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South Africa introduced a carbon tax in 2019 to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025. The policy primarily targets the energy sector, which is responsible for approximately 80% of the country's emissions due to a heavy reliance on coal. While the tax aims to incentivize a shift toward renewable energy, it faces challenges including potential conflicts with WTO non-discrimination principles, the risk of carbon leakage due to a lack of border price adjustments, and negative socio-economic impacts such as increased consumer prices and potential job losses in energy-intensive industries like mining and steel. The document argues for a balanced approach that includes worker re-skilling, targeted incentives for renewables, and regional coordination through agreements like the AfCFTA to prevent protectionism and ensure a just transition.

ClientEarth argues that Poland's market reform plan is insufficient and should be expanded to address distortions in the capacity market, illegal subsidies for high-emission power, and the lack of legal frameworks for energy storage and onshore wind development.

The briefing outlines how the Court of Justice of the EU has consistently upheld ECHA's decisions regarding the identification of substances of very high concern (SVHC) under Article 57 of the REACH Regulation. It emphasizes that SVHC identification is based on intrinsic hazardous properties rather than substance use, and that ECHA possesses broad discretion in evaluating evidence, including the use of non-guideline studies and the assessment of 'equivalent level of concern'.

The document analyzes how 'jabuti' amendments to MP 901/2019 seek to lower the native vegetation coverage requirement from 80% to 50% in Roraima and Amapá by easing the conditions for Legal Reserve reductions and including non-environmental areas in the 65% territory threshold. It also warns that a proposal to reduce over 4,000 hectares of the Roraima National Forest is unconstitutional based on STF precedent.

The report argues that MP 910/2019 incentivizes illegal land grabbing and deforestation by expanding the spatial and temporal scope of land regularization and simplifying the process through self-declaration. It contends that these changes benefit large landowners over family farmers and indigenous peoples, while creating a misalignment between land and environmental policies.

The document examines the challenges in establishing a WTO prohibition on IUU fishing subsidies, focusing on three key areas: the definition of IUU fishing, the entities authorized to determine such fishing, and the procedural conditions governing those determinations. It highlights the tension between the WTO's trade-focused mandate and the sustainability goals of fisheries management, arguing for a process-based review system to ensure procedural fairness without requiring the WTO to manage fisheries resources directly.

The document outlines a step-by-step process for accessing environmental information from EU bodies, covering the definition of environmental information, request formulation, submission methods, and the legal process for challenging refusals through confirmatory applications, the EU General Court, or the European Ombudsman.

The briefing examines the lack of legal recognition for 'climate refugees' in international law and the EU's asylum system, highlighting how current frameworks often classify such individuals as voluntary or economic migrants. It advocates for a holistic, human-rights-based approach that integrates climate, development, and migration policies, suggesting the use of humanitarian visas and flexible legal labor channels as potential solutions. The author emphasizes the role of the UN Global Compacts and the potential for the Greens in the European Parliament to push for these reforms despite political divisions and a Commission focus on border security.

The document examines the evolution of investment facilitation discussions at the WTO, from the early 'Singapore issues' to the current structured discussions involving 98 members. It analyzes a July 2019 working document that proposes a framework focused on transparency, administrative simplification, and international cooperation, while explicitly excluding market access, investment protection, and investor-state dispute settlement. The report also discusses the potential legal forms of such an agreement—whether as a standalone accord or a plurilateral agreement—and the broader institutional challenges facing the WTO, such as the crisis in the Appellate Body and debates over special and differential treatment.

The document outlines how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It details the Committee's use of General Comments, Joint Statements, and State reporting procedures to hold States accountable for climate-related impacts on rights such as health, food, and water. Key findings emphasize that States must implement emissions cuts reflecting the "highest possible ambition," regulate private actors to prevent climate harm, and ensure that high-income States provide climate finance to developing nations beyond existing official development assistance. The briefing also analyzes trends in the Committee's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a higher frequency of climate-related recommendations for developed countries and a strong focus on mitigation, adaptation, and international cooperation.

The report details how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC). It analyzes the CRC's use of General Comments, State reporting procedures, and the communications procedure to hold States accountable for protecting children from climate harms. Key findings highlight a growing trend of climate-related recommendations, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and a strong emphasis on children's procedural rights to participation and education. The document also notes a landmark 2019 Joint Statement by five human rights treaty bodies asserting that failure to prevent foreseeable climate-related human rights harm could constitute a violation of State obligations.

