Briefs

Climate Plunder

How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster

Critical Mineral Security and the Social License to Operate

As the US and other Western countries rush to secure access to critical minerals, companies face pressure to move quickly and dispense with environmental and social protections. This briefing note argues that such an approach will backfire.

Earning and maintaining a social license to operate from local communities is essential for project sustainability, reliability, and supply security. Without it, social conflict and litigation brought by affected communities can halt mineral extraction or force project abandonment, disrupting critical mineral supply chains.

Unjust Transition: Reclaiming the Energy Future from Climate Colonialism

The global energy transition stands at a pivotal moment: it can either dismantle the inequalities driving the climate crisis or deepen them.

Emerging Good Practices on Embedding Human Rights into Seafood Procurement

As seafood demand rises, it has been accompanied by a growing understanding of persistent human rights abuses. Recent reports have highlighted how poor procurement practices can contribute to abuses, while stronger practices can reduce them. This report reviews the current landscape and how buyers are enhancing their procurement practices to align with their human rights commitments. It provides examples in areas such as embedding human rights personnel within procurement teams, sustainable costing in price negotiations and preferential sourcing from suppliers that respect human rights. The briefing sets out actions for businesses to ensure alignment of procurement and human rights commitments.

Not Everyone is in the Same Boat; Climate and Inequality in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa is one of the regions that will be affected the most by climate change, extreme weather events, exacerbating the chronic water scarcity that it suffers from and current dependency on fossil fuels. Climate change impacts are already witnessed in many countries, especially those experiencing conflicts. At the same time the decades-long austerity policies in the region are not only fueling inequalities but also make it virtually impossible for the countries in the region to spend on climate.

The climate threats driven by the richest people, corporations, and rentier economies are existential to the region. Meanwhile, people living in poverty, marginalized communities vulnerable to climate change and those living in conflict-settings are the ones impacted the hardest. Women and girls, refugees and other groups experiencing discrimination, are particularly at disadvantage to current austerity policies and the consequences of climate change. The consequences are felt in all parts of the region and by most people, yet only the richest people have the wealth and the power and influence to adapt from the consequences of climate breakdown. Austerity policies are exacerbating the climate crisis, and the only way to address the climate breakdown is through taxing the wealthy and their polluting consumptions and massively invest in public services and climate mitigation, adaptation and transition.

Brief: After Trump Administration's 90-Day U.S. Foreign Aid Review, the Human Toll is Immeasurable and Will Grow Exponentially

On January 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order that began the assault on U.S. foreign aid and led to the illegal dismantling of USAID. After a 90-day review, the human toll is immeasurable and will grow exponentially.