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This legal briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the decision of an arbitral tribunal to deny an amicus curiae submission by CIEL and the Sociedad Cooperativa de Producción Pesquera Puerto Chale in the case of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. v. United Mexican States. The briefing argues that the denial undermines the legitimacy of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system and ignores the significant environmental and human rights risks associated with the Don Diego seabed mining project.

This fact sheet describes a legal challenge filed at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) by four civil society organizations against the governments of Uganda, Tanzania, and the Secretary General of the East African Community. The applicants seek to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, arguing that it violates multiple regional and international treaties regarding environmental protection, human rights, and sustainable development.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) and WWF-Brasil analyzes the impact of Decree No. 9,760/2019, which introduced a mandatory environmental conciliation stage in the administrative process for environmental infractions in the Amazon. The study finds that this new system has led to a severe paralysis of punitive actions, with 98% of relevant infraction notices stalled by May 2021 due to Ibama's inability to conduct the required hearings. The report also highlights a broader trend of weakening environmental control since 2015 and significant transparency gaps in Ibama's open data portal.

The 'Klimaataksie Handboek' is a guide published by Natural Justice in December 2021 to help South African communities build climate resilience through legal empowerment. It explains the science of climate change, identifies vulnerabilities, and provides a comprehensive toolkit for using legal mechanisms, public participation, and community organizing to protect environmental and human rights.

The Climate Action Handbook is a guide published by Natural Justice in December 2021 designed to help communities in South Africa build climate resilience through legal empowerment. It provides educational material on the causes and impacts of climate change, outlines the legal framework of South Africa, and offers a ten-step practical toolkit for communities to advocate for their rights and hold governments and corporations accountable.

This technical note by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes Bill (PL) No. 2633/2020, which proposes changes to the legal framework for land regularization of federal public lands in Brazil. The authors argue that the proposed environmental safeguards are insufficient and ineffective, potentially rewarding illegal deforestation by granting titles without requiring the regularization of environmental liabilities.

This policy brief from the International Institute for Sustainable Development explores the precautionary principle, a guide in international environmental law that advocates for taking protective action even in the absence of full scientific certainty to avoid serious or irreversible damage.

This briefing explores the precautionary principle as a guide for decision-makers to protect the environment, public health, and security in the face of scientific uncertainty. It traces the principle's evolution from national laws in Sweden to its integration into major international treaties and the law of the European Union, while discussing the ongoing tension between environmental safeguarding and economic development.

A letter from groundWork Trust confirming the appointment of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) as its attorneys of record to appeal a decision regarding ArcelorMittal’s Vanderbijlpark facility.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance and groundWork, has issued a formal request to the National Air Quality Officer and other authorities for the reasons and supporting documentation behind a decision to partly grant an application by ArcelorMittal South Africa (Vanderbijlpark) (AMSA). The decision relates to the suspension, alternative limits, or postponement of compliance with Minimum Emission Standards (MES) under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004.

The Life After Coal campaign, comprising the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), groundWork, and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, submitted formal objections on 29 January 2020 to Eskom's applications for alternative emission limits at the Medupi and Matimba power stations. The campaign argues that the applications are procedurally and substantively unlawful, violate the South African Constitution and environmental laws, and rely on a flawed air quality modelling approach in a priority area already suffering from poor air quality.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides a detailed table of comments and proposed amendments to the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill, 2017. The document focuses on strengthening the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (NEMAQA) and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (NEMWA), specifically regarding air quality governance, atmospheric emission licences (AELs), and the management of contaminated land.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted preliminary comments on the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill [B 14D-2017], specifically focusing on the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (NEMAQA) and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008. The CER requested an extension until 13 February 2020 to provide further submissions on the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA) and mining matters, citing the festive season closure of their offices.

This document is a cover letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights, sent on 30 October 2019 to the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, submitting an appeal on behalf of Earthlife Africa and groundWork. The appeal seeks to set aside a provisional atmospheric emission licence (PAEL) issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd.

Lawyers for Human Rights requested consent for UN Special Rapporteur David Richard Boyd to act as amicus curiae in a South African court case (NGHC case no 39724/19). Boyd intended to provide international and comparative legal perspectives on State obligations regarding air pollution and the right to a healthy environment to assist the court in interpreting the NEM: Air Quality Act and the South African Constitution.

This document is a Rule 16A notice filed in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, in June 2019. It outlines the constitutional issues raised by applicants—including GroundWork and the Vukani Environmental Justice Alliance—regarding air pollution in the Highveld Priority Area and the failure of the Minister of Environmental Affairs to establish regulations to implement the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan.

This technical briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes proposed amendments to Provisional Measure (MPV) No. 867/2018. While the original MPV seeks only to extend the deadline for joining the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) until December 31, 2019, the authors argue that 35 proposed amendments—many of which are 'jabutis' (unrelated additions)—threaten the integrity of the 2012 Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) and risk creating legal insecurity and further judicialization.

This case study by Natural Justice describes the legal efforts to protect fishing communities in Lamu, Kenya, from the environmental impacts of the Lamu Port Three Berth Project and a proposed coal power plant.

This document contains the heads of argument submitted by ACWA Power to the Appeal Authority of the Nkangala District Municipality. ACWA argues that an appeal brought by the non-profit organization GroundWork against the transfer of a Provisional Atmospheric Emission Licence (PAEL) should be dismissed because GroundWork, as a third party, lacks the legal standing to appeal under section 62 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000.

The Pretoria High Court set aside a decision by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and the Minister of Mineral Resources to allow Atha-Africa Ventures 16 (Pty) Ltd to mine in the Mabola Protected Environment, citing procedural unfairness, lack of transparency, and failure to apply environmental management principles.