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The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) issued climate-related recommendations or questions to 35 out of 43 States considered in 2023. The Committee primarily focused on the differentiated impact of climate change on women, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive strategies in adaptation and disaster risk reduction, as well as the increased vulnerability of rural, Indigenous, migrant, and refugee women. While less frequent than adaptation, the Committee also addressed mitigation policies, fossil fuel extraction—specifically criticizing Norway's expansion of oil and gas permits in the Arctic—and the necessity of women's participation in the UNFCCC loss and damage fund.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) increasingly integrated climate change into its 2023 state reviews and released General Comment No. 26, which establishes the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as implicit in the Convention. The CRC's work focused on state obligations for mitigation and adaptation, the regulation of private actors' contributions to environmental harm, and the protection of children's rights across various legal and procedural frameworks.

The document synthesizes the work of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) in addressing climate change, specifically focusing on Concluding Observations issued to States. It highlights that while climate change is not explicitly in key human rights treaties, HRTBs increasingly use their monitoring roles to argue that protecting human rights requires specific climate action. The report details recommendations across several themes, including the disproportionate impacts on women, children, and indigenous peoples, the need for gender-sensitive and child-sensitive climate strategies, and the obligation of some States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel extraction to meet human rights standards. It provides detailed analysis of the three most active bodies: CEDAW, CESCR, and CRC.

The report outlines how the CEDAW Committee interprets States' obligations to ensure gender-responsive climate action, emphasizing the particular vulnerabilities of rural and older women and the necessity of women's participation in decision-making.

The statement argues that the World Bank's recent updates to the Inspection Panel's Toolkit are insufficient to modernize the independent accountability mechanism. While welcoming the addition of an advisory role and improved information sharing, the signatories contend that the failure to implement monitoring and dispute resolution functions leaves the Panel deficient compared to other mechanisms. They specifically criticize the reliance on the management-led Grievance Redress Service (GRS) as a substitute for independent dispute resolution and call for the complaint filing deadline to be extended to at least two years after project completion or loan closure.

CIEL argues that WIPO's response to the CBD must recognize the CBD's leading role in biodiversity and focus on creating mandatory international rules to prevent the misappropriation of genetic resources. The document criticizes the first draft for failing to emphasize the prevention of intellectual property system misuse and for not sufficiently incorporating the views of developing countries and NGOs. CIEL suggests that equitable principles, such as the 'unclean hands' doctrine, should be used to justify mandatory disclosure requirements and sanctions for non-compliance to ensure that intellectual property rights do not reward inequitable conduct.

The report details a global surge in plastics production capacity driven by cheap fossil fuel feedstocks. In the US, shale gas has led to planned investments of $164 billion for 264 new or expanded facilities. China is heavily investing in carbon-intensive coal-to-olefins technology to overcome a lack of natural gas. Meanwhile, the Middle East continues to leverage oil and gas, and Europe is seeing new investments enabled by US liquefied natural gas shipments. The report warns that this capacity expansion could lock in high plastic production for decades, exacerbating environmental pollution and the climate crisis.

The report argues that many high-emitting governments knew about the link between fossil fuel combustion and global warming as early as the 1960s, triggering legal duties to prevent harm long before the 1990s. It uses a timeline of scientific milestones and country-specific evidence to challenge claims by States that awareness only emerged in the late 1980s, linking this knowledge to the 'no-harm' principle of customary international law.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) has developed a Climate Risk Assessment Letter to help pension fund beneficiaries engage trustees on the management of climate-related financial risks. The guide argues that failing to monitor these risks—which include regulatory, technology, and litigation risks—may constitute a breach of fiduciary duty. It highlights that global financial institutions and some national funds, such as those in Norway and Ireland, are already reassessing or divesting from fossil fuel assets to protect long-term returns.

The report details the financial mechanisms supporting over 100 planned petrochemical projects in the US, primarily in the Gulf South. It finds that a small number of global banks and asset managers provide the majority of this capital, despite mounting market overcapacity, litigation risks, and environmental harms. The document calls for immediate divestment and the adoption of strict climate-aligned policies by financial institutions.

