Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the risks associated with unconventional oil and gas extraction (PGNC), specifically hydraulic fracturing. It details significant health concerns, including adverse birth outcomes, asthma exacerbation, and potential links to childhood leukemia. Environmental risks identified include water contamination, air pollution (specifically benzene and ozone precursors), and induced seismicity. The document highlights the disproportionate impact on Indigenous populations and argues that methane leaks undermine the role of natural gas as a transition fuel, calling for a moratorium on new projects and a strategic phase-out to meet Paris Agreement goals.

The report evaluates COP25 as a failure in meeting the global call for increased climate ambition, noting a disconnect between mass mobilizations and the lack of urgency among negotiating Parties. While it highlights progress in gender-related frameworks and the establishment of the Santiago network for loss and damage, it emphasizes significant failures in integrating human rights and indigenous protections into Article 6 carbon market rules and the Warsaw International Mechanism. The document concludes by identifying 2020 advocacy opportunities to ensure human rights safeguards are embedded in NDCs and carbon trading modalities.

The document outlines proposed oil and gas exploration activities by a joint venture (Africa Oil SA Corp, Ricocure (Pty) Ltd, and Azinam Limited) in Block 3B/4B off South Africa's west coast. It details the planned drilling of up to five wells, the associated logistics involving ports and helicopters, and the potential environmental and social risks. Key concerns include impacts on marine biodiversity, noise pollution, disruptions to fishing and tourism livelihoods, and the contribution of fossil fuel expansion to the climate crisis. Conversely, it notes potential short-term economic gains and job creation. The guide provides a timeline for the EIA process and instructions for the public to submit comments by 8 February 2024.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMR) granted environmental authorisation on 30 June 2025 for Shell Offshore Upstream South Africa B.V. and its partners to conduct oil and gas exploration in the Northern Cape Ultra Deep (NCUD) block. The project area is approximately 5,254km in size, located 300km offshore of Port Nolloth and extending towards Strandfontein in waters 2,500m to 3,200m deep. Shell plans to drill two exploration wells in the first year and three in the second, starting in 2026 or 2027. The document outlines the legal process for appealing this decision to the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) by 29 July 2025, noting that a filed appeal automatically suspends the authorisation under Section 47(7) of NEMA. It also highlights potential environmental and social risks identified in the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), including underwater noise affecting fish behavior, threats to critically endangered species like blue whales and leatherback turtles, and the risk of oil spills causing toxicity, suffocation of marine fauna, and the smothering of coastal habitats. Additionally, the guide notes potential negative impacts on small-scale fishing livelihoods, tourism, and the spiritual and cultural heritage of indigenous groups such as the First Peoples and Nguni.

The 2020 NYDF Progress Assessment reports that large-scale, top-down infrastructure and extractive projects continue to threaten intact tropical forests with minimal benefit to local communities. Despite the adoption of environmental safeguards by financial institutions and the mobilization of Indigenous peoples, systemic barriers—including limited corporate transparency, slow government implementation of forest policies, and continued financial flows to destructive activities—hinder progress. The report argues that meeting forest and climate goals requires a fundamental economic shift away from exploitation toward alternative development models.

Natural Justice's 2020-2022 strategy shifts from siloed programs to three integrated streams: affirming rights to lands and resources, defending rights against environmental impacts, and standing with communities through legal empowerment. The organization aims to strengthen the capacity of African Indigenous and local communities to challenge extractive projects, influence climate policy, and protect traditional knowledge. Key initiatives include the Community Environmental Legal Officers (CELOs) program, the African Environmental Defenders Initiative, and the Just Energy Transition Africa project. The strategy also details a resourcing plan focused on funding growth, financial sustainability, and internal system upgrades to support its Pan-African operations.

The Living Convention Volume I is a guide that aggregates disparate international laws, declarations, and voluntary guidelines into a structured compendium. It focuses on the rights of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants, categorizing them into substantive rights (such as land tenure, food sovereignty, and cultural heritage) and procedural rights (such as free, prior and informed consent and access to justice). The document aims to democratize international law to empower these groups in negotiations, litigation, and the management of their social-ecological systems.

The guide presents a methodology to re-center international law around the social-ecological relationships of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants. It critiques the fragmentary nature of state and international law, which often compartmentalizes resources and conflicts with customary law. To address this, the authors apply a 'Traditional Resource Rights' (TRR) approach to 'bundle' disparate legal provisions into categories of rights organized by a landscape-based logic. The document also provides international definitions for Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants, and discusses the distinction between 'hard' and 'soft' international law.

