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The document argues that current climate stewardship is failing to align corporate strategies with the 1.5°C goal, citing the limited impact of initiatives like Climate Action 100+. It provides a detailed framework for credible engagement and voting policies, emphasizing the need for time-bound demands, systematic escalation strategies including divestment, and comprehensive reporting of both activity and outcome indicators. The guide also offers specific sectoral demands for high-emitting industries and guidance for corporate bondholders and asset owners.

The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 6 July 2023 that the European Investment Bank (EIB) must allow NGOs to request internal reviews of financing decisions that contravene environmental law. This case originated from a EUR 60 million loan for a biomass plant in Spain. While the ruling establishes the EIB's accountability under the Aarhus Regulation, the author notes that Art. 271(c) TFEU may limit the Court's ability to indirectly review the merits of the EIB's board decisions, potentially creating a different standard of review compared to other EU institutions.

An investigation using airtag trackers on 21 items of good-quality clothing submitted to ten fashion brands in the UK, France, Belgium, and Germany found that these take-back schemes often fail to prioritize reuse. Findings show items in excellent condition were downcycled, destroyed, or shipped to African markets where they often become waste, while others remained stagnant in warehouses. The report argues these schemes provide a false sense of environmental responsibility and often encourage further consumption through discounts, calling for stronger EU legislation and extended producer responsibility.

The document examines the 'new geopolitics' of mineral supply chains, driven by the energy transition and geopolitical instability. It highlights the increasing demand for critical minerals—which the IEA expects to quadruple by 2040—and the resulting shift by industrialised states, such as the EU, to reduce dependencies on single sources like China. Given that significant deposits of these 'green' minerals are located in Africa, the text explores how African economies can leverage this shift to maximise their own benefits as the world moves away from fossil fuels.

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) aims to combat media capture and the decline of quality information by harmonising media rules across the EU internal market. Key provisions include mandatory transparency regarding media ownership and state advertising allocation, protections for journalists against spyware, and a 'media exemption' to protect news content from unilateral takedowns by social media platforms. However, the author contends the Act is limited by 'legally unenforceable expectations' that may be ignored by governments in countries like Hungary, Greece, and Italy. Furthermore, the document criticises the EMFA for failing to provide direct subsidies to make quality news economically sustainable and notes concerns over Council-level exceptions for national security surveillance of journalists.

The text defends environmental protest and civil disobedience as essential democratic instruments for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. It highlights the role of movements like Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion in mainstreaming climate action while warning against a global trend of criminalising activists through repressive legislation. The author criticises 'greenwashing' and 'citizenwashing' by private and public sectors, particularly within the COP framework, and calls on the EU to uphold the Aarhus Convention to ensure genuine public participation in environmental decision-making.

The submission argues that PFAS should be regulated as a class to prevent 'regrettable substitution' and protect vulnerable populations, including Indigenous peoples and firefighters. The authors contend that the current Draft state of PFAS report underestimates the class size and that the proposed Risk Management Scope (RMS) is insufficient because it lacks a commitment to prohibiting non-essential uses. They recommend fast-tracking the listing of PFAS as toxic substances under CEPA Part 1 of Schedule 1, citing widespread contamination in the Canadian Arctic, the Great Lakes, and human blood.

Heat pumps are identified as a cornerstone for sustainable buildings, capable of significantly reducing CO2 emissions by replacing fossil fuel heating. While technologically mature and often cheaper over their lifetime than gas boilers in several major economies, their rollout is hindered by high upfront costs, poor building insulation, and a shortage of skilled technicians. The document highlights that meeting 2030 climate pledges will require tripling the global heat pump workforce to over 1.3 million and implementing strategic policies such as financial incentives, building codes, and innovative business models like heat-as-a-service.

The author contends that Africa can leverage the transition to a circular garment industry to drive economic growth and industrial upgrading. Key opportunities include producing sustainable cotton and alternative fibres, greening manufacturing processes to gain a competitive advantage, and repurposing the high volume of second-hand clothing imports into new products and recycled yarns. The author emphasizes that without a proactive industrial policy or circular economy roadmap, African nations risk missing these opportunities and failing to meet Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12, particularly as the European Union introduces stricter eco-design regulations.

