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This briefing, submitted by Natural Justice and the Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa (E.L.C.A), provides commentary on a zero draft study by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) regarding the impact of climate change on human and people's rights in Africa. The document evaluates the study's identification of vulnerable groups and rights, critiques its approach to corporate accountability and extractive industries, and offers recommendations to strengthen the protection of indigenous peoples, children, and the environment through legal and monitoring frameworks.

This media brief by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) compiles authoritative language and findings from recent human rights expert reports and principles regarding geoengineering technologies, specifically carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation modification (SRM). The document highlights warnings from UN bodies and legal frameworks that these technologies are largely unproven, pose unprecedented risks to human rights, and may create a 'moral hazard' by delaying the necessary phase-out of fossil fuels.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides a comprehensive compilation of existing definitions from Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), international organizations, and regional norms to support the negotiation of a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution.

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes how amendments to Provisional Measure (MP) nº 1150/2022, approved by the Brazilian Senate on May 16, 2023, could undermine the alignment of the financial system with sustainability and the fight against deforestation. The document argues that the proposed text restricts the ability of financial institutions to deny credit based on environmental law violations and mandates reliance on official government data, which may be unreliable or outdated compared to scientific tools like MapBiomas.

This policy brief, produced by CIEL and IUCN, examines the compatibility of a proposed international treaty to end plastic pollution with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It highlights how the international trade of plastic feedstocks, polymers, and waste accelerates the plastic crisis and serves as a mechanism for spreading micro- and nanoplastic pollution.

This report analyzes the 2022 activities of United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs) regarding state obligations in the context of climate change. It tracks the increasing frequency of climate-related recommendations in state review processes and examines specific trends in mitigation, fossil fuel regulation, adaptation, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities.

This executive summary evaluates the legal and policy framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) in Madagascar's mining sector. While the framework is described as generally coherent and up-to-date, the document identifies critical gaps—including broad stabilization clauses and the potential for operating permits to precede environmental permits—and provides recommendations to align the system with international best practices from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF).

This briefing provides a framework for addressing legal questions regarding the use of the CO2 Performance Ladder, a carbon management system used in public procurement to provide award advantages to certified organizations.

A joint submission by civil society, academic, and private sector organizations to the Government of Canada urging the reform of the Competition Act to combat 'greenwashing'. The authors argue that the current legal framework lacks specific standards for environmental claims, which distorts the market and hinders the transition to a net-zero economy by 2050.

This fact sheet explains the legal and practical application of the CO2 Performance Ladder (CO2PL) as a procurement tool in the Netherlands and Belgium. It details how the instrument provides award advantages to companies reducing carbon emissions while remaining compliant with the 2014 EU Procurement Directive.

This briefing, submitted by Amnesty International and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to the UNFCCC on February 15, 2023, argues for the full integration of human rights standards into the design and implementation of the new Loss and Damage Fund. The authors advocate for a rights-based approach that ensures non-discrimination, provides effective remedies for affected communities, and prioritizes public grant-based financing over loans to avoid increasing the debt of developing nations.

This briefing, submitted by Amnesty International and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to the UNFCCC on February 15, 2023, argues that the newly established Loss and Damage Fund must be guided by international human rights law. The authors advocate for a fund based on non-discrimination, substantive equality, and the provision of effective remedies, emphasizing that funding should be public, grant-based, and sourced from historical polluters to avoid increasing the debt of vulnerable nations.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reviews the 2022 outputs of the Human Rights Committee (CCPR) regarding climate change. It highlights a decline in climate-related mentions in State review processes and analyzes the groundbreaking decision in Billy et al. v. Australia, which established a State's duty to protect people from climate impacts.

This report analyzes whether Canada's international trade obligations, specifically under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), act as barriers or opportunities for sustainable public procurement (SPP). It concludes that these agreements provide significant flexibility for implementing green, social, and strategic procurement, provided that requirements are not based on national origin.

This case study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) legal frameworks in mining, focusing on California (USA), Kazakhstan, and Queensland (Australia). It identifies ten key components of a strong ESIA framework and analyzes how these three jurisdictions implement and improve their respective systems to meet sustainability goals.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) text, released on September 12, 2022, fails to resolve critical issues regarding fossil fuel carveouts and entry timing, creating legal uncertainty for governments implementing climate measures aligned with the Paris Agreement.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing groundWork, Earthlife Africa, and the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), issued a statement to the National Environmental Consultative and Advisory (NECA) Forum regarding the consultative process established under section 3A of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The CER outlines legal requirements for compliance with Minimum Emission Standards (MES) and sets minimum conditions for the Forum's operations to ensure transparency and the protection of affected communities' rights.

This submission by Amnesty International and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change argues that States have a legal obligation to protect human rights from climate-induced loss and damage (L&D). The document advocates for a human rights-based approach to L&D, including the establishment of a dedicated Loss and Damage Finance Facility, the implementation of inclusive needs assessments, and the recognition of the collective responsibility of wealthy States to provide remedy and compensation to affected people in developing countries.

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio analyzes how ongoing legal controversies in Brazil are hindering the implementation of the 2012 Forest Code (Law No. 12.651). It details four primary legal disputes: the conflict between the Forest Code and the Atlantic Forest Law, the determination of temporal milestones for Legal Reserve requirements under Article 68, the validity of revising previous environmental commitment terms, and the contradictory criteria for Environmental Reserve Quotas (CRA).

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law provides a roadmap and initial reflections on the May 6, 2022, final report issued by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) following a seven-year National Inquiry on Climate Change.