In October 2017 the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice filed a complaint to the IFC’s independent accountability mechanism, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), accusing it of contributing to the crisis of global climate change by financing coal plants. The allegation was that the recipients of finance failed to meet the IFC’s social and environmental performance standards. These mandate […]
The complaints allege that Japanese banks financing Vietnamese coal projects are in breach of OECD guidelines because they failed to provide environmental and social impact assessments and consequently failed to urge project sponsors to assess and prevent or minimize environmental damage.
In 2017, Dutch NGOs filed a complaint against ING Bank at the Dutch OECD National Contact Point for failing to sufficiently commit to the targets set in the Paris Climate Agreement. In its final statement, the Dutch NCP concluded that the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises demand that ING Bank sets concrete climate goals e.g. […]
In 2020, 5 coastal Native American tribes submitted a complaint to several UN Special Rapporteurs claiming that the US government had violated its human rights obligations by failing to address climate displacement
In its 2020 concluding observations, CESCR expressed its concern regarding Norway’s licensing of oil/gas exploration in the Arctic and Barents Sea because of their impact on global warming. The CESCR recommended that the government reconsiders its licensing decision and make human rights the primary consideration of its natural resource exploitation and export policies. While this […]
A group of children and youth have brought a mitigation claim to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. They argue that, as children, they are particularly vulnerable to the short and long-term impacts of climate change. By not taking adequate action to reduce their GHG emissions, they are arguing that several governments are […]
In 2017, the IACtHR handed down an advisory opinion on the environment and human rights. The advisory opinion made it clear that: The right to a healthy environment is an enforceable right; States have obligations to prevent significant environmental damage that impacts human rights; These obligations could apply to climate change. This advisory opinion could pave the […]
Client Earth’s recent complaint against BP for breaching the OECD guidelines. This alleges a BP advertising campaign in relation to its low carbon activities was misleading.
An Australian pension fund member filed suit against the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST) alleging that the fund violated the Corporations Act 2001 by failing to provide information related to climate change business risks and any plans to address those risks. The complaint alleged that the pension fund Trustees owed “fiduciary” duties to the members […]
Client Earth made a complaint to the FRC in 2018 in relation to Lancashire Holdings, an insurance Company, alleging failure to deal adequate with climate risks in its Annual Report. The claim was based on a breach of the European Transparency Directive. Similar claims have been made based on obligations in the Companies Act, including under section […]
