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The report analyzes 38 ISDS cases brought by mining companies against Latin American states, highlighting a systemic bias that favors corporate profits over human rights and environmental laws. It documents how these suits often target government measures resulting from community resistance or environmental regulations, creating a 'chilling effect' on public policy. The document details specific cases in countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, and Venezuela, and proposes a fundamental shift toward a legal framework that prioritizes human rights and environmental protection over investor rights.

The document analyzes the tourism global value chains (GVCs), distinguishing between leisure and business tourism. It identifies that in Africa, the 'package booking' channel is more durable than in other regions, but the dominance of global lead firms often leads to leakages and underdeveloped linkages with local industries. While business tourism is a significant driver and has fostered the growth of African travel management companies like Satguru, the leisure sector faces constraints such as low domestic demand and restrictive government policies. The paper suggests that upgrading the value chain requires improvements in infrastructure, skills training—noting a lack of certified schools beyond Kenya and Zambia—and the deregulation of air markets to support low-cost carriers.

A formal submission by the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) and groundWork (gW) objecting to ArcelorMittal South Africa's (AMSA) application for postponements and alternative emission standards at its Vanderbijlpark Works facility.

An analysis of 16 Texas coal-fired power plants reveals that 100% of those with available records are leaking unsafe levels of contaminants, such as arsenic, boron, cobalt, and lithium, into groundwater. The report argues that both the 2015 federal Coal Ash Rule and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's proposed state program are inadequately protective, particularly regarding the use of contaminated background wells and the practice of 'closure in place' for ponds in contact with groundwater. It highlights the San Miguel Electric Plant as the most contaminated site and provides specific evidence of regulatory violations by operators including NRG and CPS Energy.

The CJEU ruled on 13 December (2018) that cities such as Brussels, Paris, and Madrid have standing under Article 263 TFEU to challenge EU regulations if those regulations prevent them from exercising their regulatory powers. In this case, the cities successfully challenged the 'conformity factor' in Commission Regulation 2016/646, which had relaxed the Euro 6 emissions standard. The court found that the regulation restricted the cities' ability to ban vehicles that met the relaxed standard but exceeded stricter emission limits. This decision is framed as a landmark for access to justice, potentially allowing cities to act as environmental watchdogs and challenge other EU measures, such as the authorization of glyphosate.

Earthjustice urges the U.S. Senate to reject the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to head the EPA, claiming he has operated a "dirty energy favor factory" and would continue policies of "climate denial" and "dirty energy bailouts."

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the Trump administration undermined air quality protections by disbanding scientific review panels, replacing independent experts with industry-linked regulators, and proposing rules to restrict the use of epidemiological studies in policy. The document highlights the elimination of the "once in, always in" policy for hazardous air pollutants and the suppression of a report on formaldehyde's cancer risks, recommending that Congress codify the use of pollutant review panels and investigate the impacts of these actions on public health.

The document outlines why leading environmental groups oppose the NAFTA 2.0 deal, citing its failure to prevent pollution offshoring, its continued support for fossil fuel dependency, and the preservation of corporate rights to challenge environmental regulations.

The Clean Air Task Force criticizes the Trump EPA's plan to revise the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), asserting that the administration is intentionally ignoring the vast health benefits of the rule—such as 11,000 fewer premature deaths annually—to justify a rollback. The author contends that by limiting the benefit-cost analysis to mercury alone, the EPA is abandoning established regulatory principles to serve the interests of private coal company owners, despite the rule's high cost-effectiveness and the opposition of the utility industry that has already implemented the controls.

The document warns that Hurricane Florence could trigger a public health crisis in the southeastern United States by causing the failure of toxic waste sites, such as coal ash pits, hog manure lagoons, and Superfund sites. It highlights the vulnerability of these sites, citing a recent coal ash collapse at the L.V. Sutton Power Station and previous spills during Hurricane Matthew and in 2008. The author contends that industry prioritizes cheap waste disposal over safety and calls for stronger government regulations to secure hazardous sites and address the increasing frequency and strength of hurricanes driven by climate change.

The report critiques Canada's historical reliance on an investment protection and liberalization model, specifically the use of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. It highlights how these frameworks have led to costly arbitrations against the Canadian government and limited the policy space of developing countries. While noting minor procedural shifts in CETA, the author contends that current treaties remain one-sided and recommends that upcoming public consultations on the model FIPA focus on promoting sustainable investment and corporate accountability rather than marginal procedural fixes.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted representations on June 25, 2018, regarding proposed amendments to the List of Activities resulting in atmospheric emissions. While supporting the elimination of 'rolling postponements' for minimum emission standards (MES), the submission argues for stricter requirements for once-off suspensions, greater transparency in application documents, and a more robust public participation process.

A coalition of environmental and community groups argues that Peter Wright's nearly two-decade career representing Dow (now DowDuPont) creates a conflict of interest for leading the EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM). The document highlights Dow's association with over 150 toxic waste sites and the American Chemistry Council's efforts to weaken hazardous waste regulations. It further notes that Wright has questioned scientific data on dioxin health risks and that Dow and DuPont subsidiaries averaged seven chemical disaster incidents per year between 2004 and 2016.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), groundWork, and affected community members, issued a formal notice to the Director-General of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on 18 June 2018. The notice, submitted under section 28(12) of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA), demands that the DEA take enforcement action against ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) for significant and ongoing pollution of air, soil, and water at its Vanderbijlpark operations.

The briefing argues that methane mitigation in the oil and gas sector is technologically feasible and often cost-effective, but requires regulatory mandates rather than just voluntary actions to ensure uniform adoption. It highlights that a 50% reduction in emissions could be achieved at no net cost, providing a significant climate impact. Key barriers identified include limited capital for state-owned companies and insufficient monitoring staff in some countries, suggesting a need for innovative financing and third-party verification technologies.

A statement by Dr. A. Gray, an environmental engineer and atmospheric scientist, regarding the necessity of providing full computer modeling files alongside written reports to ensure the transparency and validity of air dispersion modeling assessments.

The document argues that Canada's current trade model privileges corporate profits over people and the environment, specifically citing NAFTA's role in exacerbating economic inequality and environmental degradation. The signatories propose a 12-point alternative model for trade negotiations, emphasizing the elimination of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and the abolition of energy proportionality rules that hinder Canada's ability to reduce fossil fuel production. They assert that for Canada to be a 'climate champion', its trade agreements must be compatible with the Paris Agreement and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the EPA's January 25, 2018, withdrawal of the "once in, always in" (OIAI) policy allows industrial facilities to be reclassified from "major sources" to "area sources" of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). This reclassification removes the requirement for facilities to use Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), which the authors estimate was used by 70 percent of major sources in 2014 to keep emissions at or below thresholds of 10 or 25 tons per year. The document warns that area sources are not regulated or inspected as stringently, potentially increasing emissions of toxic substances like chlorine, benzene, and styrene. The analysis identifies at least 21 states at risk of increased pollution, with specific high-risk clusters in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," Houston, Chicago, and the New York-Newark urban area.

The document claims that companies manufacturing boat motors and fishing gear, such as Yamaha and Shimano, use trade associations like the American Sportfishing Association to lobby against sustainable fisheries regulations. It highlights the Magnuson-Stevens Act as a critical science-based management tool and cites the 2017 extension of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishing season as an example of political interference that risks overfishing and delays fishery recovery.

Earthjustice, Earthworks, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) submitted a statement to the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council urging the rejection of a proposal to add mining as a covered sector under Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41). The organizations argue that mining's unique environmental risks and the existing efficiency of U.S. permitting make the expedited processes of FAST-41 inappropriate and dangerous.