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The report details how plastics threaten human health at every stage of their lifecycle. It highlights toxic emissions during fossil fuel extraction (specifically hydraulic fracturing) and refining, the leaching of endocrine disruptors and carcinogens from consumer products and packaging, and the release of hazardous pollutants through waste incineration. It further examines the pervasive presence of microplastics in the air, water, and food chain, and their potential to cause inflammation, genetic toxicity, and organ damage. The document concludes that current fragmented regulatory approaches are insufficient and calls for a global reduction in plastic production based on human rights and health protections.

The document provides a detailed mapping between the Climate Bonds Buildings Standard and the EU Taxonomy, specifically for building acquisition, new construction, and renovation. It concludes that Climate Bonds requirements are often a "Higher standard" than the EU Taxonomy, particularly regarding operational performance verification and emission reductions. The guide also details how Climate Bonds' DNSH requirements align with EU legislation for climate adaptation, water protection, circular economy, and pollution control.

This document is an annex containing comparative tables that analyze the alignment and ambition levels between the Colombian Green Taxonomy and the EU Taxonomy across various economic activities in the energy, construction, waste, transport, ICT, manufacturing, and forestry sectors.

The document outlines a four-phase framework for sustainable finance taxonomies: governance, design, implementation, and expansion/revision. It emphasizes 'interoperability'—the ability of different taxonomies to share common principles and scientific bases, such as the Paris Agreement, to facilitate cross-border financial flows. The guide details the creation of technical selection criteria (TSC), the integration of transition activities using 'binary' or 'traffic-light' approaches, and the application of 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) and Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS) principles. It also provides a step-by-step alignment guide for activities, entities, and portfolios, while offering strategies to make taxonomies accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The document outlines a comprehensive framework for creating and managing sustainable finance taxonomies, structured around four phases: governance, design, implementation, and expansion/revision. It emphasizes the use of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) for sector structures to ensure cross-border comparability and recommends 'pass/fail' technical screening criteria aligned with science-based pathways. The guide details a 'traffic light' approach for transition activities, including 'green', 'transition/amber', and 'excluded' categories, and provides a three-level aggregation methodology (Activity, Entity, Portfolio) for assessing taxonomy alignment. It also addresses the specific needs of SMEs through simplified compliance and the use of grandfathering clauses to provide investment certainty during criteria updates.

ClientEarth's feedback on the EU's Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy emphasizes the need for high environmental standards, public transparency, and regional cooperation. It argues that the strategy must adhere to the 'do no harm' principle and the precautionary principle, ensuring that the deployment of offshore wind and other ocean energies does not compromise biodiversity or ignore the rights of public participation under the Aarhus Convention. The document suggests a regional approach to grid development and targeted financial support for technologies that have not yet reached grid parity, such as wave energy.

The EEB and ClientEarth submission to ECHA argues for a comprehensive restriction on intentionally added microplastics, warning that ECHA may prematurely narrow the scope of restrictions through unjustified derogations. The authors advocate for treating microplastics as non-threshold substances, similar to vPvB or PBT substances, due to their persistence and ability to bioaccumulate. They highlight the role of microplastics in transporting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and leaching endocrine-disrupting additives into the environment and human body. The submission supports a broad definition of microplastics that includes liquid polymers and compostable bioplastics, and emphasizes the need to consider the high exposure risks associated with nanoplastics.

The document assesses plastic pollution in China, highlighting significant production and leakage into oceans, and contrasts this with the EU's comprehensive regulatory framework. It details EU strategies such as the Waste Framework Directive, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and the 'Plastics 2030' strategy, which aims for 100% reusable or recyclable plastic packaging by 2030. The report suggests China adopt similar integrated land-sea management, eco-design standards, and international cooperation to combat plastic waste.

ClientEarth calls for a systemic legal shift in the EU to prioritize planetary boundaries, proposing the appointment of a Vice-President for People and the Environment and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies. The document advocates for binding sustainability requirements in trade, a transition to 'energy sufficiency', and the adoption of a Sustainable Food System legislative framework to address gaps in the European Green Deal.

The document argues that the lack of chemicals traceability in industry creates significant legal, financial, and environmental risks, hindering the EU's Green Deal and circular economy goals. It advocates for a horizontal traceability strategy combining strong regulatory incentives via the ESPR and capacity building for industry to ensure companies know the chemical composition of their products.

ClientEarth proposes a set of priorities for a new EU leadership role, emphasizing the enforcement of Nature Directives, the alignment of agricultural and fisheries policies with biodiversity laws, and the creation of an EU Ocean Deal and Ocean Fund. The document also calls for the alignment of state aid with climate goals, the phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies, and the requirement for companies to implement transition plans for climate, biodiversity, and the circular economy.

