Search Climate Insights Directory

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and supporting organizations argue that the proposed asbestos regulations contain critical gaps, specifically regarding legacy asbestos, mining residues, and industry exclusions. They recommend a comprehensive National Asbestos Strategy that includes a total ban on exports, the elimination of a 7-year exclusion for the chlor-alkali industry, and harmonized federal-provincial-territorial standards for end-of-life asbestos management.

The report asserts that CETA facilitates trade expansion by reducing regulatory burdens, which leads to the harmonization of regulations toward the lowest common denominator and the elimination of precautionary measures. It highlights four areas of concern: domestic regulatory disciplines that limit licensing authority, increased pressure from Canadian mining companies on Greek regulations, vulnerabilities in EU industrial pollution controls, and the restriction of Member States' ability to regulate toxic pesticides.

The authors argue that the Brazilian Supreme Court's decision on the 2012 Forest Code introduces a critical inconsistency regarding the Environmental Reserve Quote (CRA). While the court upheld the CRA's constitutionality, it diverged on the geographic criteria for compensation: requiring 'ecological identity' in one instance while maintaining the broader 'biome' criterion in another. This contradiction creates legal insecurity for rural producers and environmental agencies and may weaken the CRA market by making it more restrictive than other compensation alternatives.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has issued a statement opposing the Trump Administration's proposal to roll back the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) 2016 Methane Waste Rule. The 2016 Rule aimed to reduce the venting and flaring of natural gas, primarily methane, on American public lands to protect public health, the environment, and U.S. Treasury revenue. CATF characterizes this proposal as part of a broader pattern of easing oversight for the oil and gas industry, noting previous failed attempts to repeal or delay the rule via the Congressional Review Act and unlawful administrative delays. The proposal is now entering a 60-day public comment period.

The report details severe pollution and health crises linked to Aditya Birla Group's viscose plants in India and Indonesia, highlighting discrepancies between the company's public sustainability image and the actual conditions on the ground.

A coalition of environmental and labor organizations calls on the Canadian government to maintain or strengthen draft methane regulations for the oil and gas sector to meet 2025 reduction targets and Paris Agreement commitments, warning against industry and provincial pressure to weaken these rules.

The Clean Air Task Force and 10 other organizations, following 19 states and cities, have requested that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recuse himself from the rulemaking process to repeal the Clean Power Plan. The groups argue that Pruitt's public assertions that the repeal is a "done deal" demonstrate a "closed mind," effectively turning the public comment period, which runs until late April, into a "pro forma exercise."

The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, supported by Earthjustice, has petitioned a federal court to compel the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to oversee a wetland permit for the Back Forty Mine. The proposed 80-acre, 750-foot-deep mine by Aquila Resources, Inc. is located 50 yards from the Menominee River and is opposed by the tribe and numerous local governments due to risks to public health, water quality, and sacred cultural sites.

The report finds that pharmaceutical companies in Hyderabad continue to discharge untreated or inappropriately treated wastewater containing toxic heavy metals and solvents, leading to severe ecological damage and human health risks. It highlights a failure of local and national regulatory bodies to control these emissions and warns that the situation is deteriorating as production capacity expands. The document specifically links antibiotic production discharges to the global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and argues that pharmaceutical purchasers in the EU and US must address these supply chain failures.

The report finds that pharmaceutical production in Hyderabad continues to cause severe environmental degradation through the discharge of untreated wastewater containing heavy metals and industrial solvents. It highlights a critical link between these manufacturing practices and the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global health threat. The document argues that Indian regulatory bodies are failing to enforce pollution controls and that the pharmaceutical industry's reliance on opaque supply chains allows companies exporting to the US and EU to avoid accountability for their environmental footprint.

The document presents a series of tables detailing the activity and composition of science advisory committees across six federal agencies (CDC, DOI, DOE, DOC, EPA, and FDA) from 1997 to 2017. It tracks the number of meetings held and the number of members for each committee, highlighting instances where committees failed to meet their charter requirements. Additionally, it lists the appointment status of 83 key science and technology positions under the Trump administration as of January 15, 2018, noting numerous vacancies in roles requiring Senate confirmation.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed 73 science advisory committees across 24 federal agencies to determine if the Trump administration neglected scientific advice. The findings indicate a systematic pattern of sidelining science, characterized by a 20 percent decrease in committee meetings and a 14 percent drop in membership from 2016 to 2017. The report highlights specific actions at the EPA, DOI, and DOE that reduced the quality and quantity of independent scientific input, often replacing academic experts with industry representatives.

The Clean Air Task Force criticizes the API's Environmental Partnership as an insufficient voluntary effort to curb methane emissions, noting that its targets for leak detection and pneumatic controller replacement are far weaker than existing state and federal regulations. The authors argue that voluntary programs cannot achieve the same emission reductions as mandatory, cost-effective standards, highlighting that oil and gas equipment in the US releases over 8 million tons of methane annually.

The Institute for Policy Integrity and other environmental groups oppose H.R. 3117, arguing that the act would force federal agencies to ignore or undervalue climate damages and hinder the use of scientifically sound Social Cost of Carbon estimates.

The article introduces a framework for comparative urban research in the developing world, asserting that urban transformations—including land use, construction patterns, and environmental regulation—reveal the underlying national political settlements and clientelism. The author illustrates this approach through narrative sketches of Kampala, Kigali, and Addis Ababa.

The report critiques the Trump administration's attempt to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule, asserting that the agencies used a revised economic analysis that violated their own requirements to make the rule appear unjustified. It maintains that the 2015 rule remains cost-benefit justified and that its repeal would result in the loss of significant environmental and economic benefits.

The Institute for Policy Integrity argues that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acted irrationally by staying the Waste Prevention Rule—which aimed to stop oil and gas companies from wasting natural gas on public lands—without considering the forgone benefits of the rule. The brief contends that the BLM's justification relied solely on cost savings, ignoring the benefits it had previously used to justify the rule's enactment, and calls for the stay to be vacated.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides critical feedback on the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) draft Mine Water Management Policy Position. The CER argues that the draft understates the crisis of mine water management in South Africa, citing a systemic failure in mine closures and a lack of compliance monitoring and enforcement. The CER recommends that the DWS utilize existing legislative tools—specifically the National Water Act (NWA), the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA)—to enforce the 'polluter pays' principle and secure financial provisions for water treatment before granting licenses.

The report assesses the evidence on whether investment treaties attract foreign direct investment (FDI), facilitate domestic reforms, or limit government policy space. It finds that while treaties may modestly increase FDI, particularly in high-sunk-cost sectors like mining, they often benefit foreign investors at the expense of host states through distributive effects and potential regulatory chill. The evidence on other claimed benefits, such as 'levelling the playing field' or depoliticizing disputes, is found to be limited or contradictory.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the U.S. NAFTA negotiating objectives are ambiguous and fail to protect the public interest. Key concerns include the lack of a stance against Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the potential for 'regulatory coherence' to undermine environmental and health standards, and the promotion of fossil fuel investment over green energy. CIEL calls for binding environmental protections, compliance with the Paris Agreement, and increased transparency in the negotiation process.