January 17, 2020 -Today, the Ninth Circuit delivered its ruling in Juliana v United States, the landmark climate case brought by 21 youth plaintiffs against the US government for violating their constitutional rights to a livable climate. “What is remarkable about this decision, and what will land it in legal textbooks for decades to come, […]
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Posted inWorld
Sweeping New Report on Global Environmental Impact of Plastics Reveals Severe Damage to Climate
WASHINGTON, DC May 15, 2019 – In 2019 alone, the production and incineration of plastic will add more than 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere—equal to the pollution from 189 new coal-fired power plants, according to a new report, Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet. The rapid […]
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UN Decides to Control Global Plastic Waste Dumping
Geneva, Switzerland, May 10, 2019 — Today, 187 countries took a major step forward in curbing the plastic waste crisis by adding plastic to the Basel Convention, a treaty that controls the movement of hazardous waste from one country to another. The amendments require exporters to obtain the consent of receiving countries before shipping most contaminated, mixed, […]
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New Report Reveals Plastic Threatens Human Health on a Global Scale
Washington, DC, Feb. 19, 2019 — A new report released today reveals that plastic is a human health crisis hiding in plain sight. Plastic & Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, authored by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Earthworks, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), IPEN, […]
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Internal Documents Shed New Light on Shell’s Role in the Climate Crisis
Washington, DC, April 5, 2018 – CIEL’s analysis of a massive new trove of Shell internal documents unearthed by Dutch journalist Jelmer Mommers shows the global oil giant understood and acted on climate science while publicly sowing doubt as to its validity and fighting its regulation. The analysis, A Crack in the Shell: New Documents […]
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States Must Recognize Human Right to a Healthy Environment, Says UN Expert Report
GENEVA March 6, 2018 – The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment presented a new report synthesizing the international human rights obligations of states on matters related to the environment. Echoing the demands of many civil society organizations including CIEL, Professor John Knox called on States to recognize the human right to a healthy […]
Posted inEnviro
Plastics Industry Knew its Products were Polluting Oceans by 1970s
Dec. 27, 2017 – A new report released by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the plastics industry’s knowledge of the ocean plastics problem, answering the question: When did industry become aware of the problems caused by their products, and what did they do about it? The report, Plastic Industry Awareness of the […]
Posted inEnviro
UN Initiative Agrees to Spearhead Fight Against Marine Plastic Pollution
NAIROBI, Dec. 6, 2017 – Efforts to address global plastic pollution took a significant step forward today as world governments agreed to establish a specialist group tasked with examining options to combat marine plastic pollution. In a resolution adopted at the 3rd meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 3), Member States supported a […]
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Fueling Plastics: New Research Details Fossil Fuel Role in Plastics Proliferation
WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 22, 2017 – The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) launched an ongoing investigative series, Fueling Plastics, examining the deep linkages between the fossil fuels and plastics industries and the products they produce, and exposing how the US shale gas boom fuels a massive buildout of plastics infrastructure in the United States and […]
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Carol Muffett: Federal Budget Plan is a testament to the recklessness, nihilism, and gross incompetence of this Administration
March 16, 2017 – Carroll Muffett is President of CIEL The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) condemns the federal budget plan released today by the Trump Administration. The budget launches an outright assault on climate progress, eviscerates research and regulatory programs critical to protecting human health and the environment, abandons our country’s commitments to […]