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The report details how the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) integrates gender equality into climate change obligations through General Recommendations, joint statements, and State reporting. It highlights the Committee's focus on disaster risk reduction, the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls, and the necessity of women's active participation in climate policy. The document analyzes CEDAW's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a high volume of recommendations for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, primarily focusing on adaptation and procedural rights, while also issuing specific mitigation demands regarding fossil fuel extraction and fracking.

The document outlines how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It details the Committee's use of General Comments, Joint Statements, and State reporting procedures to hold States accountable for climate-related impacts on rights such as health, food, and water. Key findings emphasize that States must implement emissions cuts reflecting the "highest possible ambition," regulate private actors to prevent climate harm, and ensure that high-income States provide climate finance to developing nations beyond existing official development assistance. The briefing also analyzes trends in the Committee's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a higher frequency of climate-related recommendations for developed countries and a strong focus on mitigation, adaptation, and international cooperation.

The report details how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC). It analyzes the CRC's use of General Comments, State reporting procedures, and the communications procedure to hold States accountable for protecting children from climate harms. Key findings highlight a growing trend of climate-related recommendations, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and a strong emphasis on children's procedural rights to participation and education. The document also notes a landmark 2019 Joint Statement by five human rights treaty bodies asserting that failure to prevent foreseeable climate-related human rights harm could constitute a violation of State obligations.

The report argues that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as an 'X-ray,' exposing deep structural inequalities and the failure of neoliberal policies. It critiques the global fiscal response, noting that while US$ 11 trillion was mobilized, the support was unevenly distributed, favoring high-income countries and corporate interests over the global South and public services. The document proposes an "8 R" agenda for systemic change: re-valuing care, re-empowering public services, re-balancing value chains, reinforcing climate justice, re-distributing economic power, re-regulating global finance, re-inventing multilateral solidarity, and re-defining progress beyond GDP. It specifically highlights the dangers of IMF-mandated austerity in countries like Ecuador and the failure of the Global Health Security Index to predict pandemic outcomes due to its reliance on infrastructure over social determinants of health.

The 'science oath for the climate' is a pledge signed by nearly 600 scientists and engineers to act against catastrophic climate disruption. Signatories commit to communicating scientific evidence without compromise, resisting political or economic pragmatism when discussing the 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Agreement targets, and reducing their own carbon emissions. The document includes a comprehensive list of signatories from various global academic and professional institutions.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement establishes frameworks for international carbon markets, allowing countries to trade emissions reductions to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). While it offers potential cost savings of $250 billion per year by 2030 and can catalyze private finance, poor design risks increasing global emissions through double-counting and a lack of additionality. Key points of contention for negotiators include the application of 'corresponding adjustments' to prevent double-counting, the implementation of 'overall mitigation in global emissions' (OMGE), the 'share of proceeds' for the Adaptation Fund, and the potential carryover of up to 4 billion pre-2020 Kyoto Protocol units.

The document argues that climate action must be rights-based to be effective, urging COP-25 to ensure that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Article 6 mechanisms include social and environmental safeguards. It specifically calls for the ratification of the Escazú Agreement, the establishment of a financial mechanism for loss and damage under the Warsaw International Mechanism, and the integration of gender-responsive approaches in the Lima Work Programme. The briefing also emphasizes the need for independent grievance mechanisms in the Sustainable Development Mechanism to remedy harms to local communities and indigenous peoples.

The document advocates for enhancing public participation in climate policies by leveraging international legal instruments like the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement. It identifies specific entry points at COP-25—including Article 6 market mechanisms, the Lima Work Programme on Gender, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform—where procedural rights and safeguards for environmental defenders should be strengthened. It further suggests using the transparency framework's interactive dialogues to review how public participation improves national climate ambition.

Mighty Earth opposes the hydroelectric project by PT. North Sumatera Hydro Energy (NSHE) in the Batang Toru ecosystem, asserting it risks the extinction of the critically endangered Tapanuli Orangutan. The organization condemns a recent agreement between NSHE and the Swiss NGO PanEco, calling it a 'dirty deal' that ignores the project's location in a high-density orangutan habitat. Mighty Earth suggests that energy needs could be met by expanding the Sarulla Geothermal plant instead, and calls on President Jokowi to stop the project to protect biodiversity.

Mighty Earth opposes the construction of a US$ 1.6 billion hydroelectric dam in Indonesia's Batang Toru ecosystem, asserting that the project threatens the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The organization specifically condemns a recent agreement between the dam company, NSHE, and the Swiss organization PanEco, which PanEco had previously identified the dam as the 'greatest threat' to the species. Mighty Earth suggests that expanding the Sarulla Geothermal Plant would provide more zero-carbon electricity without endangering the orangutan population.

