provisions, such as including the RtHE in the definition of human rights abuse and expanding remedy to include ecological restoration.
• The Updated Draft of the LBI includes specific articles to address structural barriers to justice: Article 6 focuses on mandatory human rights due diligence; Article 7 on access to remedy; Article 8 on legal liability across corporate structures; Article 9 on expanding jurisdictional bases; and Article 12 on mutual legal assistance for cross-border enforcement.
• Recent advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) reinforce the LBI's goals by clarifying that states must regulate private actors to prevent climate harm and ensure that companies carry out due diligence throughout their entire value chains.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2026). The Relevance of the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as a Structural Lever for Environmental Justice. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ENG_FES_FIAN-Briefing-Paper_March-2026_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. The Relevance of the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as a Structural Lever for Environmental Justice. 2026. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ENG_FES_FIAN-Briefing-Paper_March-2026_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=The Relevance of the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as a Structural Lever for Environmental Justice |date=March 2026 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ENG_FES_FIAN-Briefing-Paper_March-2026_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2026relevance, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{The Relevance of the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as a Structural Lever for Environmental Justice}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ENG_FES_FIAN-Briefing-Paper_March-2026_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }