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Natural Justice is an African organisation dedicated to social and environmental justice, employing a "Litigation Plus" approach that combines legal empowerment, research, policy influence, and strategic litigation. In 2024, the organisation supported over 30 strategic lawsuits across Africa, including successful challenges against Shell's seismic testing in South Africa and the annulment of an Environmental Impact Assessment for Sosian Energy Ltd in Kenya. The organisation also focuses on securing land tenure, protecting indigenous biocultural heritage in Namibia and Madagascar, and defending environmental defenders, notably supporting 180 activists through an emergency fund, including those protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. Additionally, Natural Justice engages in global policy advocacy at UN biodiversity and climate summits to promote human rights-based approaches to conservation and energy transitions.

The 'Three Ps' framework (Principles, Policies and laws, and Practicalities) outlines a community-centric approach to the Just Energy Transition in Africa. It argues that for a transition to be truly 'just,' it must move beyond simple decarbonization to address historical injustices, ensure energy democracy, and protect the land and human rights of local communities. The guide emphasizes the necessity of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), the implementation of community-owned renewable energy (CORE) models, and the provision of climate finance in the form of grants rather than loans to avoid further debt for Global South countries.

Between 2022 and 2024, the African Environmental Defenders Initiative documented 232 non-lethal attacks against environmental defenders, with 67% occurring in East Africa. Uganda was the most affected country, accounting for 42% of cases, largely driven by opposition to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The report identifies government (34%) and multinational/investment companies (20%) as the primary perpetrators. Women defenders face specific gendered threats, including the withholding of sanitary products during detention and social stigmatization. The document also details country-specific conflicts, such as conservation-linked violence in Kenya, industrial mining in the DRC, and illegal logging in Madagascar, while highlighting the role of the African Environmental Defenders Fund in providing emergency legal and psychosocial support.

The report assesses how communities in South Africa have used litigation, protest, and media coverage to combat the impacts of coal and platinum mining. It identifies significant failures in the regulatory governance of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), noting a 'compliance and enforcement deficit' caused by legislative loopholes and conflicts of interest. While litigation is the most frequent strategy, the report argues that a multi-pronged approach combining legal action with community mobilisation is most effective. It highlights severe impacts including water pollution, displacement, and health crises like silicosis and black lung disease.

The report evaluates the Climate Justice Movement (CJM) in Kenya, highlighting its role in shaping the Climate Change Act of 2016 and its ongoing efforts in policy advocacy and community resilience. While the movement is diverse—comprising CBOs, NGOs, and indigenous groups—it faces significant challenges, including shrinking civic space, internal fragmentation, and limited inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in formal decision-making. The study recommends operationalizing the CJM engagement framework, resolving power struggles over civil society representation in the National Climate Change Council, and adopting intersectional, gender-transformative approaches to climate action.

The Vhavenḓa Biocultural Community Protocol is a collective document representing eleven indigenous communities in the Vhembe District of Limpopo, South Africa. It defines 'Zwifho' as sacred natural sites—including forests, lakes, and caves—that serve as the spiritual and cultural heart of the people. The document outlines the profound connection between the Vhavenḓa identity and their land, detailing the traditional governance structures led by royal families and the spiritual role of the Makhadzi. It highlights severe challenges, including forced removals during colonialism and apartheid, restricted access to ancestral sites by commercial farmers, and the threat of industrial development such as the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ). The protocol asserts the communities' rights to self-determination and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) regarding any development on their territories. It includes a comprehensive biodiversity register and an inventory of intangible cultural heritage, ranging from rain-making rituals to traditional craftsmanship, as a means of preserving their way of life for future generations.

The report details how private equity firms Roark Capital and Silver Lake Management profit from projects in Atlanta that threaten the South River Forest. It highlights the role of the Atlanta Police Foundation in facilitating 'Cop City' and the use of Motorola Solutions' surveillance technology. The document also connects these local events to global trends of private equity investment in extractive industries and the subsequent suppression of environmental activists.

Several NGOs have issued a statement condemning the hostile treatment of local community representatives, including Edwin Gariguez, at the annual general meetings of French banks. The statement highlights that at the BNP Paribas meeting on 16 May 2023, speakers testifying about the impacts of the oil and gas industry were booed, subjected to racist comments from shareholders, and mistreated by security. The signing NGOs call for BNP Paribas to implement measures to ensure respectful debate and to issue an apology to the affected community representatives.

The guide outlines a structured approach for utilities to engage underserved communities in the clean energy transition, focusing on identification, inclusive participation, accessible input processes, collaborative program design, and progress tracking.

