Search Climate Insights Directory
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Reform Options for ISDS
The document argues that ISDS is an asymmetrical system that often undermines state sovereignty and public interest. It suggests reforms including the multilateral termination of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), allowing state counterclaims, creating 'public interest carve-outs' to protect the right to regulate, implementing 'clean hands' clauses to bar bad-actor investors, requiring the exhaustion of local remedies, and granting third parties full legal standing in proceedings.
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Document type: Briefing
JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT (ISDS) MECHANISMS AND THE RIGHT TO A CLEAN, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
The document examines the negative impacts of ISDS on environmental and climate policy, noting that at least 175 cases are tied to environmental measures. It argues that the threat of arbitration disincentivizes states from enacting climate laws and that current treaty reforms are insufficient, suggesting that treaty termination and a shift toward domestic courts are the most effective solutions.
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Document type: Statement
UNEP Compendium On Human Rights and the Environment
The UNEP Compendium documents the intersection of human rights and environmental law through a curated selection of global and regional instruments and judicial decisions. It analyzes how substantive rights (such as the rights to life, health, and property) and procedural rights (access to information, public participation, and access to justice) are used to address environmental degradation. The document highlights the 'greening' of human rights law, where tribunals increasingly interpret existing rights to encompass environmental protections, particularly for indigenous peoples and marginalized groups. It also details state obligations regarding industrial pollution and natural resource extraction, emphasizing duties of prevention, regulation, and the requirement for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for indigenous communities.
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Document type: Report
FACT SHEET: WAVEMAKER AND CHEVRON’S MISLEADING CLIMATE COMMUNICATION
The document alleges that Wavemaker has spent over two decades helping Chevron mask its environmental and human rights record through misleading advertising. It highlights Chevron's toxic waste dumping in the Ecuadorian Amazon and pollution in Richmond, California, as evidence of the company's actual impact, contrasting these with its public image campaigns.
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Document type: Fact sheet
JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The document examines how ISDS mechanisms are used by foreign investors to challenge environmental and climate policies, often resulting in 'regulatory chill' where states avoid enacting laws for fear of costly arbitration. It highlights the lack of transparency in these proceedings and the limited role of public participation and amicus briefs. The authors argue that investment treaties have a negligible effect on promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) but impose significant costs on human rights and the environment, particularly in the Global South. The submission recommends the termination of old-generation treaties, the carving out of climate measures from ISDS scope, and a shift toward resolving disputes in domestic courts.
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Document type: Statement
COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH
The document outlines the severe health vulnerabilities of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region due to climate change, emphasizing the disproportionate impact on marginalized groups. It calls for a transition to sustainable food and energy systems, the strengthening of primary healthcare, and the implementation of climate justice to protect the right to health.
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Document type: Report
POSIÇÃO COMUM DA AMÉRICA LATINA E O CARIBE SOBRE MUDANÇA CLIMÁTICA E SAÚDE
The document outlines the critical intersection of climate change and public health in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), emphasizing the region's high vulnerability despite its modest global emissions contribution. It details how extreme weather, food insecurity, and the transition to clean energy impact health, particularly for marginalized groups like indigenous peoples and urban poor. The statement calls for the integration of health into National Determined Contributions (NDCs), the decarbonization of health systems and food production, and the implementation of the Belém Action Plan on Health. It advocates for climate justice, the protection of traditional knowledge, and increased financing for health-centered climate resilience.
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Document type: Statement
Climate Strategies’ submission on views relevant to the topic of the 3rd dialogue under the UAE JTWP Lessons from international research and practice
Climate Strategies argues that climate adaptation must move beyond a technical exercise to a justice-centered approach that addresses the structural drivers of vulnerability. Drawing on its South to South Just Transitions (S2S) programme, the submission highlights that adaptation actions can create winners and losers, risking the further marginalization of vulnerable populations if not managed through a Just Transition lens. The document identifies best practices in countries like South Africa, Australia, and the EU, while noting significant barriers in the Global South, such as data gaps on lived experiences and the disconnection between mitigation and adaptation policies. It calls for the JTWP to facilitate shared frameworks for operationalizing equity, tracking social outcomes, and mapping transboundary risks.
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Document type: Statement
Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda
The document examines the concept of 'just resilience,' which seeks to ensure that climate adaptation does not create new winners and losers or reinforce existing marginalisation. It identifies three core dimensions of justice—distributive, procedural, and recognition—and argues that adaptation must address structural drivers of vulnerability such as wealth, gender, and ethnicity. The paper highlights maladaptation risks, where technical solutions can inadvertently increase long-term risks or displace vulnerable groups. It reviews policy examples from Australia, South Africa, the EU, and Canada, and discusses emerging trends like the rights of nature and locally led adaptation. Finally, it addresses barriers to implementation, including resource constraints and the need for equitable international climate finance mechanisms.
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Document type: Research paper
GLOBAL TRENDS IN YOUTH CLIMATE LITIGATION
The document analyzes 32 youth climate litigation cases (litigants aged 7-30) filed between 1990 and 2022. It finds that while such cases are increasing in frequency—particularly in Europe—the majority result in unfavorable outcomes or remain pending. Most cases argue that states failed to take adequate climate measures, frequently relying on human rights grounds. The author concludes that future success depends on judicial willingness, procedural adherence, and the substantive strength of legal arguments.
