Search Climate Insights Directory
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Perspectives from Environmental Justice Communities: A National Survey
The Clean Air Task Force commissioned a national survey of residents in environmental justice communities—defined by race, ethnicity, and income—to assess their awareness of pollution impacts, interest in clean energy jobs, levels of civic engagement, and barriers to energy accessibility.
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Document type: Report
53rd Session ofthe Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on International Solidarity
CIEL supports the draft declaration on the human right of international solidarity, noting its inclusion of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The organization emphasizes the obligation of developed states to provide resources for climate-related loss and damage and the duty of all states to counter corporate influence and misinformation in environmental policymaking while protecting civic space for civil society and Indigenous Peoples.
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Document type: Statement
Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring: Benefits for decision making
The document discusses the use of high-frequency, networked water quality monitoring systems to improve data-driven decision making for watershed protection, specifically within the context of a pilot project in the Winnipeg River basin. While these systems provide larger volumes of near real-time data to address threats from climate change and pollution, they also introduce new technical, financial, and labour requirements.
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Document type: Report
Right to a Healthy Environment - Council of Europe
The authors call on Council of Europe nations to address a gap in the European human rights framework by formally recognizing the right to a healthy environment. They argue that while the UN General Assembly affirmed this right in July 2022, the Council of Europe remains the only regional human rights system whose political institutions have not yet done so. The authors suggest that a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights would catalyze climate action, provide legal certainty for corporate actors, and protect environmental activists.
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Document type: Statement
Declaración de GreenLatinos sobre el proyecto de ley contaminadores sobre el pueblo H.R. 1
GreenLatinos condemns H.R. 1 as a 'gift' to the fossil fuel industry that prioritizes oil, gas, and mining interests over clean energy and public health. The organization argues the bill creates dangerous loopholes, dismantles environmental laws, and increases pollution-related health risks, particularly for Latino communities.
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Document type: Statement
GreenLatinos Statement on the Polluters over People Bill H.R. 1
GreenLatinos condemns H.R. 1 as a "giveaway" to the oil, gas, and mining industries that creates "dangerous loopholes" and undermines environmental and public health laws. The organization asserts that the bill ignores the climate crisis and the availability of clean energy, leading to increased pollution, asthma, and cancer in communities, specifically those with significant Latino/a/e populations.
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Document type: Statement
Earth Negotiations Bulletin
The UN 2023 Water Conference, held in New York, focused on accelerating progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) through the Water Action Agenda. The event resulted in approximately 700 voluntary commitments totaling USD 300 billion and the announcement of a UN Special Envoy for Water. Discussions emphasized the water-food-energy nexus, the human right to water and sanitation, and the need for innovative finance and improved global water data. While the conference generated significant political momentum and new partnerships, analysis suggests that many pledges lack quantifiable targets and that the international community must quadruple its efforts to meet 2030 goals.
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Document type: Report
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
CIEL supports the Special Rapporteur's findings that the triple planetary crisis disproportionately affects women and girls due to intersecting structural inequalities. The statement argues that protecting these rights requires States to rapidly phase out fossil fuel extraction, consumption, and trade, and to implement moratoriums on new petrochemical facilities. It specifically highlights the health risks of microplastics for women and calls for a human rights-based approach in the negotiations of a plastics treaty.
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Document type: Statement
Re. Bill C-226, An Act Respecting the Development of a National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and To Advance Environmental Justice
The document is a formal request to the Canadian government to pass Bill C-226, which would create the country's first law addressing environmental racism. The signatories argue that Canada has a documented pattern of placing polluting industries in Indigenous and racialized communities and requires a national strategy to ensure equal protection from environmental hazards.
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Document type: Statement
Greening Aid for Trade
The document outlines how Aid for Trade (A4T) can be leveraged as a policy tool to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. It proposes six complementary pathways to 'green' A4T, emphasizing the need for alignment with the priorities of developing and least developed countries and the integration of trade considerations into environmental funding.
