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This fact sheet describes a legal challenge brought by The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) against the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for oil and gas exploration off the coast of the Western Cape. It details the grounds for judicial review and reports Total's July 2024 announcement of its intention to withdraw from exploration block 567.

This legal memorandum by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the May 21, 2024, advisory opinion (AO) from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) regarding States' obligations to protect oceans from climate change. The document details how the ITLOS AO defines anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as marine pollution under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and discusses the implications of this ruling for ongoing climate advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This expert report, prepared by geologist and hydrogeologist Steven K. Campbell for the Centre for Environmental Rights, critiques the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd’s proposed Cluster 2 gas production expansion near Virginia, Free State Province, South Africa. Campbell argues that the project's geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks are based on insufficient site-specific data, leading to unreliable groundwater flow models and flawed contamination simulations for methane and total dissolved solids (TDS). He concludes that the expansion should not be approved until critical data gaps are filled and a robust monitoring and remediation plan is established.

This case study by Natural Justice examines the environmental and social impacts of quarrying activities by H-Young, an engineering company, in the Bora Imani community of Kilifi County, Kenya. It details how the project, intended for the tarmacking of the Malindi-Lamu road, led to the destruction of critical water sources, health crises due to lack of sanitation, and pollution, ultimately highlighting the failure of project-specific remedies and the need for robust decommissioning and climate-aware Environmental Impact Assessments.

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 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.

A legal letter from Pinsent Masons Africa LLP, acting on behalf of Karpowership SA (Pty) Ltd, demanding that the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) address allegedly defamatory and misleading statements published on December 6, 2022, regarding Karpowership projects in South Africa.

The 'Roadmap for Sustainable Infrastructure in the Amazon' report by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) proposes a framework to decouple land transport infrastructure from deforestation in the Amazon. The report identifies systemic failures in the decision-making process, the quality of socio-environmental studies, and transparency, offering twelve specific recommendations to improve project viability and reduce environmental risks.

This factsheet details legal challenges brought by community groups and environmental organizations against Shell and the South African government regarding seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration off the Wild Coast. The document outlines two primary court cases, the arguments regarding environmental and constitutional violations, and the potential legal precedents the litigation seeks to establish.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing several environmental and community organisations, has requested the urgent intervention of the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) regarding the environmental authorisation of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) project. The CER argues that the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) is not the lawful competent authority due to a conflict of interest and that the project's scale and transboundary implications require national-level oversight under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).

Natural Justice (NJ) submitted a formal objection on 31 January 2022 to proposed amendments to the s24H Registration Authority Regulations, 2016 under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). NJ argues that requiring a registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to handle appeals and certain submissions would create prohibitive financial barriers for communities, effectively barring them from the appeals process and subsequent judicial review.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs compares the implementation of environmental, socioeconomic, and governance (ESG) standards in two Chinese-funded hydropower projects: the Bui Dam in Ghana and the Stung Tatay project in Cambodia. It examines China's domestic regulatory framework for hydropower and analyzes how local government capacity and transparency in the recipient countries influenced the success of ESG mitigation efforts.

An open letter from South African marine scientists and legal experts to President Cyril Ramaphosa and government ministers urging the halt of offshore seismic surveys due to environmental risks and legal deficiencies.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of groundwork, wrote to the National Energy Regulator SA (NERSA) on 6 July 2021 to request a 90-day extension for commenting on electricity generation licence applications for three Karpowership gas power projects. The CER argues that the public participation process is flawed and that the projects' national significance warrants wider advertisement beyond local newspapers.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the socio-environmental components of feasibility and impact studies for federal highway and railroad concessions in the Legal Amazon. The researchers found significant gaps in the coverage of biotic environments, a lack of coordination between Technical, Economic and Environmental Feasibility Studies (EVTEA) and Environmental Assessment Studies (EIA), and a general failure to comply with both international guidelines and national sectoral manuals.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the socio-environmental components of Technical, Economic, and Environmental Viability Studies (EVTEA) and Environmental Impact Studies (EIA) for federal land infrastructure concessions in the Brazilian Legal Amazon. The analysis reveals significant gaps in the inclusion of biotic components, a lack of correlation between EVTEA and EIA, and inconsistent adherence to sectoral manuals and Terms of Reference (TRs).

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing Earthlife Africa, groundWork, and the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA), submitted a formal objection to the Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism in Limpopo regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) metallurgical cluster. The CER argues that the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) contains fatal flaws, including insufficient public participation and missing critical data on water and energy, and asserts that the application should have been refused by the regulatory deadline of 19 May 2021.

This briefing paper, commissioned by Oxfam South Africa and authored by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), examines the information disclosure and grievance mechanisms of the New Development Bank (NDB), specifically focusing on its operations in South Africa. The document analyzes the NDB's reliance on 'country systems' for project implementation and the resulting challenges for public transparency and accountability.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the public contracting processes for socio-environmental studies—specifically Technical, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility Studies (EVTEA) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)—for federal land transportation projects in the Brazilian Amazon. The researchers identify significant gaps in transparency, budget allocation, and the timing of socio-environmental analyses within the project life cycle, providing recommendations to improve the robustness of infrastructure projects and their mitigation measures.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the public procurement processes for socio-environmental studies—specifically Technical, Economic, and Environmental Viability Studies (EVTEA) and Environmental Impact Studies (EIA)—for land transport infrastructure projects in the Brazilian Amazon. The analysis identifies significant gaps in transparency, a lack of clear selection and evaluation criteria in bidding documents, and an imbalance in budget allocation that favors diagnostic data over impact assessment and mitigation. The authors recommend increasing transparency in bidding, specifying budget allocation for socio-environmental components, and introducing a 'pre-feasibility' phase to filter projects before they reach the environmental licensing stage.