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Un sol empoisonné
Global Witness reports that Veolia may be causing severe health complications, including congenital malformations, by pumping toxic leachates from a landfill into a protected Colombian wetland. Secret videos and sediment tests showing mercury levels 25 times higher than safe Canadian limits contradict Veolia's claims of environmental compliance. The contamination threatens the drinking water of 300,000 people in Barrancabermeja and impacts the Ciénaga San Silvestre ecosystem. The report also highlights the danger faced by environmental defenders in the region and argues for the strength of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to hold multinationals accountable.
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Document type: Report
Suelo emponzonado
Global Witness reports that Veolia is discharging untreated toxic leachate from a landfill into protected wetlands in Colombia, with sediment analysis showing mercury levels 25 times higher than safety limits. The report links this pollution to congenital malformations in the local population and the degradation of the San Silvestre swamp, which provides drinking water for up to 300,000 people in Barrancabermeja. While Veolia denies causality and claims its internal controls show no mercury, independent experts argue the company's sampling methods were flawed. The document also highlights the extreme danger faced by environmental defenders in the Santander region and argues that the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is essential for holding such companies accountable.
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Document type: Report
Cities in Transition
The report examines the link between urban sprawl and high energy consumption, arguing that current energy policies overlook the role of urban design. It advocates for "complete communities"—dense, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods—as a primary strategy for emissions reduction. Using the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology, the report compares car-centric and sustainable transportation scenarios in Winnipeg, finding that sustainable shifts offer significantly higher net benefits and a superior benefit-to-cost ratio. It identifies key barriers such as NIMBYism, flawed municipal governance, and the financial instability caused by sprawl, while proposing solutions including zoning reform, parking policy changes, and new municipal revenue tools.
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Document type: Report
Getting Where We Need to Go
The document outlines a strategy for Canada to achieve net-zero passenger transport by prioritizing walking, cycling, public transit, and zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). It highlights that 82% of Canadians live in urban areas, making the country well-suited for these transitions. The brief argues that this shift would reduce household costs, improve public health by reducing air and noise pollution, and create approximately 1.6 million jobs by 2050. Key policy recommendations include a federal ZEV sales standard requiring all new light-duty vehicle sales to be ZEVs by 2035, increased funding for high-speed rail in the Quebec-Windsor corridor, and provincial zoning reforms to increase urban density.
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Document type: Policy brief
Cinq caractéristiques d'une tarification efficace du carbone industriel
The briefing outlines five essential characteristics for effective industrial carbon pricing in Canada: healthy credit markets, equity between companies, strategic revenue use, transparency, and policy certainty. It warns that current systems in several provinces are underperforming due to oversupply of credits and unfair performance standards, which could halve their effectiveness in reducing emissions if not addressed.
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Document type: Briefing
Why are classrooms and children becoming fast food billboards?
Civil society organisations are protesting the handover of McDonald’s-branded ‘Mi Desk’ desks to Cape Town schools, facilitated by the Minister of Basic Education. The groups argue that such donations are not charity but junk food marketing targeting vulnerable children amidst a crisis of malnutrition and obesity. They contend that corporate philanthropy fills gaps created by state austerity and disinvestment, particularly in rural and working-class communities. The statement calls for the immediate recall of branded desks, the finalisation of regulations to restrict the marketing of harmful foods to children, and proper funding of education by the National Treasury to remove the need for corporate partnerships.
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Document type: Statement
Kyrkans skogsutredning: färre konflikter men mer kan göras
The authors welcome the Church of Sweden's forest inquiry for its ambition to integrate ecological, social, and spiritual considerations and its potential adoption of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for forestry affecting reindeer husbandry. However, they argue that the Church, as Sweden's fifth largest forest manager, must do more to align its land management in Sápmi with international indigenous rights frameworks to avoid sacrificing indigenous rights for short-term economic gain.
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Document type: Statement
Spring Weather Reporting Guide
The guide explains how climate change influences spring weather, noting that warmer temperatures increase the frequency of large hail and heavy rainfall, while tornado patterns are shifting in location and timing despite complex overall trends.
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Document type: Guide
Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario
The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario denied a motion to dismiss a case brought by seven youth who argued that Ontario's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels is insufficiently ambitious and violates constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. The court ruled that the application is prima facie justiciable, the targets are reviewable, and the applicants have standing for themselves and future generations.
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Document type: Legal commentary
Faits progrès climatique antidote pessimisme
The document provides examples of global climate progress to counter pessimism, citing significant emissions drops in the EU and UK, China's rapid expansion of renewables and electric vehicles, and the resilience of subnational climate policies in the United States.
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Document type: Statement
Climate progress cutting emissions: antidote to pessimism
The document provides examples of climate progress to counter pessimism, noting that European Union emissions fell 8% in 2023 and the UK has reduced emissions by over half since 1990. It highlights China's rapid adoption of electric vehicles and its achievement of 2030 renewable targets six years early. In the United States, the text notes that carbon-pricing programs and renewable energy mandates persist at the state level despite federal policy shifts.
