On July 23, the International Court of Justice issued its advisory opinion on climate change. Here’s a somewhat lengthy thread on what I see as its main points – what it did (and didn’t) decide. 1/24

https://x.com/CIJ_ICJ/status/1948043424168288643

Before starting, I want to emphasize that, on the whole, this is a very strong opinion. I’ve heard from many observers and participants that it’s better than they had dared to hope. 2/24

Today, the Human Rights Committee, held that Australia has violated the rights of Torres Strait Islanders by failing to protect them from climate change. This is the most important climate decision yet issued by an international human rights tribunal. 1/12 Huge congratulations to the Torres Strait Islanders who brought the case: Daniel Billy, Ted Billy, Nazareth Fauid, Stanley Marama, Yessie Mosby, Keith Pabai, Kabay Tamu and Nazareth Warria, and to the team at ClientEarth who so ably represented them. 2/12

https://twitter.com/SMarjanacCE/status/1573244767009648641

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives took a major step towards enacting the most protective law yet adopted on human rights in international conservation. In this thread, I describe the background to the proposed law, its provisions, and possible next steps. 1/24 In October 2021, the House Committee on Natural Resources subcommittee on water, oceans, and wildlife held an oversight hearing to examine the use of U.S. funds in alleged human rights violations in national parks and protected areas. 2/24 naturalresources.house.gov/hearings/prote…

Today the Committee on the Rights of the Child published its long-awaited decision in the climate case brought by 16 children and youth. While not a complete win, it is a pathbreaking precedent that provides a strong basis for future claims, as this (lengthy) thread explains.1/21 Here’s a link to the decisions – one for each of the five States against which the claim was filed. You’ll need to scroll down for the links. 2/21
tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/tr…

WWF’s new Social Policies and Standards, modeled on the World Bank, have basic flaws. WWF should start over, building on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and human rights norms. My comments to WWF are attached; six main points follow. 1/7 mediafire.com/file/djd94a93r… WWF opened a consultation period on the Safeguards six weeks ago, but it adopted the Safeguards two years ago and has been implementing them ever since. This “consultation” cannot provide meaningful input into decisions that have already been made. 2/7 consultation.panda.org

I and @VTauliCorpuz just published an essay arguing that the Global Biodiversity Framework - and conservation generally - must center human rights.
@SREnvironment David Boyd, @MaryLawlorhrds @ForstMichel also signed on. This thread provides links. 1/22
news.trust.org/item/202106031… The Global Biodiversity Framework is the latest plan to save nature, which does need saving: at least one million species face extinction. 2/22 ipbes.net/news/Media-Rel…

The latest rights-based climate decision was issued today by the German Constitutional Court. While it may seem less earth-shaking than Urgenda, it is a pathbreaking precedent for the rights of future generations. This (lengthy) thread explains. 1/20
bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pre… I’m not an expert in German law (or German!), so I’m relying on the press release and on the unofficial English translation, courtesy of @SabinCenter. My goal is to explain the relevance of the decision to evolving environmental human rights law. 2/20 climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/ne…

In recent weeks, the UN has moved closer than ever before to recognizing the human right to a healthy and sustainable environment (R2E). This (lengthy) thread highlights some of the most important developments. 1/16
universal-rights.org/blog/thetimeis… On Feb 23, @URGthinktank launched a policy report entitled #TheTimeIsNow making the case for global recognition of the R2E, which was co-authored by @SREnvironment David Boyd, @marc_limon and myself. universal-rights.org/urg-policy-rep… 2/

This decision by the Human Rights Committee is important, but the attention-grabbing headline may seem to overstate, and thus obscure, its real significance. So here’s a (lengthy) thread that explains the decision in more detail. 1/20

cnn.com/2020/01/20/wor… For what it’s worth, the BBC article on the same case describes it more accurately. 2/
bbc.com/news/world-asi…

This week, the Human Rights Committee (a treaty body overseeing the Int’l Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) issued Portillo Cáceres v Paraguay, its most important environmental decision yet. In this (lengthy) thread, I describe the case and explain why it’s a big deal. 1/20 The decision is the first one in which a treaty body has so clearly stated that a State’s failure to protect against environmental harm can violate its obligations to protect rights of life and of private/family life. It will be a precedent cited in many subsequent cases. 2/20

Torres Strait islanders, with the help of @ClientEarth, are arguing to the UN Human Rights Committee that Australia's failure to address climate change violates their human rights. Here’s why this claim breaks new ground. 1/12 nyti.ms/2vVAuCl In the article, the islanders, indigenous Australians who live in the strait between Australia and New Guinea, explain how the effects of climate change, especially rising sea levels, are interfering with their human rights to life and culture. 2/12