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The 'Klimaatsaksie Handboek' is a practical guide designed to empower South African communities to combat climate change using legal tools. It explains the science of climate change, identifies specific vulnerabilities and potential impacts—such as water scarcity and food insecurity—and outlines a framework for 'climate action.' The document details South Africa's constitutional rights, relevant environmental legislation, and international commitments. It provides a step-by-step toolkit for community organizing, including methods for gathering evidence, accessing government information via PAIA, participating in Environmental Impact Assessments, lobbying, and taking legal action as a last resort.

The Climate Action Handbook is a guide designed to empower South African communities to respond to climate change by combining scientific understanding with legal action. It defines climate vulnerability and resilience, outlines South Africa's specific climate risks and legal framework—including constitutional rights and environmental legislation—and provides a ten-step practical framework for community-led climate action, ranging from advocacy and information gathering to formal legal proceedings.

ClientEarth asserts that the European Commission and SEAC have failed to fully implement the legal requirements established by the Court in the Lead Chromate case (T-837/16 and C-389/19P). The document demands a systematic approach to identifying 'non-negligible uncertainties' in substitution plans, which should lead to the rejection of authorisations rather than reduced review periods. It also criticizes the current assessment of technical feasibility, arguing that SEAC often accepts applicant claims based on undocumented customer preferences rather than the minimum performance required for the end-use function.

ClientEarth argues that Clause 1 of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill, specifically the introduction of prospective-only quashing orders, would weaken the public's right to an effective remedy when public bodies act unlawfully. The briefing contends that these proposals conflict with the UK's obligations under Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention, thereby damaging environmental democracy. It further warns that such remedies could allow unlawful decisions to stand, reducing accountability and preventing the protection of the environment from irretrievable harm.

ClientEarth critiques the current EU agricultural and fisheries policies for failing to meet sustainability targets and urges the European Commission to adopt a new, comprehensive legislative framework. The organization argues that existing tools like the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are insufficient or poorly implemented. It advocates for an 'umbrella law' that covers the entire food value chain, integrates fundamental rights and access to justice, and utilizes public procurement to drive systemic change toward environmentally positive and healthy food systems.

The proposal outlines a framework for EU State aid in the fishery and aquaculture sectors, aligning financial support with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the European Green Deal, and the Paris Agreement. It establishes strict criteria for compatibility, including the 'do no harm' principle, the prohibition of capacity-enhancing subsidies, and the requirement for beneficiaries to comply with EU environmental law. The guidelines detail specific types of compatible aid, such as those for natural disasters, adverse climatic events, and animal disease control, while mandating transparency and ex post evaluations for large aid schemes.

The research argues that litigation against individual fossil fuel companies is an ineffective mitigation strategy because it ignores the systemic nature of growth-dependent capitalism and the ability of corporations to absorb legal costs. The author suggests that changing the law to provide systemic recourse and pursuing fossil fuel nationalisation would be more effective than pursuing individual offenders.

ClientEarth warns that proposed changes to the UK's judicial review process could prevent environmental groups from holding the government accountable and limit the court's ability to reverse unlawful decisions.

The report analyzes Thailand's Community Forest Act B.E. 2562 (2019), noting that while it provides a first-time official umbrella law for community forestry, it is limited to areas outside protected forests. The analysis highlights gaps in customary tenure recognition, complex allocation processes, and a lack of explicit safeguards for marginalized groups. It recommends the development of detailed subsidiary regulations to clarify management plans, benefit-sharing, and market access.

ClientEarth's contribution to the REACH reform IIA emphasizes the need for stricter enforcement of existing rules, the fulfillment of Chemicals Strategy promises without further impact assessments, and the inclusion of specific criteria for PMT, vPvM, and EDC substances.

The report argues that while not explicitly stated, the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) grants EU citizens a right to air quality within legal limit values. It identifies significant barriers to justice in several Member States and advocates for the use of the Francovich doctrine to allow individuals to seek compensation for health damages. ClientEarth recommends that the European Commission explicitly codify this individual right in the revised AAQD, introduce coercive remedies for non-compliance, and alleviate the burden of proof for claimants seeking damages.

