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This report by Recourse and a coalition of partners evaluates the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) 'Approach to Greening Equity in Financial Institutions' (GEA). While acknowledging the GEA's goal to phase out coal-related investments by 2030, the authors argue that the current framework contains significant loopholes and fails to align with the Paris Agreement. The document proposes ten essential reforms to ensure the IFC's equity investments in financial intermediaries are truly green, including expanding the scope to oil and gas, improving transparency, and addressing human rights and gender equality.

This submission by Amnesty International and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that climate change causes widespread human rights violations and that affected individuals and communities are entitled to effective remedies and reparations under international law. The document critiques current UNFCCC mechanisms for being voluntary and excluding compensation, while proposing human rights- and equity-based frameworks for addressing loss and damage.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law provides an overview of the risks and persecution faced by land and environmental rights defenders in 2013. It details how individuals protecting natural resources and indigenous rights are targeted by state forces and non-state actors, including corporations and organized crime, often in the context of large-scale investment projects and extractive industries.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law, prepared for the United Nations Environment Programme, evaluates the effectiveness of trade and positive measures within the Montreal Protocol. It analyzes how these mechanisms—ranging from import/export bans on ozone-depleting substances (ODS) to financial assistance for developing nations—have driven near-universal ratification and compliance to reduce global emissions of controlled substances.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the impact of intellectual property (IP) provisions in EFTA Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), specifically focusing on how TRIPS-Plus standards in the EFTA-Egypt FTA may restrict access to medicines and threaten food security through seed restrictions.

This research paper, prepared by Matthew Stilwell for the Center for International Environmental Law and published by the World Wide Fund for Nature in October 1999, proposes the use of the Expert Panel on Trade and Sustainable Development (EPTSD) Framework to reconcile conflicts between international trade, environment, and development policies. Using the WTO Shrimp-Turtle dispute and the potential US-EU GMO labelling conflict as case studies, the paper argues that formal WTO dispute settlement is often too adversarial to resolve underlying environmental and development issues. It advocates for a staged process of dispute prevention—moving from international cooperation and consultation to third-party assisted mediation before resorting to binding arbitration—to promote policy coherence and sustainable development.

This report, prepared by Greenpeace and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) as part of the ETO Consortium, examines the application of the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations (ETOs) to ecological destruction and climate change. It argues that states must be held accountable for human rights violations occurring outside their borders resulting from their own actions, omissions, or failure to regulate non-state actors, such as transnational corporations.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Greenpeace analyzes the tensions between international trade rules, primarily those of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the conservation of global fisheries. It argues that current trade interpretations often hinder sustainable fisheries management by prohibiting regulations based on production and processing methods (PPMs). The authors propose a framework to integrate the precautionary approach into trade law, eliminate destructive subsidies, and ensure that investment liberalization does not undermine the ability of states to protect marine resources and traditional fishing communities.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the human rights implications of electronic waste (e-waste), focusing on the toxic chemicals used in electronics and the health and environmental hazards associated with unregulated recycling practices, particularly in developing countries.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the human rights impacts of electronic waste (e-waste), focusing on the toxic substances released during informal recycling and their effects on health, food security, and labor rights, particularly in developing nations.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the health and human rights implications of phthalates, a group of industrial chemicals used as plasticizers. It details how these substances act as endocrine disruptors, affecting reproductive health, development, and metabolic systems, and argues that their ubiquity violates several international human rights, including the rights to health, adequate housing, and information.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the health impacts of phthalates—industrial chemicals used as plasticizers—and argues that their ubiquity and toxicity violate several fundamental human rights, including the rights to health, life, adequate housing, and information.

This document is a selected bibliography titled "HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY," compiled by David Downes for the Center for International Environmental Law and dated July 1, 1992. It provides a curated list of legal cases, United Nations reports, World Bank operational directives, and academic literature concerning the intersection of human rights, indigenous peoples' rights, and environmental protection.

This briefing, produced by a coalition of climate litigation practitioners, provides structured 'Litigation Notes' to help lawyers apply the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, advisory opinion (AO) on States' climate obligations. Specifically, this note focuses on the ICJ's conclusion that the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a binding norm of international law and a necessary precondition for the enjoyment of other human rights.

The Center for International Environmental Law and other organizations argue against launching multilateral investment negotiations at the WTO. They contend that such an agreement would restrict the policy space of developing countries, be driven by the interests of industrialized nations, and utilize an inappropriate dispute settlement mechanism that favors investors over sustainable development and public health.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy critiques the draft IPR chapter of the FTAA, noting that it fails to prohibit patents on life and includes proposals that tighten TRIPs standards. The statement highlights the removal of language regarding technology transfer and transparency, and notes the US push for UPOV implementation for plant patents.

This policy brief examines the conflict between international intellectual property (IP) rights and the protection of traditional knowledge and biological resources. It argues that the TRIPS Agreement fails to recognize traditional knowledge, contrasting it with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and advocates for the amendment of IP agreements to require disclosure of origin and benefit-sharing.

This research paper by the Center for International Environmental Law and the International Rivers Network analyzes the establishment of the World Bank's Inspection Panel on September 21, 1993. The authors evaluate whether this new mechanism for citizens and NGOs to request investigations into Bank-funded projects truly increases accountability, highlighting concerns regarding the panel's independence from Bank leadership and its lack of public transparency.

This 1996 report summarizes a regional workshop in Hong Kong focused on making environmental law more effective in East and Southeast Asia. The participants concluded that environmental protection is often undermined by a lack of integration with economic planning, corruption, and poor land-use planning. Key recommendations include simplifying laws to reduce corruption, improving inter-agency coordination, increasing public participation and transparency in monitoring and EIAs, and adopting alternative dispute resolution methods that align with local cultural contexts.

This legal opinion by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the European Union's Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) is illegal under international and EU law. CIEL contends that the SRR creates an unlawful exemption for EU-flagged ships from the Basel Convention's prohibitions on exporting hazardous waste to developing countries, particularly following the entry into force of the Basel Ban Amendment on December 5, 2019.