A joint contribution by ClientEarth and other NGOs proposing structural reforms to EU trade policy to align it with the European Green Deal. The authors argue for binding sustainability obligations, independent ex-post monitoring, the introduction of sanctions for non-compliance, and enhanced roles for Domestic Advisory Groups and civil society in the negotiation and enforcement of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters.

The document evaluates two policy instruments designed to transition the European basic materials sector to net zero by 2050. Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) are presented as a way to reduce investment risk and government costs by guaranteeing a fixed carbon price for low-carbon projects. The Climate Contribution is proposed as a weight-based charge on materials (like steel and cement) to ensure a consistent carbon price signal while maintaining carbon leakage protection. The analysis suggests that CCfDs can lower the required carbon price for investment and that the Climate Contribution could generate approximately EUR 17-21 billion in annual EU revenues with minimal, progressive impacts on household consumption in Germany and Poland.

The report evaluates Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) and a Climate Contribution as tools for decarbonising the basic materials sector in Germany and Poland. CCfDs act as hedging instruments that lower the carbon price threshold required for clean technology investments and reduce the net present value of government funding. The Climate Contribution, a weight-based charge on materials, is estimated to generate EUR 17-21 billion in EU-wide revenues while remaining progressive and having a minimal impact (below 0.5%) on household consumption expenditures.

The report examines Kenya's path toward a low-carbon economy, highlighting that while a net-zero transition offers economic opportunities and green jobs, it risks marginalizing vulnerable groups—particularly women, youth, and informal workers—if not managed inclusively. It analyzes sector-specific risks in agriculture, energy, transport, industry, forestry, waste, and tourism, noting that while Kenya has a robust legal framework via the Climate Change Act (2016), just transition objectives are not yet mainstreamed into primary development plans like Vision 2030. The document advocates for stakeholder engagement, social protection, and gender-sensitive policies to ensure the transition reduces existing inequalities rather than compounding them.

The report examines the transition of the European basic materials sector (cement, steel, paper, aluminium, chemicals) toward carbon neutrality by 2050. It identifies that these sectors account for approximately 16% of European GHG emissions. Through analysis of Hungary, Poland, and Spain, the document highlights a prevalence of short-term policy focuses on carbon leakage and energy costs over long-term structural transformation. It proposes a policy package consisting of carbon pricing mechanisms (Border Tax Adjustments or Inclusion of Consumption), low-emission and circularity standards, and Contracts for Differences (CCfDs) to incentivise breakthrough technologies and ensure a cost-competitive supply of low-carbon electricity.

The document argues that current plastic production and consumption are unsustainable and that solutions must be applied based on specific product applications to avoid trade-offs between durability, biodegradability, and recyclability. It highlights the risks of chemical additives and the inefficiency of waste management systems, particularly the export of plastic waste from Europe to Asia. The authors propose a comprehensive definition of sustainable plastics based on environmental, economic, and social criteria to guide the UNEP's international policy instrument.

The Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme (MWP), established at COP26, aims to accelerate global emissions reductions through non-prescriptive dialogues and capacity-building. While COP30 confirmed the programme's continuation through 2026 and improved finance matchmaking and inclusiveness, significant divergences remain between developed and developing nations regarding the level of prescriptive guidance for sectoral pathways and the scale of financial commitments. Key areas of ongoing debate include the design of a digital platform for information sharing and the balance between global guidance and national sovereignty in managing forests and waste.

The Mitigation Work Programme (MWP), established at COP27 to scale up actions for the 1.5°C goal, operates as a non-punitive and non-prescriptive framework respecting national sovereignty. Recent SB62 outcomes show agreement on the MWP's role in facilitating dialogue, but highlight significant disagreements regarding the integration of Global Stocktake outcomes, links to NDCs, and the utility of a proposed digital platform. Party positions vary: the EU, Switzerland, and Australia advocate for a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap; the Africa Group and Arab States oppose mandate expansion; and AOSIS emphasizes urgent alignment with the 1.5°C goal. An informal note will guide discussions toward COP30, with a specific focus on waste sector mitigation and circular economy approaches during a global dialogue event in Addis Ababa on September 5th-6th, 2025.

The document provides a landscape analysis of the global bioeconomy, estimated at US$4-5 trillion with potential growth to US$30 trillion by 2050. It categorizes the bioeconomy into a spectrum—Nature Intensive, Advanced, and High-Tech—and identifies specific financing gaps and risks for each. The report argues that scaling the bioeconomy requires an 'integrated' approach combining national strategies, international cooperation (particularly through the G20), and a mix of sustainable finance instruments such as nature credits, blended finance, and performance-linked sovereign debt.