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The document examines the role of Africa in the global AI supply chain and the risks posed by the dominance of foreign AI firms, particularly from China and the Global North. It highlights specific harms including predatory financial offers via digital IDs in South Africa, human rights violations through facial recognition in Uganda and South Africa, and exploitative 'click work' in Kenyan refugee camps. The brief reviews emerging national AI strategies in Mauritius, Egypt, and Rwanda, and the SMARTAfrica 'Blueprint on Artificial Intelligence for Africa'. It argues that while EU frameworks like the AI Act and GDPR provide some guidance on human rights, they often fail to address African socio-economic realities, such as the gender digital divide and infrastructure deficits. The author recommends that African governments focus on building sustainable local AI ecosystems, enhancing regional data cooperation via the AfCFTA, and ensuring the economic participation of local communities.

The legal commentary details the attempts by the NGO Environment Jeunesse to launch a class action on behalf of Quebecers aged 35 and under, alleging that the Canadian Government's failure to set adequate greenhouse gas emission targets violated fundamental human rights. Both the Quebec Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the application. The Superior Court found the age limit of 35 to be "arbitrary" and "not objective". The Court of Appeal further ruled that the action was an attempt to compel legislative action, which would violate the doctrine of Separation of Powers, and noted that global warming affects the entire Canadian population, making the specific class composition difficult to justify. The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The case of La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen involved a claim by fifteen Canadian youths asserting that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and support for fossil fuel industries were incompatible with a stable climate and violated their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the public trust doctrine. The Federal Court of Canada dismissed the claim, ruling that the Charter-based arguments were not justiciable because they sought judicial intervention in overall government policy and that the public trust doctrine was not supported in Canadian law.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law provides a roadmap and initial reflections on the May 6, 2022, final report issued by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) following a seven-year National Inquiry on Climate Change.

The statement by Cree Elder Doreen Spence calls for the restoration of communication rights for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, emphasizing the role of media accountability, church involvement in reconciliation, and the importance of oral history in countering the legacy of colonial genocide and assimilation.

The Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) concluded a seven-year inquiry finding that 47 'Carbon Majors' companies contributed significantly to global emissions and engaged in 'willful obfuscation' of climate science despite knowing the risks since at least 1965. The report details severe human rights impacts in the Philippines, including threats to the rights to life, health, food security, and water, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as women, children, and Indigenous Peoples. The CHR asserts that these companies, and the financial institutions that fund them, have a responsibility to respect human rights and provide remediation for climate-driven harms. It recommends that states implement punitive laws for environmental harm, put a price on pollution, and transition to renewable energy by 2030 to meet the 1.5°C limit.

The document critiques the IFC's Green Equity Approach (GEA), noting that while it commits to ending equity investments in financial institutions without a plan to phase out coal by 2030, it contains loopholes that allow continued fossil fuel support. It proposes ten specific reforms, including ending support for new oil and gas projects, scaling up renewable energy, and adopting a rights-based approach with full transparency.

Carbon Market Watch argues that an independent grievance body must be operational before any Article 6.4 activities begin to avoid reputational risks and human rights infringements. The author recommends that this body be independent of the 6.4 Supervisory Body, free of charge for stakeholders, and capable of imposing temporary measures like suspending credit issuance. The document also suggests extending this mechanism to cover Article 6.2 and compares existing voluntary carbon market standards, noting that some, like Verra, have inappropriate fee requirements.

Reclaim Finance has submitted a series of critical questions to BNP Paribas ahead of its May 2022 General Meeting. The document argues that the bank's current sectoral policies are insufficient to meet a 1.5°C warming trajectory, citing continued support for major oil and gas developers like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. It specifically highlights the bank's indirect support for the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania, its failure to exclude parent companies of coal miners like Glencore and RWE, and its financial ties to companies linked to tropical deforestation. The organization calls for a total stop to new fossil fuel infrastructure financing and more stringent exclusion criteria for non-conventional hydrocarbons and coal.

The document argues that financial institutions must use their leverage to force soy traders to adopt strict no-deforestation commitments, including clear cut-off dates and full traceability, to mitigate climate and biodiversity risks.

