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The text traces the evolution of Estonia's LGBT+ movement from the 1990s to 2021, highlighting the 2014 Registered Partnership Act and its subsequent failure to be fully implemented. It details the hostile environment created by the EKRE party during its time in government, including a proposed referendum to define marriage strictly as between a man and a woman. While the collapse of the coalition in January 2021 cancelled the referendum, the authors argue that the new government's refusal to change the definition of marriage in the Family Law Act indicates a continuing reluctance to achieve full marriage equality.

A statement by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) regarding a landmark legal victory against Shell, where a Dutch court ordered the company to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% within ten years to align with the Paris Agreement.

The report analyzes Thailand's Community Forest Act B.E. 2562 (2019), noting that while it provides a first-time official umbrella law for community forestry, it is limited to areas outside protected forests. The analysis highlights gaps in customary tenure recognition, complex allocation processes, and a lack of explicit safeguards for marginalized groups. It recommends the development of detailed subsidiary regulations to clarify management plans, benefit-sharing, and market access.

The briefing argues that the EU-Mercosur trade deal was concluded without a complete sustainability impact assessment (SIA), which the European Ombudsman identified as maladministration. It highlights concerns that the agreement could increase deforestation in Mercosur countries, particularly Brazil, and criticizes the European Commission's attempt to seek pre-ratification commitments rather than renegotiating the text. Furthermore, the document opposes any effort by the Commission to 'split' the trade and political components of the agreement to bypass the requirement for unanimity in the Council and ratification by the 27 EU Member State parliaments, asserting that such a move would violate the original 1999 mandate and principles of sincere cooperation.

ClientEarth contends that the German government's compensation for closing lignite plants is unlawful State aid. The organization argues that the plants would have closed sooner under market conditions, making the aid unnecessary and disproportionate. Furthermore, it asserts that using public funds to cover mine rehabilitation costs breaches the 'polluter pays' principle and EU environmental law. ClientEarth warns that the measure distorts competition and fails to provide significant environmental benefits, especially in light of a German Constitutional Court ruling requiring more ambitious climate targets.

The document argues that the European Union can legally eliminate fuel tax exemptions for vessels, including fishing boats, even in international waters. It refutes claims that such a move violates UNCLOS Article 89 by asserting that EU-flagged vessels remain under flag-state jurisdiction and non-EU vessels can be linked to the EU via the port where they refuel. Furthermore, it concludes that UNCLOS lacks the 'direct effect' necessary for individuals or companies to legally challenge these tax changes in court. The briefing also notes that while the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is slow to implement global levies, strong EU regulation often accelerates international consensus.

The report argues that while not explicitly stated, the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) grants EU citizens a right to air quality within legal limit values. It identifies significant barriers to justice in several Member States and advocates for the use of the Francovich doctrine to allow individuals to seek compensation for health damages. ClientEarth recommends that the European Commission explicitly codify this individual right in the revised AAQD, introduce coercive remedies for non-compliance, and alleviate the burden of proof for claimants seeking damages.

The document critiques the European Commission's December 2020 proposal for a revised TEN-E Regulation, highlighting risks of conflict of interest due to the influence of Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and a lack of transparency in selecting Projects of Common Interest (PCIs). It proposes integrating the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) into the decision-making process for PCI lists and Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDPs) to provide independent, science-based oversight. Key recommendations include adopting PCI lists via separate delegated acts per infrastructure category, mandating public consultations on regional lists, and establishing a common assessment method across regional Groups to prevent bias.

The report analyzes how changes to Brazil's environmental legal framework, specifically the introduction of a mandatory conciliation phase and the replacement of technical staff with military personnel, have weakened the effectiveness of IBAMA's enforcement. It argues that these shifts, combined with the suspension of the PPCDAm and the implementation of military-led operations, have contributed to increased deforestation and illegal fires in the Amazon while reducing the number of environmental infractions processed.

The report examines the transition of Ibama's environmental sanctioning process toward a model centered on environmental conciliation. It argues that while conciliation could theoretically speed up processes, its implementation under the current administration has been deficient due to regulatory delays, a lack of technical qualification in key appointments, and a dangerous centralization of power. These failures, combined with the replacement of career staff with political appointees, are found to weaken the deterrent effect of environmental fines and contribute to increased deforestation in the Amazon.