The paper argues that government-led adaptation is insufficient and that individuals and households must be actively involved to reduce climate risks. It identifies six categories of adaptive behavior—information seeking, preparative measures, protective measures, evacuation/migration, insurance, and political action—and analyzes the psychological drivers of these actions. Key motivators include risk perception, negative emotions, self-efficacy, outcome efficacy, social norms, and perceived responsibility. The authors conclude that while communication campaigns are common, they are often ineffective if they only provide information; instead, they should target psychological antecedents. Furthermore, the paper advocates for genuine public participation in decision-making to empower citizens and improve policy effectiveness, while noting that individual action must be supported by systemic, large-scale governmental infrastructure.

The document argues that agroecology—combining science, practice, and social movements—provides a framework for transforming food systems to be more climate-resilient. It details how applying ecological principles (such as biodiversity and soil health) at various scales (field, farm, landscape, and food system) can mitigate climate risks. The paper provides evidence from Africa, India, and Europe, highlighting specific practices like agroforestry and Zero Budget Natural Farming. It concludes that scaling these approaches requires addressing market failures, reforming perverse policies, and shifting from a top-down technology transfer model to a co-creation of knowledge approach.

The paper argues that Zambia is caught in a 'commodity trap' and 'quiescence trap', where over-reliance on copper exports and a lack of economic complexity hinder broad-based growth. While copper production has improved social indicators like the Human Development Index since 2000, the country faces a severe fiscal crisis with government debt projected to reach nearly 150% of GDP by 2020. The author identifies policy volatility, specifically frequent changes to the Mineral Royalty Tax (MRT), as a primary deterrent to long-term investment and exploration. To overcome these barriers, the paper suggests replicating 'islands of effectiveness'—local-level collaborative governance models—such as the town of Kalumbila, which integrates mining with upstream and downstream linkages. Key recommendations include securing property rights, reducing the cost of doing business, and reversing the 5% concentrate import tax to fully utilise smelting capacity.

Friends of the Earth International expresses deep disappointment with the revised text of the UN's proposed binding treaty on transnational corporations. The organization argues that by expanding the scope to all companies rather than focusing on transnational corporations, the text ignores the power structures of parent companies and their supply chains. While acknowledging the inclusion of victims' rights, the group contends the document lacks international mechanisms to hold corporations accountable and fails to establish the supremacy of human rights over trade and investment agreements.

Friends of the Earth International expresses deep frustration with the July 16, 2019, Revised Draft of the UN Binding Treaty, claiming it dilutes the scope of the instrument by shifting focus from transnational corporations to all business activities. While the organization acknowledges the integration of victims' rights and human rights coverage, it argues the draft only sets obligations for States and fails to create international jurisdiction or direct obligations for corporations. The organization calls for a more ambitious text ahead of the October 2019 IGWG session to end corporate impunity and prioritize human rights over profit.

Friends of the Earth International expresses frustration with the Revised Draft of the UN's legally binding instrument for regulating transnational corporations, claiming it dilutes the focus on transnational entities and fails to establish direct corporate obligations, instead placing responsibility solely on States.

The analysis concludes that human-induced climate change has made the June 2019 heatwave in France more likely and more intense. Observational data suggests that a heatwave of this intensity is occurring at least 10 times more frequently today than a century ago, with temperatures approximately 4C higher. While climate models qualitatively agree on the strong human influence, they show smaller trends and fewer severe heatwaves than observations, simulating a probability increase of between a factor of 2 and 20. The study emphasizes that early-season heatwaves in June have more severe health and organizational impacts than mid-summer events.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) describes the progress at the SB50 talks in Bonn as "glacial," noting that while a non-consensus text for Article 6 was established for COP25, critical language on human rights remains in brackets. CIEL emphasizes that Article 6 mechanisms—which include carbon credit markets and sustainable development mechanisms—must incorporate independent grievance bodies and social safeguards to avoid the failures of the Clean Development Mechanism. The statement also highlights the importance of the Escazú Agreement for environmental democracy in Latin America and condemns countries that questioned the IPCC's Special Report on 1.5°C during the negotiations.

The SB-50 negotiations in Bonn were characterized by persistent political deadlocks, particularly regarding the IPCC 1.5ºC report and Article 6 mechanisms. While there was an increase in countries advocating for human rights-based social safeguards in market mechanisms, deep divisions remain. The session also advanced reviews of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage and the Gender Action Plan, while highlighting the importance of procedural rights and the Escazú Agreement for civil society participation.

This document is a written contribution from Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) to the UN's open-ended working group (IGWG) regarding a proposed legally binding treaty to regulate transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises in relation to human rights. FoEI analyzes the 'Zero Draft' presented in 2018, arguing that it is too weak to end corporate impunity and represents a setback compared to previous 'Elements' papers. The document details specific legal gaps in the draft—such as the lack of direct obligations for corporations and insufficient definitions of value chains—and includes testimonies from affected peoples across different continents calling for an international court and the primacy of human rights over investment agreements.