The ESMF provides the guidelines, legal frameworks, and procedural requirements for managing environmental and social risks for a GEF-funded project in Ecuador's Amazon. It focuses on establishing connectivity corridors in the Putumayo-Aguarico and Palora-Pastaza landscapes, ensuring the protection of biodiversity and the rights of indigenous peoples through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The report examines the legal framework protecting Sami reindeer husbandry from hydropower exploitation in Sweden. It details the historical marginalisation of Sami rights, the current permit process under the Environmental Code, and the implications of new 2019 legislation requiring the review of existing hydropower plants for modern environmental conditions. The analysis highlights the challenges Sami villages face in being recognised as stakeholders and the financial burdens of legal proceedings during reviews.

The briefing note examines the ongoing negotiations regarding Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, highlighting the risk that poorly designed carbon market and non-market mechanisms could lead to human rights violations. It advocates for the inclusion of rights-based safeguards, meaningful stakeholder consultation (including free, prior, and informed consent for indigenous peoples), and independent grievance redress processes to avoid repeating failures seen in the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

The report documents the risks faced by 'Defenders of Territories' in the Asia Pacific, linking violence and impunity to resource extraction, infrastructure projects, and weak rule of law. Through case studies in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, it illustrates how corporate and state actors displace communities and suppress dissent. The document advocates for a systemic shift away from neoliberalism toward agroecology and renewable energy, while calling for a binding UN Treaty on transnational corporations to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

The report documents the systemic persecution of environmental and land defenders in the Asia-Pacific region, linking this violence to a neoliberal economic model that prioritizes corporate profit and resource extraction over human rights. It provides case studies from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines to illustrate how large-scale infrastructure, energy, and agribusiness projects lead to land grabbing, environmental degradation, and the criminalization of activists. The document calls for a transition to community-led renewable energy, agroecology, and a legally binding UN treaty on transnational corporations to ensure corporate accountability and the protection of defenders.

The document highlights a global trend of violence against land defenders, particularly indigenous peoples, who face attacks from state and non-state actors to facilitate extractive projects. It provides case studies from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines to illustrate how infrastructure, energy, and agribusiness projects lead to land grabbing and environmental degradation. The report argues that the current economic system prioritizes corporate profit over human rights and recommends the establishment of a binding UN treaty on transnational corporations, the transformation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights into a judicial body, and a transition to renewable energy and agroecology.

The document is a formal petition by sixteen children from various countries against five states, alleging that their failure to mitigate climate change violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It details specific harms faced by the petitioners—including extreme heat, wildfires, and sea-level rise—and argues that the respondents' current emission pathways are inconsistent with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. The petitioners request that the Committee recognize climate change as a children's rights crisis and recommend that the respondent states accelerate mitigation efforts and prioritize the best interests of children.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the 2019 Amazon fires, attributing them to the Brazilian government's dismantling of environmental protections to benefit agro-industry and mining. The statement highlights a record increase in fires and deforestation, the persecution of indigenous peoples, and the global climate implications of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

The document is a guide for creating enabling legal frameworks for community forestry, emphasizing iterative and participatory reform processes. It provides a comprehensive set of questionnaires across ten thematic areas—including land tenure, allocation, governance, and market access—to ensure that laws protect the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples while promoting sustainable forest management.

The report analyzes perspectives from 84 NYDF endorsers, including governments, companies, NGOs, and indigenous peoples. It finds that while many individual actions have been taken, global deforestation has accelerated by 44% since 2014, and the world is not on track to meet its collective forest goals. The document identifies eight key lessons, emphasizing that high-level commitments must transition to measurable implementation supported by strong governance, secure land tenure for indigenous peoples, and a paradigm shift in forest finance to move from 'grey to green' investments.

The report evaluates the five-year progress of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), concluding that while localized successes exist, global efforts are not on track to meet 2020 and 2030 goals. It identifies eight core lessons, emphasizing that political will, strong governance, and secure land tenure for indigenous peoples are critical for success. The document highlights a significant gap between high-level commitments and ground-level implementation, noting that deforestation has accelerated by up to 44% since 2014. It calls for a paradigm shift in financing, moving from 'grey' to 'green' finance, and a stronger integration of nature-based solutions into national climate agendas.

The report evaluates the experiences of over 80 NYDF signatories, including governments, companies, NGOs, and indigenous peoples. It finds that while individual projects show success, global progress is insufficient, with tropical deforestation increasing by 44% since 2014. The document identifies eight key lessons, emphasizing that high-level political will, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and secure land tenure for indigenous peoples are critical for success. It highlights systemic failures in finance, where investments in deforestation drivers vastly outweigh those for forest protection, and calls for a paradigm shift toward 'nature-based solutions' and 'green finance' to meet climate and biodiversity goals after 2020.