Search Climate Insights Directory

The document identifies significant gaps in the implementation of procedural rights necessary to uphold the right to a healthy environment (RtHE) in Southeast Asia. It highlights how ambiguous disclosure requirements, lack of enforcement in environmental impact assessments (EIAs), and resource-constrained judicial bodies hinder environmental justice. The brief showcases emerging community-led assessments and judicial capacity-building efforts as potential solutions, while noting the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment as a key regional entry point for improvement.

A coalition of Canadian environmental organizations is calling on Minister Terry Duguid to ensure public participation and transparency within the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution. The authors argue that the exclusion of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and independent scientists violates international and domestic obligations, specifically citing the Aarhus Convention and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). They highlight three specific instances of opacity: the restriction of intersessional expert groups to Member States and a small number of non-transparently appointed experts, the use of closed-door Heads of Delegation meetings to influence the draft treaty text, and the exclusion of observers from substantive discussions during INC-5. The organizations request that Canada advocate for meaningful participation, work with the INC Secretariat and Bureau to ensure inclusion of affected constituencies, and provide funding for Indigenous Peoples' participation.

TotalEnergies (TEEPSA) plans to drill up to seven exploration wells for oil and gas in the southern Deep Water Orange Basin (DWOB), approximately 211 km off the South African coast at depths between 500m and 3,900m. The project is currently in the second stage of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), with the public invited to submit comments on the ESIA draft report by 10 March 2025. Potential risks identified include noise and pollution affecting marine life—such as whales, dolphins, and African penguins—as well as negative impacts on local fishing livelihoods and the cultural and spiritual significance of the coastline from Port Nolloth to Cape Town. Additionally, fishers and environmental groups are expected to challenge TEEPSA's existing environmental authorisation for the western DWOB in the Cape High Court in February 2025.

The document provides a comprehensive framework for small-scale fishing communities in South Africa to exercise their environmental rights against industrial developments. It details the legal landscape, including the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and explains the processes for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and public participation. The guide highlights the risks associated with oil and gas exploration, mining, and power ships, while emphasizing the impacts of climate change on coastal livelihoods. It concludes with practical steps for legal challenges and accessing information via PAIA requests, illustrated by case studies involving Shell and Searcher.

Natural Justice argues that South Africa's proposed 2024 EIA regulation amendments must ensure full environmental impact assessments for high-impact activities, including hydraulic fracturing, seismic surveys, and coastal industrial construction, to protect ecological integrity and community livelihoods.

The document outlines a framework for EU Member States to accelerate renewable energy deployment through Renewables Acceleration Areas (RAAs) without compromising biodiversity or public participation. It emphasizes that RAAs must be designated in areas with no expected significant environmental impact, requiring robust Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) and Appropriate Assessments (AAs). The guide argues that the presumption of 'overriding public interest' for renewable projects is rebuttable and must not bypass strict environmental safeguards. It further details the necessity of meaningful public consultation and effective access to justice at both the planning and permitting stages to ensure legal certainty and environmental protection.

The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill (TKLB) 2024 is proposed legislation in South Africa designed to formally recognise and regulate traditional and Khoi-San leadership. It follows a 2023 Constitutional Court decision that declared the Traditional Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 unconstitutional due to a lack of public participation and concerns over land dispossession. The 2024 Bill introduces processes for leadership recognition in Section 8 and Section 10, and requires the Premier to define traditional council jurisdictions in the Provincial Gazette under Section 16(5) to address community land rights. However, the document notes gaps in the Bill, including a lack of direct mechanisms for communities to challenge leadership recognition, the absence of voting rights for leaders in municipal councils, and insufficient enforcement mechanisms for gender representation, despite a requirement that one in three council representatives be women.

The document advocates for the integration of lived experience, experiential knowledge, and community knowledge into environmental regulatory systems to better understand cumulative impacts in overburdened communities. It defines these terms to ensure consistent regulatory use and argues that such knowledge is an essential complement to professional scientific data, which often has blind spots. The text recommends that the EPA institutionalize training for employees in active listening and implicit bias, and adopt mixed-methods approaches to integrate qualitative community data with quantitative analysis.

The study uses a multidisciplinary approach to assess how socio-economic indicators and institutional capacities—including social networks, legal frameworks, and citizen participation—affect the ability of coastal municipalities in Latin America to cope with climate-intensified extreme rainfall events. Findings suggest that local vulnerability is not directly linked to institutional capacity, and while legal frameworks and actor networks appear sufficient, there is a critical need to strengthen citizen participation and create public spaces for information exchange to improve future adaptation and response.

