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PETITION OF LA COORDINADORA PARA LA DEFENSA DEL AGUA Y VIDA, LA FEDERACIÓN DEPARTAMENTAL COCHABAMBINA DE ORGANIZACIONES REGANTES, SEMAPA SUR, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH-NETHERLANDS, OSCAR OLIVERA, OMAR FERNANDEZ, FATHER LUIS SÁNCHEZ, AND CONGRESSMAN JORGE ALVARADO TO THE ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
This document is a petition submitted on August 29, 2002, to an ICSID arbitral tribunal by a group of Bolivian civil society organizations, individuals, and Friends of the Earth-Netherlands. The petitioners seek standing to intervene as parties or amici curiae in an arbitration between Aguas del Tunari, S.A. and the Republic of Bolivia. The dispute concerns a 40-year water concession in Cochabamba that was terminated following widespread public protests over rate increases. The petitioners argue that the tribunal's decision will directly impact water access and public finances in Bolivia and that the process must be transparent to be legitimate.
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Document type: Statement
anglo – american plc: financing the summit, plundering the earth
The briefing by Friends of the Earth International criticizes Anglo-American Plc for environmental degradation and social injustice in its mining operations. In Zambia, the company is accused of polluting water and air, and securing secret agreements to avoid liability for pollution. In Peru, its planned copper mine threatens water scarcity and the livelihoods of local farmers. The document highlights the company's failure to comply with OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and calls for an international framework for corporate accountability.
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Document type: Briefing
MAKING GLOBAL INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING MATTER
The document analyzes how specific design choices in global environmental reporting—such as framing, governance, participation, and communication—influence the effectiveness of these systems, measured by saliency, credibility, legitimacy, and awareness. Using the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) as a case study, the author argues that while GEO is a successful model for integrating environmental and development data across scales, its effectiveness can be further enhanced through more substantive early stakeholder participation, rigorous anonymous peer review, and long-term capacity development strategies for collaborating centers, particularly in developing regions.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate Change and energy team
The IISD Climate Change and Energy Team focuses on mitigation, adaptation, and capacity building to address global climate change. Key initiatives include the Inuit Observations on Climate Change project, the Climate Change Knowledge Network (CCKN), and the development of a continental energy strategy. The team collaborates with indigenous peoples, governments, the private sector, and international organizations like IUCN and the Stockholm Environment Institute to promote sustainable development and renewable energy.
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Document type: Fact sheet
« Au nom de ma délégation, … » Guide de survie des négociateurs des pays en développement sur le climat
The document serves as a 'survival guide' for diplomats from the Global South, addressing the systemic disadvantages they face in climate negotiations. It covers the scientific and political context of climate change, the legal structures of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, and the operational mechanics of UN conferences. A significant portion of the text is dedicated to the 'art of negotiating,' analyzing why developing nations often suffer from 'hollow mandates' and a lack of bargaining power. It offers strategic advice on forming coalitions, such as the G-77, and provides technical tips on drafting texts, using procedural motions, and managing the pressures of international diplomacy.
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Document type: Guide
Insurmountable Opportunities?
The document evaluates the state of global sustainability in 2001, highlighting a severe decline in ecosystem services and the rise of 'overshoot.' It identifies five key achievements since the Rio Summit—including the growth of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), civil society, and socially responsible investing—while warning of imminent climate instability, water shortages, and health crises. The authors advocate for 'Natural Capitalism,' a shift toward resource productivity and whole-systems governance, to replace the current industrial model that prioritizes labor productivity over natural capital.
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Document type: Briefing
An Ethical Career in Science and Technology?
The document argues that scientists and engineers bear a special responsibility for the consequences of their work due to their technical expertise and the dominant role of science in society. It provides a framework for navigating ethical careers, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary education, personal reflection on values, and the establishment of support networks. The text details specific ethical risks in fields such as military technology, genetics, and space exploration, while highlighting the systemic pressure exerted by large corporations and the bias in government funding toward military projects. It advocates for a transition toward 'cleaner technologies' and a holistic approach to global politics and ethics to ensure scientific progress benefits humanity and the environment.
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Document type: Executive summary
Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design
The report presents eight case studies of commercial and industrial facilities where energy-efficiency measures—specifically improved lighting, heating, and cooling—led to unanticipated gains in worker productivity and quality of work. It posits that because employee costs are substantially higher than energy costs, even a 1 percent increase in productivity can offset a company's entire annual energy bill. The findings suggest that designs improving visual acuity and thermal comfort are the most effective at driving these productivity gains.
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Document type: Report
SGR Position Statement on Climate Change
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) advocates for a minimum 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by industrialised countries by 2010, based on IPCC evidence of human influence on the climate. The document warns of catastrophic consequences, including sea-level rise affecting small island states and the potential disruption of the North Atlantic Current. SGR rejects geo-engineering and cost-benefit analysis as inappropriate tools for climate assessment, instead proposing ecological tax reform, renewable energy investment, and a long-term global goal of equal per capita emissions.
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Document type: Statement
12 Principles of Joint Implementation
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that Joint Implementation (JI) should not move from its pilot phase to full crediting without an independent evaluation and a comprehensive legal framework. While acknowledging JI's potential to lower abatement costs and foster technology transfer, the paper highlights significant risks, including the potential for 'neo-colonialism', the displacement of food production by forestry projects, and technical difficulties in measuring 'additionality' and 'leakage'. CIEL proposes twelve principles, emphasizing that Annex I countries must meet the majority of their emissions targets through domestic reductions rather than offsets, and that JI projects must provide guaranteed environmental and socio-economic co-benefits beyond carbon sequestration.
