Search Climate Insights Directory

This document is a policy brief on the energy transition in the European Union (EU), focusing on the role of the EU's 'Fit for 55' package and the 'REPowerEU' plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. It discusses the necessity of scaling up renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying energy sources to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels following the invasion of Ukraine. The brief emphasizes the need for integrated planning, investment in infrastructure, and social safeguards to ensure a 'just transition' for workers and regions affected by the shift away from carbon-intensive industries.

A letter from a coalition of national organizations to the Prime Minister of Canada expressing support for the Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change and Clean Growth and outlining specific recommendations for its implementation.

This statement is a call to action developed at a side event of the Women Deliver 2023 conference, convened by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). It urges governments, private sector actors, and international organisations to integrate gender equality with low-carbon development and climate resilience strategies, specifically targeting the negotiations on 'just transitions' at COP28 in Dubai.

This guide, published by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), provides a toolkit and instructions for the public to submit written comments on South Africa's Climate Change Bill. It outlines the law-making process, explains the role of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and identifies specific weaknesses in the Bill regarding transparency, timeframes, emission targets, and enforcement.

This document is a formal exchange between the Life After Coal (LAC) campaign—a joint effort by the Centre for Environmental Rights, groundWork, and Earthlife Africa—and Eskom. The LAC objects to Eskom's applications for alternative emission limits and exemptions from the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for the Medupi and Matimba power stations. Eskom defends its use of legal mechanisms for postponement and exemptions, citing financial constraints, the need for energy security, and the principles of sustainable development.

This document contains the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's (NERSA) responses to questions from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) regarding NERSA's concurrence with section 34 determinations of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. NERSA asserts that its role is to implement national policy developed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), rather than to re-evaluate the IRP's modelling, cost assumptions, or technology choices.

This report by Recourse and a coalition of partners evaluates the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) 'Approach to Greening Equity in Financial Institutions' (GEA). While acknowledging the GEA's goal to phase out coal-related investments by 2030, the authors argue that the current framework contains significant loopholes and fails to align with the Paris Agreement. The document proposes ten essential reforms to ensure the IFC's equity investments in financial intermediaries are truly green, including expanding the scope to oil and gas, improving transparency, and addressing human rights and gender equality.

This report provides recommendations for integrating human rights, social, and environmental principles into the implementation modalities of the Paris Agreement. It argues that climate action must be combined with existing international obligations to ensure a just transition, protect vulnerable populations, and maintain ecosystem integrity.

This report argues that the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement depends on integrating human rights and social and environmental principles into the 'Paris Rulebook.' It emphasizes that climate action must respect the rights of indigenous peoples, ensure gender equality, safeguard food security, promote a just transition for workers, and maintain ecosystem integrity to ensure policy coherence and sustainable results.

This briefing paper by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and partners argues that the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement depends on the integration of human rights and social and environmental principles into the 'Paris Rule Book'. The document outlines how principles such as gender equality, indigenous rights, and a just transition should be embedded into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Transparency Framework, and the Global Stocktake to ensure policy coherence and protect vulnerable populations.

This briefing note, produced by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in collaboration with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and Inclusiva, examines the intersection of disability rights and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It provides a reference guide for governments and stakeholders, compiling relevant international legal frameworks and specific UNFCCC decisions to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in climate mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction efforts.

This open letter, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), is addressed to the participants of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. It features a collection of statements from legal experts, academics, and policy advisors who argue that phasing out fossil fuels is a binding legal obligation under international law, rather than a matter of political discretion. The document emphasizes that current approvals for new fossil fuel projects and the continued use of subsidies violate international legal duties to prevent climate harm and protect human rights.

This guide, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), provides a checklist for practitioners and civil society to ensure that 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are aligned with international human rights obligations and climate objectives. It emphasizes that human rights-based climate action is more effective and is a legal obligation for all Parties to the Paris Agreement.

This fact sheet, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), provides a checklist for practitioners and civil society to ensure that 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are aligned with human rights obligations and international climate goals. It argues that human rights-based climate action is both a legal obligation under the Paris Agreement and more effective for increasing public support and policy efficiency.

This fact sheet by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides a checklist for ensuring that 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are based on human rights. It argues that human rights-based climate action is a legal obligation under the Paris Agreement and is more effective, as supported by the IPCC. The document outlines nine key components for NDCs, ranging from mitigation ambition and the elimination of fossil fuels to gender justice, indigenous rights, and accountability mechanisms.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) provides a critical analysis of the UNEP 'Options for Elements' Paper prepared for the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2). The document evaluates the proposed core obligations and control measures for a new legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, highlighting gaps where the Options Paper fails to reflect the ambition of Member State submissions, particularly regarding upstream production limits, chemical safety, and the protection of human health.

This executive summary from the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) details the comprehensive health impacts of the fossil fuel lifecycle—from extraction to disposal—and advocates for a rapid, just transition to renewable energy to protect global public health and environmental stability.

This executive summary from the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) details the comprehensive health and social burdens associated with the entire lifecycle of fossil fuels—from extraction to disposal. It argues that the health impacts are systemic, persistent, and disproportionately affect marginalized communities, necessitating a rapid and just transition to clean, renewable energy to prevent millions of premature deaths and mitigate the climate crisis.

This executive summary by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) details the comprehensive health and environmental impacts of fossil fuels throughout their entire life cycle—from extraction to disposal. It argues that the current dependence on fossil fuels creates a 'triple crisis' of environmental devastation, widespread human health damage, and instability in health systems, necessitating an urgent and just transition to clean energy.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance reports that fossil fuels cause systemic health damage across all life stages, from prenatal development to old age, through every phase of their life cycle (extraction, refining, transport, combustion, and waste). These impacts disproportionately affect marginalized communities in "sacrifice zones." The document highlights that global fossil fuel subsidies reached 7 trillion USD in 2022 and argues that a just transition to clean energy could save over 2 million lives annually and recover 4 trillion USD in public revenue. Key policy recommendations include halting new exploration, applying the "polluter pays" principle, and redirecting subsidies toward public health and renewables.