Published November 29, 2023 The United Nations climate conference gets underway in the United Arab Emirates this week against a backdrop of broken records and broken promises. From off-the-charts temperatures and unprecedented weather events to off-the-rails climate policies and missing climate finance, 2023 has raised the stakes for this year’s intergovernmental climate talks to new … Read More.
This piece was co-authored by Joie Chowdhury, Program Coordinator for Environment and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at ESCR-Net — International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Lien Vandamme, Senior Campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL); and Heidi White lawyer and independent consultant working with the Loss and Damage Collaboration (L&DC). It was … Read More.
This analysis outlines the main critical areas of the upcoming negotiations and key demands from civil society ahead of the COP27 Opening Plenary.
Three days into COP26 and the promise of the “most inclusive COP ever” has shaped up to be nothing more than a farce with limited access and negotiations almost entirely off-limits to observers. Alok Sharma opened the Climate Leadership Summit thanking everyone for their efforts to get to Glasgow, and it’s true: Delegates, civil society … Read More.
Governments are gathering virtually under the auspices of the Paris Agreement in what is a high-stakes year for global climate negotiations. The UN Climate Change Conference, Sessions of the subsidiary bodies (SB52), is a three-week meeting that began on Monday, May 31st, and is the first formal UN climate negotiations in a year and a … Read More.
Against the backdrop of increasing climate destruction and mass mobilizations calling for climate leadership, COP-25 must deliver urgent, rights-based climate action. Climate change dominated the headlines throughout 2019. There were stories of the startling reality of living in a world with 1ºc of warming: climate change-fueled storms like Hurricanes Idai and Kenneth devastated Mozambique, unprecedented … Read More.
Climate solutions that disregard human rights are not solutions at all. Including proper social and environmental safeguards in climate mitigation and adaptation is crucial for ensuring just, ambitious, and effective climate action. In Bonn, Germany, climate experts are coming together for the latest session of the UN climate negotiations. This is their first meeting since … Read More.
At the climate negotiations this December, countries must adopt guidelines for implementing the Paris Agreement at the national level. The Paris Implementation Guidelines are essential to ensuring that climate action around the world keeps global temperature rise below 1.5°C while respecting and protecting human rights. But after multiple rounds of talks, including a special session … Read More.
In next week’s final preparatory meeting before the Paris Climate Agreement Guidelines are finalized, Parties must more explicitly address the social dimensions of climate policies. The adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 offered the promise an integrated approach to climate action and human rights. Indeed, the agreement was the first global environmental treaty … Read More.
European governments have the opportunity (and the legal duty) to promote public participation in the implementation of climate action, yet some fail to do so. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was celebrated not only for bringing together all countries around the urgency of climate action, but also for emphasizing the importance of people-centered climate action. … Read More.
From April 30 to May 10, countries will come together for a United Nations climate meeting, to continue to make progress toward implementing the Paris Agreement and meeting key goals at this year’s COP24 climate conference in Poland. To ensure positive climate outcomes that benefit both the planet and communities across the world, we must … Read More.
When countries adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015, they agreed to convene a “facilitative dialogue,” which would allow countries to come together to evaluate the world’s progress toward the goals of the Agreement. At last year’s climate talks, countries adopted the Talanoa Dialogue as the concept for this facilitative dialogue. The Talanoa Dialogue platform provides … Read More.
On December 12, 2017, hundreds of investors, governments, and civil society representatives joined French President Emmanuel Macron at the One Planet Summit to mark the second anniversary of the Paris Agreement. President Macron—joined by UN Secretary General António Guterres, Work Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, and others—encouraged public and private financial institutions to accelerate … Read More.
At the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) in international climate negotiations, two inspiring and important steps were made toward incorporating human rights and social principles in climate action, in spite of slow progress on establishing the rules to implement the Paris Agreement. At COP23, negotiators met to create the rulebook (to be adopted in … Read More.
Building on the momentum in the two years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the upcoming COP23 is an opportunity for negotiators to reiterate the importance of human rights in climate action and take concrete steps toward implementing the agreement at a global scale. There is no doubt: climate change is a human rights … Read More.
With 2018 fast approaching, countries around the world are joining together to draft two global compacts, the first one for safe, orderly, and regular migration and the second on refugees. As countries deliberate on how to improve global governance on migration and displacement, they should specifically address the impacts of climate change on migration and … Read More.
The last meeting of the Board of the Green Climate Fund was markedly less transparent and raised yet more barriers to civil society participation. As the Board prepares to meet in Cairo for its 18th Board Meeting (B.18) tomorrow, Board members should reevaluate their actions toward their civil society colleagues and recommit to upholding public participation … Read More.
It’s a been a while since we’ve written about the Green Climate Fund (GCF), but given its recent popularity in the media stemming from Trump’s complete mischaracterization of it when declaring his intent to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, we wanted to give you a refresher on it. What it does. Contrary to … Read More.