The document assesses the progress of transposing the RED II and Electricity Directives in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain as of September 2020. It finds that while most countries have focused on legal definitions, they have largely neglected the 'enabling framework' and the mandatory assessment of barriers and potentials required by EU law. The brief argues that simple 'copy-paste' transposition of EU definitions is insufficient and recommends a holistic approach that includes public consultation, political engagement, and specific support for vulnerable households and local authorities to ensure the success of energy communities.

The guide presents a methodology to re-center international law around the social-ecological relationships of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants. It critiques the fragmentary nature of state and international law, which often compartmentalizes resources and conflicts with customary law. To address this, the authors apply a 'Traditional Resource Rights' (TRR) approach to 'bundle' disparate legal provisions into categories of rights organized by a landscape-based logic. The document also provides international definitions for Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants, and discusses the distinction between 'hard' and 'soft' international law.

The report examines the technical, legal, and strategic landscape of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), arguing that current technology is often ineffective and hindered by outdated legal frameworks. It assesses specific risks to Norwegian infrastructure, such as airports and oil platforms, and explores how Norway can leverage EU and NATO initiatives to enhance its capabilities while avoiding the over-securitization of civilian airspace.

The report details a widespread snaring crisis in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, where an estimated 12.3 million snares exist in protected areas. These indiscriminate traps threaten over 700 mammal species and disrupt critical ecosystem services like seed dispersal and nutrient cycling. The document links snaring to increased zoonotic disease risk due to the handling of high-risk taxa and highlights the role of urban demand for wildlife meat. It argues that current legal frameworks are insufficient, often lacking clear definitions of snares or penalties for possession, and recommends strengthening legislation, increasing ranger densities, and partnering with indigenous peoples to combat the crisis.

The report evaluates fixed, volumetric, and capacity-based distribution network tariffs against the EU's Electricity Regulation. It argues that high fixed charges and non-dynamic contracted capacity charges may hinder the transition to a decentralised energy system by discouraging flexibility and demand response. The author suggests that volumetric time-of-use charges and critical peak capacity charges are most likely to meet the CEP's requirements for cost-reflectivity and the fostering of innovation and flexibility.

The statement advocates for a non-market platform connecting the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) to collectively account for carbon stocks in the Southern Ocean. It highlights that Antarctic blue carbon sites, which are expanding as ice melts, could store up to 160 million tonnes of carbon annually and act as a major natural negative feedback on climate change. By utilizing the ATS's existing framework where sovereignty claims are suspended, the authors suggest a way to bypass diplomatic obstacles to conservation and avoid conflicts over individual Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The document argues that the absence of a dedicated EU-level legislative framework for soil protection has left soil governance fragmented and disconnected from land policies. It analyzes the failure of a 2006 proposal for a Soil Framework Directive and suggests several legal pathways to address this gap, including the adoption of a new Directive based on Article 191 or 192 TFEU, strengthening soil standards within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and integrating soil management into the 8th Environment Action Programme and the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

The document provides formal comments on the EPA's External Review Draft of the Policy Assessment for the review of PM2.5 NAAQS. It asserts that the EPA is legally obligated to set standards based solely on health and welfare effects, without considering cost or feasibility, and must protect vulnerable subpopulations. The authors criticize the EPA for disbanding the particulate matter review panel, following a flawed memorandum from former Administrator Pruitt that suggests combining science and policy assessments, and failing to issue a second draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA). Finally, the document argues that current PM2.5 standards are insufficient, citing evidence of mortality risks at levels as low as 8 μg/m3, and recommends lowering the primary annual standard to 8-10 μg/m3 and the 24-hour standard to 25-30 μg/m3.

The report examines the legal framework protecting Sami reindeer husbandry from hydropower exploitation in Sweden. It details the historical marginalisation of Sami rights, the current permit process under the Environmental Code, and the implications of new 2019 legislation requiring the review of existing hydropower plants for modern environmental conditions. The analysis highlights the challenges Sami villages face in being recognised as stakeholders and the financial burdens of legal proceedings during reviews.