The green bond market experienced rapid growth between 2013 and 2016, with total emissions reaching USD 81 billion in 2016. The market is increasingly dominated by the private sector, with corporate and bank emissions rising from less than 1% in 2010 to 66% in 2016. While mitigation projects—specifically clean energy, energy efficiency, and low-carbon transport—receive approximately 75% of funds, financing for adaptation grew from less than 1% in 2011 to 5% of total emissions, driven largely by US municipalities. China emerged as a leading market, projecting to be the largest globally. To support the Paris Agreement, the Climate Bonds Initiative targets annual green bond emissions of USD 1 trillion by 2020. The document recommends that governments implement national capital mobilization plans, apply international standards like the Green Bond Principles and Climate Bonds Standard, and develop national verifier networks to reduce market friction and prevent greenwashing.

The document analyzes the legal mechanisms for accessing justice in environmental matters within the European Union, structured around the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention: access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice for breaches of environmental law. It details the scope of review, standing requirements for individuals and NGOs, and the standards of judicial scrutiny required to ensure effective legal protection. The guide specifically highlights the disparities in implementation across Member States and the restrictive nature of judicial review for decisions made by EU institutions.

The document argues that Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) are essential, self-standing legal obligations that must be conducted prior to the adoption of plans to effectively influence policy and assess cumulative climate impacts. It specifically contends that for fossil fuel projects, failing to assess 'downstream' emissions—which can exceed extraction emissions by up to 900%—renders an assessment partial and misleading. ClientEarth links these procedural requirements to the European Convention on Human Rights, asserting that fossil fuel extraction constitutes 'dangerous industrial activities' and that the principle of intergenerational equity requires the Court to consider the disproportionate risks posed to future generations and young people under Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention.

The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is criticized for allowing fossil fuel investors to use Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) to challenge climate policies, such as the Netherlands' phase-out of fossil fuels by 2030. While the EU has attempted to modernize the ECT, the requirement for unanimity among 56 contracting states has stalled progress. The document argues that withdrawal is a viable alternative, provided that the 20-year 'survival clause'—which continues to protect existing investments after withdrawal—is neutralized. Using the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), the authors argue that a group of states can legally modify the treaty 'inter se' to extinguish this clause because the ECT consists of reciprocal bilateral relations rather than obligations binding on all parties. Such a coordinated withdrawal would immediately end treaty-based fossil fuel protection and ISDS for the withdrawing states, reducing legal risks and aligning with EU climate objectives.

A coalition of NGOs recommends strict Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for Baltic Sea fish stocks for 2022, emphasizing the need to adhere to Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and the precautionary approach. The document calls for zero catches for several critically depleted stocks, including eastern and western Baltic cod and western Baltic spring spawning herring. It advocates for an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, increased monitoring to combat the failure of the Landing Obligation, and improved transparency in the EU's decision-making process.

A coalition of NGOs urges the EU to set 2023 Baltic Sea fishing limits at or below scientific advice, specifically recommending zero catches for several cod and herring stocks. The document argues that current management fails to account for ecosystem dynamics, climate change, and widespread non-compliance with the Landing Obligation, calling for mandatory remote electronic monitoring and a transition away from bottom trawling.

The document argues that EU fisheries ministers must adhere to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to end overfishing. It provides specific TAC recommendations for cod, herring, sprat, plaice, and salmon, emphasizing a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach to protect biodiversity and restore marine foodweb functionality in the Baltic Sea.

A coalition of European civil society organisations (CSOs) is protesting a campaign of disinformation led by some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the European People’s Party (EPP) and far-right groups. The attack specifically targets the legitimacy of public funding for environmental NGOs under the LIFE programme. The statement argues that independent CSOs are essential for a functioning democracy and a fully informed decision-making process, contrasting the modest public grants received by NGOs with the high spending of corporate lobbyists in Brussels.

The 'Cradle to Grave' report is a comprehensive global overview of the health impacts of fossil fuels, spanning from extraction to waste and from fetal development to old age. Grounded in over 600 scientific citations, it argues that fossil fuel reliance is a 'public health emergency' rather than just an environmental issue. The document highlights that fossil fuels cause immediate harms—including cancers, respiratory illnesses, and cardiovascular disease—and that 'clean' fossil fuel narratives are marketing strategies. It advocates for a rapid, just transition to renewable energy, the redirection of $7 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies toward public health and clean energy, and the application of the precautionary principle where research gaps exist.

The document argues that Canada currently lacks a formalized national system for monitoring and evaluating climate adaptation, with most existing efforts focused on policy implementation (outputs) rather than actual resilience gains (outcomes). It proposes a framework based on four building blocks—context, content, operationalization, and communication—and outlines nine best practices. These include legislating a federal mandate, integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and combining quantitative indicators with qualitative methods to better understand how adaptation actions reduce vulnerability.