The US said climate change had “a range of implications for the effective enjoyment of human rights,” in a departure from recent diplomacy and Trump’s rhetoric Countries agreed that the human rights of children must be protected as they are particularly vulnerable to climate change (Pic: UNICEF) The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution … Read More.
By Erika Lennon and Sébastien Duyck Undeterred by the political posturing of the US government, the United Nations climate negotiations continued to make progress towards the development of practical guidelines to assist governments in translating the Paris Agreement into concrete action. For the past two weeks, nearly 200 governments and hundreds of representatives from civil … Read More.
By Sébastien Duyck, CIEL Senior Attorney and Wael Hmaidan, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network International Last week in Bonn, the UN climate secretariat convened 196 national governments to consider how specific aspects of the Paris Climate Agreement will be undertaken in each country. The meeting was expected to shape the rules that will ensure … Read More.
Now that I have had some time to reflect on (and recover from) our time in Paris, I want to share some thoughts on what we achieved through our unprecedented campaign to include human rights protections in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and how we got there. This effort was long in the making. Since 2009, … Read More.
Right before Christmas, Moody’s announced that it is considering downgrading the credit rating of Adani Abbot Point Terminal Pty Ltd. (Abbot Point). Abbot Point is the case profiled in CIEL’s Report (Mis)Calculated Risk. CIEL’s report illustrates how rating agencies are failing to incorporate a dynamic change trajectory into their methodologies. This failure may lead rating agencies to … Read More.
Your energy and advocacy sparked a global momentum shift over the past year, and we are on the cusp of true, transformative change. On all fronts, you have defended your right to a healthy planet. With your support, you help CIEL… Advance Climate Justice For three years, we’ve highlighted the growing legal and financial risks … Read More.
Here in Paris, at the negotiations for the next global climate change agreement, delegates from 195 countries are discussing, and arguably deciding, the fate of our future. Following on the commitments those countries made when they joined the 1992 United Nations climate change treaty, they are now trying to create a way forward through 2020 … Read More.
By Stacey Morales and Geffen Kozikaro, Early Warning System Interns As world leaders prepare for the 2015 UN Climate Conference in Paris in late November, the international community must recognize that women—who are the majority of the world’s poor—are among those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. At the same time, we must … Read More.
In October, the Special Rapporteur on Right to Food Ms. Hilal Elver will present her report to the Human Rights Council, just a couple of months before the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or CoP21, whose aim is to reach a legally binding agreement to combat climate change. Her … Read More.
In one of my last posts, I noted that for years, Parties, civil society, and indigenous groups have been working out how to simultaneously protect forests and combat climate change, and that the June 2015 climate negotiations would provide a great opportunity to ensure that rights and ecological integrity were at the forefront of this … Read More.
How can REDD+ be implemented without intensifying existing inequalities for women? Given that REDD+ is an international climate initiative with required social, environmental safeguards, how can advocates and community members use international law to advance women’s tenure rights in REDD+? Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) was designed to use forests to address … Read More.
Let’s seize the opportunities to advance rights related to forests and land in Bonn! Here’s how. Forests play a vital role in supporting the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities, protecting biodiversity, and, yes, mitigating climate change. For years, Parties, civil society and indigenous groups have been working out how to address … Read More.
The land sector accounts for almost one-third of global carbon emissions. Including agriculture, forests, and other land uses, the land sector acts as both a creator and a remover of emissions. Land is central to food production, livelihoods, cultural integrity, and biodiversity. Thus, the sector is unique and plays an important role in both mitigating … Read More.
Mexico is on a roll in demonstrating its commitment to address climate change. This week, it was the first developing country to submit its official contribution to the United Nations to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of a new international climate agreement. This contribution pledge is also the first and only one to … Read More.
According to some of the most active and experienced environmental journalists in the United States, 2015 stands to bring a series of environmental face-offs, which will culminate in what one speaker timingly nicknamed the ‘Super Bowl of Climate Change’ in Paris this upcoming November. The Woodrow Wilson Center hosted its third annual “Year Ahead in … Read More.
Last month, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) met in Barbados for its 8th session. What’s the GCF? It’s a financial institution that is expected to channel billions of dollars to developing countries to help them in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. (Check out some of our blogs for … Read More.
Dearest Friends, Colleagues, It is hard to believe that a year has passed since we formed the Tri-Caucus to improve coordination between those who focus specifically on rights related to REDD+. As we finalize last-minute logistics for the upcoming UN climate negotiations – the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Lima, Peru – I … Read More.
In the world of UN climate negotiations, in which 194 official parties, as well as hundreds of observers and representatives from civil society and indigenous groups, have different and complex agendas and priorities, meaningful progress to reduce emissions is a challenging feat. Ensuring that progress respects human rights and environmental integrity is even more so. … Read More.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Climate Summit on September 23, 2014 is expected to “serve as a public platform for leaders at the highest level – all UN Member States, as well as finance, business, civil society and local leaders from public and private sectors – to catalyze ambitious action on the ground to reduce emissions and strengthen … Read More.