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Document type: Report
Sustainable Economic Welfare in Sweden
The report develops a pilot Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) for Sweden (1950-1992), finding that while per capita ISEW grew by over 90%, it lagged behind the more than 100% growth of per capita GNP. The index began to diverge from GNP around 1980, eventually declining by 1992. This divergence was less severe than in the US or UK, which the authors attribute to Sweden's progressive income distribution policies and its reliance on hydropower, which reduced the negative impacts of resource depletion and long-term environmental damage in the index calculations.
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Document type: Report
A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP)
The document details a scenario where Treeton Chemical, a U.S. firm, acquires Tossico Chemical in Italy during a period of intense 'greening' of European politics and the push for a unified internal market. Following the acquisition, it is revealed via a whistleblower that Tossico had improperly dumped 650 tons of toxic waste in Koko, Nigeria, using unscrupulous waste brokers. This leads to a major international scandal, with the Italian Environment Minister seeking $75 million in compensation and environmental groups placing Treeton on a 'Corporate Toxic Enemies List'.
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Document type: Case study
COOCAFE, R.L
The document details the operations of Coocafe R.L., a cooperative uniting small coffee farmers in Costa Rica to access fair trade and eco-friendly markets in Europe and North America. It focuses on the Café Foresta brand, which charges a premium to fund sustainable development and reforestation through the Fundación Café Forestal. While successful in gaining market share in Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, Coocafe faces strategic dilemmas regarding its use of non-recyclable packaging and the fact that its coffee is not organic, potentially risking its 'environmentally friendly' image as consumer standards evolve.
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Document type: Case study
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
The document is a curated bibliography compiled by David Downes for the Center for International Environmental Law in 1992. It lists legal precedents, international directives, and scholarly articles that explore the relationship between human rights and the environment, with a particular focus on indigenous peoples' rights, the role of international development banks, and the emerging concept of a right to a healthy environment.
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Document type: Fact sheet
ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDINGS: INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The report argues that buildings are inefficient not due to a lack of technology, but because of a 'spherically senseless' institutional framework. It identifies key failures such as the decoupling of capital and operating costs for developers, the prevalence of 'catalog engineering' driven by low design fees, and the systemic oversizing of HVAC equipment to avoid liability. The author proposes restructuring professional fees to reward energy savings, integrating multidisciplinary design teams from the conceptual stage, and reforming leasing practices to align the incentives of landlords and tenants.
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Document type: Report
Building an Esprit Culture
The document details Esprit's transition from a high-growth fashion brand to one incorporating social and environmental ethics through its Ecollection line. It contrasts conventional cotton production with Ecollection's low-impact methods, analyzes the financial challenges of higher production costs, and evaluates the first season's sales results across Asia, Europe, and the USA. The case concludes by proposing four strategic alternatives for the line's future, ranging from continued R&D subsidization to full integration into the main product line.
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Document type: Case study
COP28 Pre-Summit Report
The report identifies three primary ecosystems driving climate mis- and disinformation: the 'attention economy' of online influencers, state-affiliated networks (specifically Russia), and the fossil fuel lobby. It details how the #ClimateScam hashtag has gained prominence on X, how ad tech companies monetise websites hosting climate denial, how Russian state media instrumentalises climate topics for geopolitical influence, and how fossil fuel companies use Facebook advertising for greenwashing. The document argues that these efforts undermine the public mandate for Net Zero and calls for structural changes to digital platform incentives and greater transparency in ad tech.
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Document type: Report
Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points
The document advocates for banning fossil fuel advertisements to prevent the industry from using greenwashing and disinformation to maintain its 'social license to operate'. It highlights existing partial bans in France and efforts in 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa, as well as over 50 cities. The text compares the fossil fuel industry to the tobacco industry, suggesting that similar regulatory tools are needed to protect public health and enable climate action. It also discusses the role of litigation, corporate campaigns like Clean Creatives, and the targeting of advertising finances to dismantle the industry's influence on public opinion.
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Document type: Report
Fossil-Fuel Pollution is Killing Canadians and Big Oil is Lying About It
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising, comparing the industry's deceptive marketing to that of Big Tobacco. The briefing details how fossil fuel emissions cause tens of thousands of premature deaths in Canada, contribute to childhood asthma, and exacerbate climate-related health crises like extreme heat and wildfires. It specifically accuses the Pathways Alliance of misleading the public about emissions and net-zero goals, noting that actual oil sands emissions may be 64 times higher than reported. CAPE advocates for a regulatory framework similar to those implemented in France, Norway, and the EU to protect public health and accelerate the energy transition.
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Document type: Briefing
Online Harms Act Letter - CAPE
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other organizations call for the expansion of the Online Harms Act to combat disinformation. They argue that tech platform architectures prioritize profit over safety, allowing climate disinformation and foreign interference to thrive. The letter proposes six recommendations: implementing a duty of care for safety, increasing algorithmic transparency, requiring financial disclosure for monetization, regulating online advertising, establishing digital sovereignty, and investing in information resilience.
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Document type: Statement