The 'Air Aware' youth statement highlights the severe impact of air pollution on young people in Johannesburg, particularly in low-income areas like Alexandra, Soweto, and Diepsloot. It identifies waste burning, household fuel use, transport emissions, and industrial pollution as primary sources of contamination that lead to respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular strain. The document demands a transition toward health-centered air quality management, reliable waste collection to end illegal burning, clean mobility infrastructure, and the formal inclusion of youth in environmental governance to achieve a 'Vision 2030' of cleaner skies and green jobs.

The Reimagine our Future Declaration, authored by over 150 South African youth aged 14-24, calls for systemic reforms to address youth unemployment, climate change, and social inequality. The authors advocate for a 'youth-centred green recovery' from the COVID-19 pandemic, urging the South African government to divest from fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy, and integrate climate education into school curricula. Economically, the declaration highlights a youth unemployment rate of 32.5% and demands greater transparency, accountability in public spending, and increased funding for youth-led businesses. Socially, it emphasizes the need for free, decolonised education and urgent action against gender-based violence and femicide.

The report by Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) examines the Geological Society of America's (GSA) financial relationships with fossil fuel companies and its lack of investment transparency. While acknowledging GSA's public support for climate action, SGR highlights contradictions between GSA's position statements and its acceptance of sponsorships from companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, which do not align with 2°C warming limits. SGR argues that GSA's failure to disclose specific investments and its reliance on fossil fuel funding undermine its role as a scientific thought-leader and calls for divestment to support a transition to renewable energy.

The document examines the expansion of captive coal power on Obi Island, Indonesia, used to fuel nickel refineries for the electric vehicle battery supply chain. It highlights how the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is indirectly linked to these projects through financial intermediaries like Hana Bank Indonesia and OCBC NISP. The author argues that the IFC's 'Green Equity Approach' contains a loophole that explicitly excludes 'captive coal-fired power plants' from its definition of coal-related projects, allowing continued funding. The report details severe environmental and social impacts on Obi Island, including toxic waste from High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) refineries, respiratory illnesses, and increased structural poverty for women, while calling for the World Bank Group to close these policy gaps.

The document asserts that the Trump administration has systematically undermined scientific integrity and rolled back environmental and public health protections, exacerbating existing inequities for marginalized communities. It highlights a decrease in EPA criminal enforcement, the suppression of health data, and the erosion of social safety nets as key drivers of increased risk for low-income and minority populations.

The document details two environmental justice studies. The first analyzed PM2.5 emissions from natural gas and coal-fired power plants in the Northeast US between 2011 and 2015. The second used GIS buffer analysis to determine if low-income households and people of color live closer to PFAS-contaminated facilities than white or higher-income households in the US and Michigan. Findings for PFAS contamination show that in Michigan, 48.72% of households within five miles of a contaminated site are low-income, compared to 14.51% statewide. Nationally, people of color represent 34.59% of the population within three miles of PFAS sites, compared to 27.03% of the general US population.

The document details the relationship between rising global temperatures and the formation of ground-level ozone, which is created when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react with heat and sunlight. It highlights that without strong climate policies, respiratory issues such as asthma attacks could increase by 11.8 million annual incidences by 2050. The text emphasizes the disproportionate impact on children, the elderly, and Latino populations in the U.S., noting that nearly half of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthy ozone levels.

The UCS Town Hall Toolkit is a guide for advocates to hold Members of Congress accountable through public engagement. It outlines strategies for finding and attending town halls, provides a framework for preparing and delivering questions, and offers specific sample questions focused on opposing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), protecting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and defending various tax credits and grants within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The paper examines Detroit's 2016 Community Benefits Ordinance, which requires developers of projects exceeding $75 million that receive significant city subsidies to negotiate benefits for local communities. While the CBO has helped 'level the playing field' by giving community members a role in development conversations, it is not a complete solution for systemic disinvestment and inequality. The authors recommend improving community resourcing, building representative coalitions, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and integrating environmental justice and racial equity frameworks to support an equitable energy transition.

The document details the creation of a dataset identifying 11,309 school bus depots in the U.S. using remote sensing and aerial imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). The dataset is intended to support environmental justice analysis regarding air pollution hotspots in underserved communities, as well as electricity grid planning for school bus electrification and climate hazard risk assessment. Findings show that 51% of depots are located within 350 meters of a school, with North Carolina having the highest number of depots (841).

The toolkit is designed to empower marginalized communities, particularly in middle- and low-income countries, to fight pollution by leveraging environmental rights. It provides eight modules containing research indicators, worksheets, and templates to help users conduct policy research, collect pollution data, and build advocacy campaigns. Developed through the STRIPE project, the toolkit's methodology is based on five years of experience in Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, Jamaica, Morocco, and Tunisia. The document argues that strengthening these rights is essential for pollution accountability and the realization of the right to a healthy environment.