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Document type: Statement
Building Future-Proof CO2 Transport Infrastructure in Europe
The document examines the necessity of a Europe-wide CO2 transport network, estimating a need for 15,000 to 19,000 km of infrastructure by 2050 to move 250 million tonnes of CO2 annually. It highlights the risk of 'natural monopolies' in pipeline transport and advocates for a shift from negotiated third-party access to a regulated access regime to prevent excessive tariffs. The brief proposes inter-temporal cost allocation mechanisms, such as Germany's 'amortisation account', to solve the 'first mover disadvantage' where early users bear disproportionate costs for oversized infrastructure. It also addresses 'cross-chain' financial risks and the need for standardised CO2 purity specifications to ensure network interoperability and safety.
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Document type: Policy brief
Repealing the Uranium Exploration and Mining Prohibition Act and amendments to permit hydraulic fracturing of natural gas in Nova Scotia
A letter from CAPE Nova Scotia physicians warning the provincial government that repealing bans on fracking and uranium mining would cause severe health harms, including increased cancer and birth defect rates, and contradict the province's climate goals.
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Document type: Statement
Advancing Gender-Responsive and Socially Inclusive Practices in Nature-Based Solutions for Adaptation
The report argues that nature-based solutions (NbS) for adaptation are more effective when they integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) by involving diverse voices, building trust with equity-deserving groups, and utilizing community-led monitoring. It highlights two specific examples: climate resilience planning for small-scale cooperatives in Zanzibar and an Indigenous Guardians program in Canada that incorporates Traditional Knowledge into land and wildlife management.
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Document type: Report
Protect Peatlands
The report identifies peatland protection as an 'emergency brake' climate solution due to the high carbon density of these ecosystems, which store approximately 600 Gt of carbon. It estimates that protecting one hectare of peatland avoids between 0.92 and 13.47 t CO-eq/ha/yr, with the highest impact in tropical and subtropical regions. The net cost is estimated at US$1.5/ha/yr, or $0.25/t CO-eq avoided. While approximately 22% of global peatlands are in protected areas (PAs), the report suggests an achievable protection range of 70–90% of remaining undrained peatlands, which could reduce emissions by 1.3–1.7 Gt CO-eq/yr. The analysis emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous peoples' lands, which contain an additional 186 Mha of peatlands, and advocates for secure land tenure and community-led governance to ensure permanence and avoid leakage.
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Document type: Research paper
Protecting Metro Vancouver's Climate Leadership: A Letter Calling for Continued Climate Funding
CAPE argues that cutting climate programs, which represent only 1% of Metro Vancouver's budget, would undermine the Climate 2050 strategy and increase long-term costs related to healthcare and disaster response.
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Document type: Statement
RE: February 21, 2025 Budget Workshop
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) argues that cutting Metro Vancouver's climate programs would jeopardize public health and undermine the Climate 2050 strategy. The organization highlights that the 2025 air quality and climate action services budget represents only 1% of the total financial plan, while the costs of climate inaction—such as the 600 lives lost during the 2021 heat dome and 1,900 annual premature deaths from air pollution in BC—are far higher. CAPE requests that the Board delay any funding cuts until comprehensive public consultations and economic impact assessments are completed.
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Document type: Statement
Federal Legislative Authority in Relation to Oil and Gas Development in Canada
The report outlines how the federal government of Canada can regulate oil and gas development through specific constitutional powers, noting that while provinces have significant authority, federal jurisdiction extends to federal lands, offshore areas, Indigenous reserves, and international trade, as well as indirect areas like fisheries and climate change.
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Document type: Report
POLLUTING EDUCATION The Influence of Fossil Fuels on Childrens Education in Canada
The report argues that the fossil fuel industry has an inherent conflict of interest in educating children about climate change and proposes a comprehensive framework to decouple public education from industry influence. It recommends that federal, provincial, and local authorities establish climate education as a public good, prohibit industry advertising and sponsorship in schools, and implement strict transparency and vetting requirements for third-party education providers. Key proposals include the creation of a federally funded climate change education program under the Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the integration of climate justice across all grade levels, and the adoption of school board climate action plans that include transitioning to electric buses and plant-based diets.
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Document type: Executive summary
POLLUTING EDUCATION The Influence of Fossil Fuels on Children’s Education in Canada Report Summary
The report documents how at least 39 oil and gas companies and 12 industry-tied organizations influence Canadian K–12 education through branded materials, government partnerships, and funding of third-party nonprofits. It argues that this 'petro-pedagogy' obscures the industry's role in climate change, promotes individual action over systemic change, and creates a conflict of interest in classrooms. The authors call for immediate policy action at federal, provincial, and local levels to implement comprehensive, science-based climate education free from corporate interference.
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Document type: Executive summary