Today, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) meets for its 5th board meeting in Paris, France. Established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010, the GCF promised to be the main vehicle for channeling billions of dollars pledged by developed counties to support climate mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries. … Read More.
Alyssa Johl (CIEL), Abby Rubinson (Earthjustice) and Weni Bagama (Ngabe activist from Kiad community in Panama) co-authored the following post for Climate Action Network’s ECO publication. After this weekend’s CDM reform workshop, ECO has new hope for the CDM’s ability to address human rights. For the first time in the history of the CDM, Parties … Read More.
This week and next, CIEL’s Climate & Energy Team is in Bonn, Germany to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference. This conference is an interim meeting between the main negotiations where decisions are made (referred to as the COP) that take place every December. Bonn has become a second home to the Climate & … Read More.
Now that the dust from Doha has settled and 2013 is off and running, we’ve had a chance to reflect on how the UN climate talks have, once again, left us asking… What have we achieved? How have we advanced the debate? Where do we go from here? Like many other civil society groups, our … Read More.
By Marcos Orellana, Rio de Janeiro, 22 June 2012. On June 20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) officially started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Conference opened with a documentary, Welcome to the Anthropocene, which was introduced by the UN’s Secretary-General. The documentary visually portrays the alteration in Earth’s natural cycles induced … Read More.
By Amanda Rude, former CIEL legal intern As several CIEL attorneys and alumni head south to participate in the much-anticipated Rio+20 Conference, I wanted to share some of my insights as the “greenest” (i.e. youngest) member of the CIEL delegation…
Following the UN climate talks in Durban can be a tedious business. Even for a conference junkie like me. There are times when the discussions get so mired in petty political bargaining that it’s hard to keep the bigger picture in mind. People seem to forget why they’re actually there: to find a solution to … Read More.
By Kristen Hite Director, Climate Change Program In recent years we’ve seen global predictions on climate change becoming increasingly dire. In recent weeks it’s gone from bad to worse: The International Energy Association, often criticized for how its future projections of energy production rely too heavily on fossil fuels and nuclear energy just issued a … Read More.
My very first COP experience, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in Cartagena, Colombia, was hailed by delegates, observers, and the UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner as the most successful Basel COP in the history of the Basel Convention. I was fortunate to have joined CIEL’s delegation that participated in such … Read More.
By Alyssa Johl and Hana Heineken At the end of Wednesday’s Security Council open debate on the security implications of climate change, Council members reached consensus on a Presidential Statement recognizing the link between security and climate change (see our July 19 blog for background on this issue). While this statement fails to call for … Read More.
Tomorrow, the UN Security Council will host an open debate on the international peace and security implications of climate change. CIEL’s Hana Heineken will be attending and tweeting live from the debate (follow Hana’s updates @ciel_tweets). While most people think of global warming as an environmental issue, the climate crisis is expected to have far-reaching … Read More.
BASEL, CITES, CBD, CMS? Remembering the acronyms of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) is challenging enough, much less trying to recall their technical details. Thankfully, the MEA Information and Knowledge Management Initiative, facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), just launched a user-friendly information portal called InforMEA to help navigate the complex landscape of international environmental … Read More.
By the CIEL Climate Team Despite growing evidence that the effects of climate change are occurring earlier and more dramatically than foreseen just a few years ago, the UNFCCC negotiations continue to demonstrate how difficult it is to reach agreement on a broad-based binding framework for collective international action on climate change. The two weeks … Read More.
By the CIEL Climate Team Climate negotiations resume in Bonn, Germany this week with a full agenda and against a backdrop of reports that last year’s global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were at record levels despite the global economic downturn. While the meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Cancun, Mexico last December … Read More.
Government energy ministers gathering in Washington, D.C., today launched 11 energy-efficiency and renewable energy initiatives around the world, which they claim will avoid the need to build 500 midsize power plants during the next 20 years. via www.nytimes.com Of particular note is that “the United States and a dozen other nations will create what is … Read More.
The first set of 2010 climate change negotiations under the UNFCCC concluded in Bonn, Germany (April 9-11th) with no progress apparent on the Technology Mechanism referenced in Paragraph 11 of the 2009 Copenhagen Accord. In fact, the only real outcome of the meeting appears to be an agreement to hold two additional meetings for both … Read More.
Heard of the Yes Men? They are the incredibly straight-faced and gutsy duo that dare to go on the BBC TV and Radio, claiming to be from Dow Chemicals and announcing that Dow will compensate the victims of the Bhopal, India catastrophe with $12 billion from selling all assets related to Union Carbide Corp. Dow … Read More.
The World Bank, along with two other NGOs, held a panel discussion today on the trade implications of the ongoing climate negotiations. The final presentation, on Technology Transfer and Climate Change was the most substantive, as detailed below. The presentations did not address either labeling schemes, standards, border carbon adjustments, or subsidies. For an in … Read More.