The document examines the gap between legal design and operational reality regarding how logging companies share benefits with forest communities in four West and Central African nations. It highlights that while laws may exist, a lack of implementing regulations, low payment amounts, and limited community negotiation capacity often lead to poor outcomes. ClientEarth has responded by developing guidance tools, templates, and training to empower communities to negotiate more effective and enforceable agreements.

ClientEarth argues that the proposed revisions to Japan's Corporate Governance Code are insufficient and recommends requiring 'Paris-aligned' strategies, extending disclosure requirements to the Standard Market, and integrating climate expertise and training into board governance.

The document analyzes the 'exceptionality' of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) compared to other EU laws, arguing that its governance, legislative processes, and funding mechanisms are designed to protect agricultural sectoral interests. It contends that the CAP fails to meaningfully incorporate environmental stakeholders, operates through non-standard legislative channels like the Special Committee on Agriculture, and lacks the strict environmental safeguards found in other EU funds, such as the Common Provision Regulation. The report specifically criticizes the 'greenwashing' of the COVID-19 recovery budget and the lack of legally binding links between the CAP and the European Green Deal.

The report criticizes the EU's REDII sustainability criteria for forest biomass, arguing that they prioritize legal formality over actual ecological sustainability. It contends that the criteria allow destructive forestry practices to continue by equating the existence of national laws with sustainability, while failing to provide rigorous verification mechanisms or incorporate NGO evidence. Through five case studies in Canada, Estonia, France, Portugal, and Finland, the document demonstrates that current rules would not prevent the logging of old-growth or high-nature-value forests for energy production.

The briefing argues that the New Bidding Law provides an opportunity to strengthen the planning of infrastructure projects by introducing more robust preliminary technical studies. It proposes a 'pre-feasibility analysis' methodology to anticipate socio-environmental risks before projects reach the bidding stage, thereby reducing the likelihood of project interruptions or environmental damage. While praising new transparency measures and the role of audit courts, the document warns that the law represents a regression in mandatory social participation.

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California to restore safety protections established after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout. The legal action specifically challenges the Trump administration's rollbacks of the 2016 Well Control and Blowout Preventer Rule, which included weakening performance requirements for blowout preventers, eliminating independent safety equipment inspectors, grandfathering existing rigs into outdated standards, and reducing testing and inspection requirements.

ClientEarth argues that the ECB's Corporate Sector Purchase Programme (CSPP) and Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) exhibit a structural bias toward greenhouse gas-intensive companies, which undermines EU climate targets and increases systemic financial risk. The organization asserts that the ECB has legal obligations under EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights to integrate environmental protection into its monetary policy. ClientEarth proposes three specific actions: the immediate exclusion of bonds from companies incompatible with Paris Goals (including coal and unconventional oil and gas), requiring companies to adopt credible net-zero transition strategies by January 2023, and implementing annual TCFD-aligned reporting starting in 2022. The letter challenges the ECB's 'market neutral' approach, claiming it locks in high-carbon business models and fails to account for climate-related financial risks.

The authors contend that human rights law is often underutilised or dismissed as unfit for contemporary challenges because it is viewed primarily as a tool for individual protection against state interference. They argue for a shift toward recognizing 'positive obligations'—the duty of states to actively protect rights—to address collective crises. By citing climate litigation in the Netherlands, Ireland, and France, as well as food security cases in India, the text demonstrates how legal frameworks can hold governments accountable for failing to meet their obligations, thereby bridging the gap between political aspiration and concrete action.

The European Commission has opened formal investigations into compensations provided to RWE (EUR 2.6 billion) and LEAG (EUR 1.75 billion) for the closure of lignite plants in Germany by 2038. The Commission preliminarily concludes these payments constitute state aid and expresses doubts regarding their proportionality, specifically whether the calculations for foregone profits and mine rehabilitation costs are realistic or lead to overcompensation. ClientEarth argues that the aid may violate the 'polluter pays principle' regarding mine recultivation and that declining market conditions and rising CO2 prices make the assumed long lifespans of the plants unrealistic.

ClientEarth argues that the revised Notice should explicitly allow NGOs and individuals to challenge State aid measures that breach environmental law and should emphasize the need for greater transparency in aid granting to facilitate private enforcement. While maintaining that the Commission holds exclusive competence to assess the overall compatibility of aid with the internal market, the document suggests that national courts can provide critical evidence of environmental violations to assist the Commission. It further highlights systemic failures in the EU State aid Transparency Register, noting missing data for Member States such as Romania and Cyprus.