A coalition of Global South organizations argues that the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) lacks sufficient due diligence and safeguards to protect the rights of people and environments in resource-rich countries. They demand a human-rights-based approach to decarbonization, including mandatory due diligence, the requirement of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples, and a shift from treating these countries as mere raw material suppliers to establishing equitable partnerships that include technology transfer and value addition.

The document argues that because a significant portion of the EU's methane footprint originates from imported energy, the European Commission should leverage new energy contracts to mandate methane mitigation. It suggests that EU-based companies in joint ventures abroad should be encouraged to adopt best practices for reducing emissions from production operations outside EU borders.

The document is an open letter from a coalition of environmental and consumer organisations calling for the European Parliament to vote for a Europe-wide compensation right for individuals harmed by illegal industrial pollution. The authors argue that current rules make it nearly impossible for victims to obtain remedy and propose that a causal link between IED violations and health damage should be presumed if sufficient evidence is provided. They further request that companies be required to disclose evidence held exclusively by them to ensure fair court decisions. The letter highlights that industrial air pollution in Europe cost between EUR 277 billion and EUR 433 billion in 2017 and urges the adoption of specific ENVI amendments (31, 33, 218-222) to Article 79a of the IED during the July 11 plenary.

The document is an open letter from a coalition of environmental and consumer organizations calling on the European Parliament to vote for specific amendments (ENVI amendments 31, 33, 218-222) to the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) on July 11. The authors argue that victims of illegal industrial pollution currently lack harmonized rules to seek remedy in court. They propose that a causal link between IED violations and health damage should be presumed if sufficient evidence is provided, and that companies must disclose evidence held exclusively by them. The letter highlights that industrial air pollution in Europe cost between EUR 277 billion and EUR 433 billion in 2017 and asserts that a compensation right would incentivize legal compliance and protect fundamental rights to health and life.

The guide examines the critical need for public interest researchers to access social media data to monitor platform accountability and systemic risks. It details the current landscape of regulatory frameworks in the EU and US, identifies technological, legal, and fragmentation barriers, and categorizes the types of data required—user-generated, platform curation, and platform decision-making data—to advance collective knowledge and ensure regulatory compliance.

The report reveals a significant gap between the sustainability claims of fast fashion brands and the reality of their take-back schemes. By tracking 21 high-quality items across Europe, the investigation found that many items were downcycled, destroyed, or shipped to African countries where they often end up in landfills, rather than being reused or recycled into new clothing.

The report examines Australia's exposure to illegally harvested timber, focusing on high-risk supply chains from East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It highlights the role of China and Vietnam as processing hubs that obscure the origin of timber from high-risk regions like the Congo Basin. The authors argue that current enforcement of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act (ILPA) is limited and recommend increased transparency, scientific species testing, and a shift toward tracing timber back to the country of harvest rather than the country of export.

The report analyzes the alignment between the Colombian and EU taxonomies, finding a high degree of similarity in climate change mitigation criteria for 47% of compared activities. While both frameworks share core principles and governance structures, the EU Taxonomy is generally more detailed in its technical eligibility criteria and adaptation objectives, whereas the Colombian Taxonomy offers more specific requirements for land-use sectors and certain circular economy safeguards.

The document highlights the severe social and environmental costs of Caribbean Spiny Lobster fishing in Central America. It details how the demand for live lobsters has driven divers, particularly from the Miskito Indigenous community, to dive deeper and more frequently, leading to widespread decompression sickness, paralysis, and death. The report notes that while Honduras and Nicaragua are the largest producers in Central America, both face challenges with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the failure to implement bans on dangerous diving practices. It further discusses the 'Miskito standards' established by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights following a 2021 ruling against Honduras for failing to oversee private companies in the deep diving industry.

The document examines the potential for EU and UK deforestation regulations to drive legislative reform in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa sector. While the EUDR's benchmarking and traceability requirements offer incentives for better forest governance and transparency, the report warns of risks to smallholder farmers, including potential exclusion from markets due to compliance costs and the persistence of child labour driven by poverty.

ClientEarth defends the proposed IED compensation right, which allows individuals suffering health damage from illegal pollution to seek remedy. The document clarifies that the right does not reverse the burden of proof, as victims must still provide evidence of health damage, an IED violation, and a link between the two. It further argues that the right is distinct from the Environmental Liability Directive, which excludes individual compensation, and asserts that the measure will incentivize legal compliance without causing excessive litigation.