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Document type: Research paper
CLIMATE SMART SHRIMP FUND
The Climate Smart Shrimp Fund (CSSF) is a financial mechanism designed to help shrimp farmers increase production efficiency and climate resilience while restoring mangrove ecosystems. The fund consists of a technical assistance facility for training and certification and a revolving debt facility for infrastructure upgrades. Following pilot programs in Indonesia, Ecuador, and the Philippines, the fund seeks various forms of capital, including grants and equity, to scale its operations.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Debt-for-climate Swaps
The document defines debt-for-climate swaps as the cancellation or refinancing of sovereign debt in exchange for commitments to invest savings into climate mitigation, adaptation, or conservation. It outlines two primary structures: bilateral swaps between a debtor and official creditors, and tripartite swaps involving private creditors and NGO intermediaries. The guide details the internal and regulatory capacities required for implementation, ranging from basic debt tracking to the creation of special purpose vehicles (SPVs). It highlights that while swaps can improve sovereign credit ratings and reduce liquidity risk, they face challenges such as high transaction costs, limited structuring capacity in ministries of finance, and concerns over additionality. Case studies from Ecuador, Belize, and Seychelles illustrate the role of credit enhancements, such as political risk insurance and guarantees, in making these transactions viable.
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Document type: Guide
ndcs-3.0-scorecards-ddda88383b06a0b3.pdf
The report evaluates the evolution of NDCs for a diverse set of countries, scoring them on needs scope, granularity, timeframe, conditionality, implementation readiness, private sector mobilization, and alignment with national plans. It highlights varying levels of progress, with some countries like Nepal and Moldova showing strong improvements in costing and private sector strategies, while others like Andorra and Singapore maintain gaps in quantified financial needs.
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Document type: Report
Etiquetado vehicular en América
The document describes vehicle labeling as a public policy designed to provide consumers with information on energy and fuel consumption to encourage the purchase of more efficient vehicles. It lists the implementation years for this policy in the United States (1978), Canada (1999), Brazil (2008), Argentina (2019), Chile and Uruguay (2013), and Ecuador (2020). The policy aims to create a better-informed market, incentivize manufacturers to produce less polluting cars, and systematize energy consumption evaluations in the transport sector.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Key elements for fair and effective emissions trading systems that work for people and climate
Carbon Market Watch outlines ten key elements for effective carbon pricing, arguing that such systems must be integrated into a broader policy mix, utilize absolute declining caps, and eliminate free allocations and offsets. The briefing emphasizes the need for transparency, the reinvestment of revenues into climate action and vulnerable communities, and the use of carbon border levies to prevent leakage without protecting polluting industries. It concludes that carbon pricing is a tool to be used alongside regulations and democratic engagement, rather than a standalone solution for decarbonization.
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Document type: Briefing
AMAZON: THE FIRST FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION ZONE
The fact sheet advocates for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to stop the expansion of coal, oil, and gas, specifically proposing that the Amazon biome become the first non-proliferation zone. It highlights the environmental and social damage caused by extractive activities in the region and outlines four key measures for the Amazon States: suspending new hydrocarbon exploration, guaranteeing indigenous participation and consent, generating local economic alternatives, and transitioning to a fair energy model. The document notes that a significant percentage of the Amazon rainforest in several countries overlaps with oil lots, with Ecuador having the highest overlap at 51.5%.
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Document type: Fact sheet
AMAZÔNIA: A PRIMEIRA ZONA DE NÃO PROLIFERAÇÃO DE COMUSTÍVEIS FÓSSEIS
The fact sheet advocates for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to stop the expansion of coal, oil, and gas, specifically proposing that the Amazon become the first such zone. It highlights the environmental and social damage caused by extraction in the region and calls for the suspension of new hydrocarbon research, the protection of indigenous rights through prior consultation, and a just energy transition supported by the Global North.
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Document type: Fact sheet
FUELLING FAILURE
The report 'Fuelling Failure' details how the fossil fuel industry sabotages the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through climate change, direct pollution, and corporate misconduct. It highlights severe impacts including 8.7 million premature deaths annually from air pollution, the destruction of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and the exacerbation of global poverty and inequality. The authors argue that the 1.5°C target is impossible without a coordinated global phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, proposing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage non-proliferation, equitable phase-down, and a just transition for affected workers and nations.
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Document type: Report
Fin de cavale pour les multinationales ?
This report by Friends of the Earth International discusses the French law on the duty of vigilance for parent companies and ordering companies, promulgated on March 27, 2017, and its application to multinational corporations regarding human rights and environmental violations.
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Document type: Report
Our environment, our rights
The document argues that current global models of production and consumption driven by neoliberal economic globalisation lead to increasing human and environmental rights violations. It advocates for the recognition of specific new rights, including the right to a sustainable livelihood, a clean and healthy environment, and the right to resist unwanted developments. It emphasizes that collective rights are essential for the survival and cultural preservation of indigenous peoples and minorities, noting that some legal recognition exists in Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of the 'right to know' to counter corporate and government secrecy and the 'right to resist' as a fundamental democratic right, despite the risks faced by activists worldwide.
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Document type: Report