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This policy brief examines the restart of agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in September 2020 under Chair Gloria Abraham Peralta. It analyzes the challenges of achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and shifting global trade dynamics, while outlining seven key negotiating areas and potential pathways for progress.

This report by Ember evaluates the availability, quality, and transparency of timely electricity data across various countries in Asia and Oceania. It establishes a scoring framework based on eight criteria—including time granularity, fuel breakdown, and ease of access—to rank national data sources and identify gaps that hinder the tracking of the energy transition.

The Goal 9 assessment evaluates progress toward rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based finance, and private-sector sourcing. As of 2020, nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, with disbursements increasing to over USD 260 million annually in recent years. The report also highlights the role of carbon markets, which have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forest projects over 20 years, and the emergence of domestic compliance schemes that allow forest carbon credits.

This policy brief from the International Institute for Sustainable Development explores the precautionary principle, a guide in international environmental law that advocates for taking protective action even in the absence of full scientific certainty to avoid serious or irreversible damage.

This briefing explores the precautionary principle as a guide for decision-makers to protect the environment, public health, and security in the face of scientific uncertainty. It traces the principle's evolution from national laws in Sweden to its integration into major international treaties and the law of the European Union, while discussing the ongoing tension between environmental safeguarding and economic development.

This fact sheet by RMI defines green banks as public or quasi-public entities designed to leverage public funds to attract private capital for low-carbon, climate-resilient investments. It outlines their role in filling market gaps, reducing perceived risks for investors, and helping countries implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

This report analyzes the environmental implications of the 2022 amendments to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), managed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The author explains how the creation of specific commodity codes for environmentally sensitive products and environmental goods improves trade monitoring and facilitates the negotiation of trade agreements aimed at climate and environmental sustainability.

This report analyzes the evolving jurisprudence of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) from 2008 to 2019, concluding that States have legal obligations under human rights treaties to implement ambitious climate mitigation (including phasing out fossil fuels), ensure inclusive adaptation, and provide international cooperation. Key developments include a 2019 joint statement by five HRTBs and the Human Rights Committee's recognition that climate change threatens the right to life, potentially triggering non-refoulment obligations in deportation cases.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative examines recent developments in climate adaptation finance, highlighting the growing gap between estimated adaptation costs and current funding levels. It discusses the roles of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee and the Adaptation Fund, the challenges in tracking adaptation finance flows, and the economic risks associated with nature loss as identified by the World Economic Forum. The document argues that addressing these challenges requires a fundamental rethinking of production, redistribution, and equity to support the most vulnerable populations.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law synthesizes the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) regarding climate change. It details the Committee's use of General Comments, a Joint Statement with other treaty bodies, and the State reporting procedure to establish that States have human rights obligations to mitigate climate change, protect vulnerable populations, and provide international cooperation and finance.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) synthesizes the work of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) regarding climate change. It details the CRC's use of General Comments, the State reporting procedure, and the communications procedure to establish that States have legal obligations to protect children's rights—including the rights to life, health, and culture—against the impacts of global climate change.

The 2020 Global Green Economy Barometer, published by the Green Economy Coalition, assesses the progress of the global shift toward green and fair economies. It argues that while there are signs of acceleration in energy transition and a growing public demand for change, the 'brown economy' still dominates due to fossil fuel subsidies, financial short-termism, and economic models that ignore natural capital. The document calls for systemic economic reform moving from extraction to restoration and from GDP-centric measures to wellbeing and nature-based accounting.

This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) outlines recommendations for UNFCCC Parties at COP-25 to integrate human rights, gender equality, and participatory processes into climate action. It emphasizes the need for rights-based safeguards in Article 6 market mechanisms, the ratification of the Escazú Agreement, and the protection of indigenous peoples and local communities in adaptation and loss and damage frameworks.

This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues for the integration of procedural rights—specifically access to information, public participation, and access to justice—into climate governance and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It highlights the roles of the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement in promoting environmental democracy and provides specific recommendations for the COP-25 agenda to ensure climate policies are inclusive, rights-based, and gender-responsive.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the June 2019 Climate Negotiations (SB-50) in Bonn, focusing on the integration of human rights into climate policies, the development of Article 6 mechanisms of the Paris Agreement, and the work of various UNFCCC constituted bodies.

This case study research analyzes six water quality trading and offset programs across Canada, the United States, and New Zealand to identify policy and program mechanisms for reducing nutrient and contaminant loading, specifically phosphorus and nitrogen, with a view toward application in Manitoba.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) addresses climate change in relation to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It focuses on the Committee's 2018 activities, highlighting a trend of increasing climate-related recommendations in State reporting procedures and the specific human rights obligations States must uphold regarding mitigation, adaptation, and procedural rights.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change in 2018. It details how the Committee uses General Recommendations and the State reporting procedure to define the human rights obligations of States to protect women from the disproportionate impacts of climate change, focusing heavily on adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute discusses the 'production gap'—the divergence between planned fossil fuel production and the levels consistent with Paris Agreement temperature goals. It argues that supply-side policies, such as production limits and subsidy removals, are essential to avoid carbon lock-in and achieve cost-effective emission reductions.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister Catherine McKenna on December 3, 2018, urging the Canadian government to enshrine climate accountability and transparency in law. CAPE argues that Canada has a history of missing greenhouse gas reduction targets and that the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF) requires binding legislative measures to ensure successive governments meet 2030 and 2050 targets.