The document outlines the South African legal requirement for companies to obtain Environmental Authorisation (EA) through an EIA or ESIA process before starting oil and gas exploration or production. It explains the stages of the assessment—including scoping and impact assessment—and provides a structured set of questions to help community members articulate concerns regarding livelihoods, health, marine access, biodiversity, cultural practices, and climate change.

The report details a two-day conference in Johannesburg that examined the 'Reimagining Developmental Local Government' theme. It highlights the COMPACT project's efforts to move public participation from 'tick-box exercises' to meaningful collaboration through a specialized 'Toolbox' and Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) pilots. Key discussions centered on the exclusion of youth and women, the need for interoperable digital infrastructure, and the role of 'invented' community spaces when formal 'invited' spaces fail. The event advocated for the institutionalization of these tools within municipal systems to ensure long-term sustainability beyond the project's January 2026 conclusion.

The document identifies systemic weaknesses in South African municipal performance management, specifically the lack of effective systems, misalignment with planning tools like the IDP and SDBIP, and insufficient community involvement. It outlines the legislative framework—including the Constitution, Municipal Systems Act, and Municipal Finance Management Act—and proposes the adoption of Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) and other participatory practices to strengthen transparency and accountability.

The document outlines research and proposals for reforming South African local government, emphasizing the need to move from neoliberal cost-recovery models to 'democratic decommodification' and fiscal justice. Key themes include the use of digital platforms like fixlocal and MyRepresentative to bridge the information gap between citizens and councillors, the role of 'invented spaces' for community action on water rights, and the implementation of data-driven tools like Cape Town's Ease of Doing Business Index to improve service delivery. It also highlights failures in Performance Management Systems (PMS) in municipalities such as Polokwane and the need for gender-inclusive political communication and youth civic education to ensure meaningful participation in governance.

An open letter from over 30 environmental civil society organisations to the European Commission defending the role and funding of EU LIFE operating grants. The authors assert that civil society engagement is a legal requirement under the EU Treaties and the Aarhus Convention, essential for a balanced democratic dialogue against resource-rich corporate actors. They highlight that LIFE operating grants for environmental NGOs represent only EUR 15.5 million per year (0.006% of the EU budget) but provide critical support for climate action, nature conservation, and the energy transition. The letter emphasizes that these grants are awarded through competitive processes and subject to strict accountability and transparency standards.

The document provides a detailed analysis of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which aims to secure the EU's supply of 17 strategic raw materials by 2030. It highlights the risks of fast-tracked permitting for 'Strategic Projects', the potential for 'greenwashing' through private certification schemes, and the challenges facing Indigenous Peoples and local communities in exercising their rights to participation and consent. The guide also examines the interaction between the CRMA and existing EU environmental directives, such as the Habitats and Birds Directives, and outlines the limited access to justice available to stakeholders.

The report identifies systemic failures in South African municipal public participation, where the IDP process is often viewed as a 'compliance exercise' rather than meaningful engagement. Key findings highlight the dysfunction of ward committees due to political interference and poor resourcing, a 'crisis of communication' between municipalities and residents, and a lack of accountability in performance management. It recommends moving beyond tokenistic participation toward a culture of transparency, improved civic education, and the professionalisation of the political-administrative interface to restore community trust and improve service delivery.

The report evaluates the alignment of national laws in six Western Balkan countries with EU environmental directives (EIA, SEA, ELD, WFD, Habitats, and Birds). While some progress in transposition is noted, systemic failures persist, including a lack of secondary legislation, inadequate institutional capacity, and poor data quality in environmental reports. Key issues include the exclusion of small hydropower plants from screening in some countries, restricted access to justice for strategic assessments, and the failure to designate Natura 2000 sites. Montenegro is the only country with functioning environmental liability regulations.

The document evaluates how CEE countries have integrated public consultation and multilevel climate and energy dialogues (MCEDs) into their updated NECPs, finding significant variability in quality and frequent failures to meet European law requirements for early and inclusive engagement.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Life After Coal (LAC) coalition, submitted comments on the Gas Amendment Bill [B – 2023], arguing that accelerating gas infrastructure is irrational given the climate emergency and South Africa's extreme vulnerability to climate change. The submission criticizes the Bill for inadequate public consultation processes, lack of transparency regarding confidential information, and a failure to align with international climate targets such as the IPCC's 1.5°C benchmark.

ClientEarth argues that the designation of renewables acceleration areas must strictly adhere to the Birds and Habitats Directives, the SEA Directive, and the Aarhus Convention to avoid legal challenges and environmental degradation. The document recommends that Member States coordinate RED mapping with National Restoration Plans, exclude not only Natura 2000 sites but also areas likely to have significant effects on them, and implement a rigorous, transparent public consultation process that includes the 'zero option' of not designating an area.