The document examines the dimensions of a just energy transition, moving beyond the focus on fossil fuel workers to address the impacts of clean energy deployment. It identifies five types of energy justice—distributive, procedural, recognition, restorative, and cosmopolitan—and emphasizes the necessity of respecting human rights across the entire clean energy supply chain. The briefing highlights risks associated with critical mineral extraction and land use, providing case studies from Colombia and Scandinavia. It concludes that international cooperation and robust regulatory frameworks are essential to ensure that the benefits and costs of the transition are shared equitably without exacerbating existing inequalities.

The paper examines the dimensions of a just and equitable energy transition, moving beyond the impacts on fossil fuel-dependent workers to analyze the risks associated with clean energy supply chains. It identifies five forms of justice—distributional, procedural, recognition, restorative, and cosmopolitan—and emphasizes the necessity of respecting human rights, particularly for Indigenous peoples, throughout the energy lifecycle. The authors highlight the risks of human rights violations in critical mineral extraction and the potential for 'green' projects to cause displacement. They advocate for community benefit-sharing, quality job creation, and international cooperation to ensure that the economic benefits of the transition do not exacerbate existing inequalities.

The document discusses the relationship between corporate responsibility, human rights, and climate change, specifically focusing on how the Philippines' National Inquiry on Climate Change provides a model for understanding these synergies within the ASEAN context.

The briefing highlights the critical need for transparent supply chains to mitigate human rights abuses and environmental damage associated with the energy transition. It proposes using digital tools, such as blockchain data architecture, to track both embodied greenhouse gas emissions and broader ESG factors, moving away from anonymous commodity markets toward a system where data follows the goods.

The International Finance Corporation's (IFC) 2020 Green Equity Approach (GEA) aims to end equity investments in financial institutions lacking a plan to phase out coal by 2030. However, the Center for International Environmental Law argues the GEA is too narrow and contains loopholes that allow continued fossil fuel expansion. The document proposes ten essentials for reform, including ending support for new oil and gas projects, scaling up sustainable renewable energy, addressing past harms from fossil fuel projects, and integrating gender equality and rights-based approaches to achieve alignment with the Paris Agreement.

The report finds that human rights are not systematically referenced in the reviewed NAPs, with few countries using them to guide the planning or implementation process. While some plans, notably Fiji's, demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights-based approaches, most others only make indirect or superficial references to rights. The authors argue for the development of detailed guidance to integrate social, political, administrative, and legal entry points into the NAP process to better protect vulnerable groups.

The report finds that the world's 60 largest banks provided USD $4.6 trillion in fossil fuel financing from 2016 to 2021, with $742 billion in 2021 alone. It highlights a significant gap between banks' net-zero commitments and their actual lending and underwriting practices, particularly regarding companies expanding oil, gas, and coal production. The analysis identifies JPMorgan Chase as the world's worst banker of fossil fuels over this period. The report also details financing in high-impact subsectors, such as tar sands, Arctic oil and gas, and coal power, while emphasizing the human rights impacts on Indigenous and frontline communities.

Reclaim Finance assesses TotalEnergies' 2022 climate plan as insufficient, noting that the company's emissions are projected to decrease by only 5.8% to 6.7% between 2015 and 2030. The analysis highlights a 'fossil-first' investment strategy where over 70% of CAPEX remains dedicated to oil and gas, and criticizes the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) as fundamentally incompatible with climate goals. The document urges shareholders to vote against the management-sponsored climate resolution at the 2022 AGM.

The report details systemic abuses by VALE Moçambique, including forced displacements of thousands of families, police violence against protesters, and severe environmental pollution. It highlights the lack of fair compensation for local brickmakers and farmers, the contamination of water and air exceeding international limits, and the company's refusal to disclose environmental monitoring reports despite court orders. The text argues that these extractive activities exacerbate the climate crisis in a region already vulnerable to extreme weather events.

The statement highlights the intensifying toxification of Earth and the creation of 'sacrifice zones' that disproportionately impact children and future generations. It references three United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolutions: the establishment of an Intergovernmental Panel on Chemicals, waste and pollution prevention; the sound management of chemicals and waste (including updating science on endocrine disrupting chemicals); and the mandate for a legally binding instrument on the full life cycle of plastics. The authors call for the phase-out of toxic additives, specifically endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and the active participation of youth in treaty negotiations.