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This document is a facilitator's summary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) North American Regional Civil Society Consultation held on 28 October 2005. The meeting aimed to gather recommendations from North American civil society organizations to inform the 9th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) and the preceding Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF). The consultation focused on three primary policy areas: energy and the environment, chemicals management, and tourism and the environment.

A joint statement from 41 environmental, health, and labor organizations urging the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce to reject a June 17 draft of amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) intended to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The signatories argue the draft contains flaws that would hinder the U.S. from fulfilling treaty obligations and instead advocate for a draft proposed by Representative Hilda Solis.

Eighteen environmental organizations issued a statement on April 19, 2004, urging U.S. congressional leaders to reject the Bush Administration's proposed amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for implementing the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The organizations argue that the proposed legislation fails to provide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with effective authority to ban additional POPs pesticides and introduces burdensome regulatory requirements that contradict the treaty's precautionary principles.

This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides preliminary comments and proposed textual amendments to the Chairman's Paper dated 9 May 2002 for the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. CIEL argues that while the draft has improved, it still lacks critical protections for human rights, community-based property rights, and rigorous regulation of biotechnology, and it fails to sufficiently address the risks associated with intellectual property rights and the liberalization of trade in services.

This research paper explores the potential for bringing human rights complaints against the United States due to the adverse impacts of global warming, particularly focusing on the threats to the fundamental rights of indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic.

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the intersection of climate change and international human rights law. It details how climatic phenomena and the measures taken to mitigate or adapt to them can infringe upon fundamental rights, particularly for vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples, women, and children. The document outlines key international milestones—including UN Human Rights Council resolutions and the Cancun Agreements—and advocates for a rights-based approach to be integrated into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes.

This report summarizes a workshop held during COP19 as part of the Many Strong Voices (MSV) Programme. The dialogue focused on the challenges of climate-induced community-based relocation, specifically in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), emphasizing the need for participatory decision-making, international finance, and the protection of human rights and cultural identity.

The policy brief outlines strategies to ensure the 'widest and most effective participation possible' in the negotiations for a global treaty to end plastic pollution. It identifies systemic barriers in current UN processes—such as restrictive accreditation, limited speaking rights, language gaps, and lack of funding—and recommends adopting more open models (like the Escazú Agreement) to include frontline stakeholders, including waste pickers, Indigenous Peoples, and youth.

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (GIESCR) reviews the 2023 outputs of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change. It details the Committee's focus on gender-responsive adaptation, the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized women, and recommendations concerning fossil fuel extraction and climate finance.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the United States' failure to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) despite signing it in 2001. It argues that federal laws (TSCA and FIFRA) are outdated and ineffective, leaving a policy void that has been filled by individual states. The document highlights the 'vanguard' role of Maine, California, and Washington, which have implemented their own bans on mercury, PBDEs, and lindane, and developed strategies to monitor and reduce bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) to protect public health and wildlife.

This fact sheet by the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the US and EU threaten to undermine public health and environmental protections by harmonizing chemical regulations downward and restricting the regulatory authority of US states and the EU.

This report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) summarizes climate adaptation-related laws passed by the US Congress between January 2017 and December 2022. It highlights a trend toward integrating climate resilience into national security (specifically DoD installations), increasing funding for pre-disaster mitigation, and expanding conservation efforts for forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute explains the role of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)—including black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—in global warming. It argues that while carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary driver of long-term climate change, reducing SLCPs can provide rapid, short-term benefits to slow the rate of warming and improve public health and food security.

This fact sheet outlines the International Institute for Sustainable Development's (IISD) Arctic Initiative, which focuses on supporting bottom-up transformations to sustainability in the Arctic region. The initiative addresses root causes of sustainability challenges through four primary areas: climate change adaptation and food security, extractive industries, infrastructure and renewable energy development, and transformative knowledge.

The report 'État de la gouvernance environnementale mondiale 2020' examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international environmental governance, the shift to virtual negotiations, and the resulting effects on climate and biodiversity goals. It highlights the challenges of maintaining political momentum and scientific output during lockdowns while noting that the pandemic underscored the interconnectedness of human health and environmental degradation.

This executive summary from the Stockholm Environment Institute describes the cumulative impact of global and local stressors on marine ecosystems. It highlights that over 40 percent of the marine environment is already affected by combined stressors, such as ocean warming, acidification, and overfishing. The document argues that current management strategies are often too narrow, focusing on single issues rather than the synergistic interactions between stressors, and calls for a cross-scale governance system to increase ecosystem resilience.

This report documents a scoping workshop held in Stockholm, Sweden, from September 26-28, 2011, to plan the Arctic Resilience Report (ARR). The workshop aimed to establish a science-based framework for assessing the risks of abrupt, potentially irreversible changes in Arctic social-ecological systems caused by interacting drivers such as climate change and social development. The resulting proposal, approved by the Arctic Council in November 2011, outlines a project to identify tipping points, evaluate resilience, and develop strategies for adaptation and transformation to inform decision-makers.

Dr. Jonathan Pershing of the World Resources Institute provided testimony to the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee supporting the America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191). He argued that the bill's cap-and-trade system would provide a necessary price signal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at modest economic costs while positioning the United States to lead international climate action.