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Document type: Report
Deal for Modernized Energy Charter Treaty Insufficient for Ambitious Climate Action
IISD experts assert that the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) fails to align with climate ambitions, specifically noting that the European Union and United Kingdom have agreed to maintain investment protections for existing fossil fuel assets for at least 10 years after the treaty enters into force. This allows fossil fuel investors to continue filing investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims, potentially hindering the phase-out of oil and gas required to limit warming to 1.5°C. Consequently, several EU member states have announced plans to withdraw from the treaty, leading the European Commission to propose a coordinated EU-wide exit to avoid fragmented unilateral withdrawals.
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Document type: Statement
Re. Bill C-226, An Act Respecting the Development of a National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and To Advance Environmental Justice
Civil society organizations are calling for the immediate passage of Bill C-226, which would create Canada's first legal framework to assess and prevent environmental racism. The authors argue that marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous peoples, suffer disproportionate impacts from polluting industries and environmental hazards, and they urge the government to implement a national strategy and accountability mechanisms to ensure equal protection and access to decision-making.
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Document type: Statement
The Legacies of the Stockholm Conference
The 1972 Stockholm Conference established the foundation for modern environmental diplomacy by linking environment and development. Its legacies include the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the catalyst for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) such as the Montreal Protocol and the Rio Conventions, and the introduction of legal principles like the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle. While it expanded participation to include NGOs and Indigenous Peoples, the document notes that implementation of these frameworks lags behind the accelerating 'triple planetary crisis' of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
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Document type: Policy brief
The elite–citizen gap in international organization legitimacy
The report identifies a pervasive 'elite–citizen gap' in confidence toward international organizations, where elites consistently express higher levels of trust than ordinary citizens. Based on survey data from Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, Russia, and the US, the study finds that this gap is most pronounced for sustainable development organizations like the UN and is often underestimated by elites. The authors argue that legitimacy is driven by both organizational performance and democratic procedure, and they recommend that the UN increase awareness of this gap, communicate more effectively on its performance and procedures, and strategically engage with young people to bolster global governance.
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Document type: Report
Oral Intervention during the Item 3 Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, David R. Boyd
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.
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Document type: Statement
Re. Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act
Environmental and health groups are calling for the urgent passage of Bill S-5 to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), arguing that the current law is over 20 years old and fails to address 21st-century risks. The groups recommend specific amendments to ensure the legal recognition of the right to a healthy environment, stricter controls on toxic substances, and improved public access to risk data.
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Document type: Statement
Science-Policy Interfaces: From Warnings to Solutions
The policy brief examines the role of science-policy interfaces (SPIs) in identifying environmental risks and informing global policy since the 1972 Stockholm Conference. It analyzes successful models like the IPCC and IPBES, while evaluating current proposals for new SPIs focused on chemicals and waste and food systems. The author highlights the challenges of power imbalances and the need for credibility, inclusivity, and transparency in SPI design.
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Document type: Policy brief
Toward a New Instrument Addressing the Full Life Cycle of Plastics: Overview of the Typology of International Legal Instruments
This document introduces a legal overview designed to inform the development of a new global instrument to address the plastics crisis. It notes that 10 formal propositions were submitted between 2017 and 2020 and that negotiations were set to begin at the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA5.2) in February 2022. The report analyzes the typology of international legal instruments, with a focus on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), to help negotiators determine the appropriate structure and type of agreement.
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Document type: Report
La santé dans le Programme environnemental mondial : Un guide des politiques
This policy guide by the International Institute for Sustainable Development advocates for the integration of health and environmental sectors to address the "triple planetary crisis" of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. It aims to bridge the gap between health professionals and global environmental policy negotiations to support planetary health and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Document type: Guide
Health in the Global Environmental Agenda
The document argues that while nearly 25% of global deaths are linked to economic decisions affecting the environment, the health community remains largely invisible in global environmental negotiations. It identifies a 'triple planetary crisis' (biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution) and a 'Triple Billion' health burden, asserting that the merger of environmental and health governance is necessary to prevent environmental policies from negatively impacting health or widening inequities. The guide provides specific entry points for health stakeholders within Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), such as the CBD and UNFCCC, and recommends shifting toward multi-sectoral health governance where health data informs national environmental plans and health experts participate in intersessional decision-making bodies.
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Document type: Executive summary