News | 14 June 2016

Conflictminerals: Open letter to the Dutch Presidency of the Council & the Member States of the EU

Together with 126 civil society organzations we are calling on the Council to listen not only to the European Parliament, but also to the many activists, investors, civil society, and citizens that have called for a strong and effective EU law. At a minimum, this means a regulation that covers companies that import into the EU minerals in their raw form as well as companies that import products containing these minerals.

Press Release | 03 June 2016

The Case of Huaraz: RWE denies responsibility for climate damages in the Andes – court hearing this autumn

Pressemitteilung
The Peruvian mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya is demanding that the Essen Regional Court in Germany order the energy firm to pay for safety measures to protect his home town. Climate change has caused a glacial lake to fill up to the brim, threatening to flood the city of Huaraz.

Representing RWE, the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has filed its first response to a civil suit filed by the Peruvian small-scale farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya. The german firm denies responsibility for climate change impacts in the Peruvian Andes. In the written statement, the lawyers claim that RWE has no liability under German civil law. The claimant Saúl Luciano Lliuya expected such a reaction and is determined to pursue his case at the Essen Regional Court (Germany) in a hearing this autumn with his Hamburg lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen: “RWE needs to take responsibility for its emissions. We in Peru have hardly made any contribution to climate change, but we live with the worst consequences.”

Investing in Ambition

01.05.2016
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Analysis of the financial aspects in (Intended) Nationally Determined Contributions

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a centrepiece of the new global climate regime which was agreed at COP21 in Paris and form the foundation for the pathway towards a low-carbon and climate resilient development. This paper analyses specifically the financial aspects included in the INDCs and aims to contribute towards a definition of comprehensive financing strategies for implementing NDCs. It provides an analytical overview of the financial aspects that have been included in the INDCs submitted so far and provides a discussion of options for financing NDC implementation.

News | 03 May 2016

Supply chain responsibility has to become a topic on the next G7 summit!

Public letter by Germanwatch and 58 other civil society organisations to the countries of the Group of Seven
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The 2015 G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau was ground-breaking in that G7 leaders for the first time discussed such supply chain responsibility. They pledged to promote “responsible supply chains”, and strongly supported the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The G7 leaders also stressed the need to increase transparency, the identification and prevention of human rights risks, and the strengthening of grievance mechanisms to promote better working conditions, and urged the private sector to implement human rights due diligence. These commitments were made under the leadership of Japan and Germany, as current and preceding G7 chair.