The report examines the transition of Ibama's environmental sanctioning process toward a model centered on environmental conciliation. It argues that while conciliation could theoretically speed up processes, its implementation under the current administration has been deficient due to regulatory delays, a lack of technical qualification in key appointments, and a dangerous centralization of power. These failures, combined with the replacement of career staff with political appointees, are found to weaken the deterrent effect of environmental fines and contribute to increased deforestation in the Amazon.

A statement by Natural Justice and the National Association of APACs (ANAPAC) advocating for the legal recognition of community-governed territories in Senegal, highlighting the Kawawana project as a successful model of local biodiversity management.

ClientEarth argues that the revised Notice should explicitly allow NGOs and individuals to challenge State aid measures that breach environmental law and should emphasize the need for greater transparency in aid granting to facilitate private enforcement. While maintaining that the Commission holds exclusive competence to assess the overall compatibility of aid with the internal market, the document suggests that national courts can provide critical evidence of environmental violations to assist the Commission. It further highlights systemic failures in the EU State aid Transparency Register, noting missing data for Member States such as Romania and Cyprus.

The LIFE-A2J-EARL project focused on bridging the 'implementation gap' of EU environmental laws by empowering the judiciary, public administrations, and public interest lawyers. Operating across eight EU Member States, the project produced a comprehensive legal guide, national toolkits, and a digital platform to facilitate access to justice. It delivered 48 training sessions and 12 webinars, reaching over 2,000 participants. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting judicial attitudes in some regions, the project successfully increased stakeholder awareness of the Aarhus Convention and EU case-law. Key outputs included a database of 117 public interest lawyers from 15 countries and a final virtual conference attended by 285 participants.

The Court of Justice confirmed that State aid for nuclear power plants is permissible under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU provided it is compatible with the internal market. Crucially, the ruling establishes that EU environmental law—including the precautionary and sustainability principles—applies to the nuclear sector, and any aid to an activity violating these laws is necessarily incompatible with the internal market. ClientEarth argues that the Commission should use this precedent to systematically enforce Green Deal objectives and the 'do no significant harm' principle across all State aid, recommending updated notification forms and stricter compliance checks for climate neutrality targets.

The report analyzes the legal and governance void created by Brexit, specifically the loss of the European Commission's enforcement role and the CJEU's jurisdiction. It examines the proposed Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) under the Environment Bill, the shift to 'retained EU law', and the risks associated with increased secondary legislation and resource shortages in agencies like the Environment Agency and Natural England. Case studies on air quality and pesticides illustrate the potential for regressive environmental standards and the loss of independent scientific oversight.

The submission argues that the proposed legislation should be based on Article 192 TFEU for environmental protection and calls for a comprehensive framework including mandatory measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), rigorous leak detection and repair (LDAR), and a ban on routine venting and flaring (BRVF). It emphasizes the need for granular data, the inclusion of abandoned wells and mines, and the establishment of methane intensity standards, such as a 0.2% limit for the upstream oil and gas industry by 2025, to drive innovation and align with EU climate targets.

The document argues for a stronger legal basis under Article 192 TFEU and proposes rigorous standards for measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV), leak detection and repair (LDAR), and a ban on routine venting and flaring (BRVF). It specifically highlights the need for granular data, the inclusion of abandoned wells and mines, and the implementation of methane intensity limits to drive innovation and align with EU climate targets.

The document outlines a comprehensive framework for CITES Management Authorities to establish and issue Legal Acquisition Findings (LAF). It details the necessary legal preparations, the step-by-step verification process for the chain of custody, and specific documentary requirements for various taxa, including wildlife, plants, and timber. The guide emphasizes a risk-based approach to verification and the importance of transparent, public-facing national guidelines to prevent fraudulent trade.