Search Climate Insights Directory

This research paper by the Center for International Environmental Law chronicles the decade-long struggle of the Mapuche/Pehuenche people against the Pangue and Ralco hydroelectric projects in Chile's Alto BíoBío region. It details the environmental and cultural destruction caused by the dams, the failure of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to oversee social and environmental standards, and the legal battles fought in Chilean and international courts, culminating in a 2003 friendly settlement mediated by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR).

This report from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) details the activities of its Directorate between December 2002 and May 2003. It outlines progress across six strategic goals, including the expansion of Climate Research Networks (CRNs), capacity-building in member countries, and improving the dissemination of research. The document highlights numerous international diplomatic and scientific engagements, new institutional agreements, fundraising efforts for training courses, and internal administrative reforms, while also addressing a financial and administrative dispute regarding project CRN-038.

This report from the Executive Directorate of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) details activities and progress between December 2002 and May 2003. It outlines the implementation of six core strategies focused on consolidating research networks, developing a new scientific agenda, enhancing capacity building in scientifically weaker member countries, and increasing the institute's visibility through international partnerships and advisory services.

This briefing discusses the impact of oil discoveries off the coast of Western Sahara on the long-standing territorial dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front. It details the failure of the UN-led referendum process, the geopolitical tensions involving Algeria, France, and the United States, and the legal disputes over oil exploration licenses issued by Morocco in the occupied territory.

This research paper examines agri-environmental and rural development programs within the WTO framework, specifically focusing on the 'Green Box' of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). It analyzes the practices of the 'Quad' countries (EU, US, Canada, and Japan) and evaluates how the Doha Round negotiations might impact the ability of developing countries to implement similar sustainable agriculture policies.

This research paper examines the evolution of international criminal law in the early 21st century, focusing on the impact of the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The author analyzes the subsequent efforts to establish specialized courts in Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and East Timor, while arguing that the proliferation of ad hoc tribunals may promote selective justice and that a permanent International Criminal Court is necessary to end the 'culture of impunity'.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides a review of dispute resolution options for negotiators of the Draft Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Central and Western Pacific Region. It analyzes the existing legal frameworks of UNCLOS and the SSA, evaluates the effectiveness of various international tribunals and arbitration, and draws lessons from other international regimes—such as the WTO and the Montreal Protocol—to recommend mechanisms that enhance transparency, scientific rigor, and efficiency in fisheries management.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other organizations have written to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Heritage urging the expansion of the Online Harms Act (OHA) to address disinformation and systemic risks posed by big tech platforms.

This document contains the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's (NERSA) responses to questions from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) regarding NERSA's concurrence with section 34 determinations of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. NERSA asserts that its role is to implement national policy developed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), rather than to re-evaluate the IRP's modelling, cost assumptions, or technology choices.

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 briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (GIESCR) reviews the 2023 outputs of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change. It details the Committee's focus on gender-responsive adaptation, the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized women, and recommendations concerning fossil fuel extraction and climate finance.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (GIESCR) reviews the 2023 activities of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) regarding climate change. It details the CRC's use of State review procedures to hold governments accountable for children's rights in the face of climate crises and analyzes the Committee's General Comment No. 26 (2023), which establishes the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as implicit in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This research paper examines the conceptual and legal intersections between international human rights law and international environmental law, focusing on the Inter-American System of Human Rights. The author argues that while the two regimes historically differed in approach—human rights being anthropocentric and environmental law oscillating between anthropocentric and biocentric—they are increasingly integrated. The document analyzes how human rights tools, such as precautionary measures and state responsibility for the acts of third parties, are used to protect environmental rights and reviews regional jurisprudence from the Inter-American, African, and European systems to illustrate the environmental dimensions of the rights to life, property, and information.

This fact sheet from the Climate Bonds Initiative details a USD 150 million green bond issued by Banco Pichincha SA on December 20, 2019, marking the first green bond from Ecuador.

The report 'Playing With Fire' by Sandbag assesses plans to convert European coal power stations to burn biomass, primarily wood pellets. It argues that these conversions, driven by EU legislation and subsidies, risk accelerating climate change due to long carbon payback periods and significant forest loss, while providing minimal electricity relative to the cost and environmental impact.

This guide details the methodology used by Ember for its monthly wind and solar capacity dataset, which as of March 20, 2026, covers 25 countries and regions representing approximately 92% of global solar and 91% of global wind capacity.

This report by Ember provides an interim analysis of 15 draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) from EU Member States, focusing on the power sector transition. It finds that while wind and solar capacity targets have increased significantly since 2019, they still fall short of REPowerEU goals. The analysis highlights a critical lack of quantified targets for electricity storage and flexibility, as well as poor data quality and transparency across the submitted plans.

This report by Ember examines how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz exposes the fragility of global fossil fuel dependencies, particularly in Asia, and argues that scaling 'electrotech' (EVs, solar, wind, batteries, and heat pumps) provides a viable path to energy security and economic independence.

The 'People Power Now' manifesto, published by Friends of the Earth International, outlines ten demands for a just transition of the global energy system. It argues that the current capitalist economic model has caused biodiversity collapse, the climate crisis, and extreme inequality, which were further highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The document calls for a systemic shift away from neoliberalism and fossil fuel dependency toward a people-centered energy system based on energy sufficiency, democratic control, and social justice.

This manifesto, published by Friends of the Earth International, calls for a systemic transformation of the global energy system to achieve 'Energy Sovereignty.' It argues that the current capitalist and neoliberal economic model has caused biodiversity collapse, climate crisis, and extreme inequality, which were further highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The document proposes ten key demands to transition toward a just, sustainable, and people-centered energy system that treats energy as a common good rather than a commodity.