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20 October 2025 – Montreal Protocol insiders and scholars from Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, and the United States have authored a new paper documenting how fast phase down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases will be less expensive than the existing schedule. The paper, HFC Phasedown Under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol Is Less Costly If Fast Than If Slow, highlights how:

  • Companies marketing cooling equipment where HFCs are already being phased down have the manufacturing capacity to supply all markets worldwide.
  • The European Union is already requiring exports of cooling equipment to satisfy domestic requirements for lower global warming potential (GWP).
  • Bulk procurement and buyers clubs can lower the purchase, installation, and ownership cost of new cooling equipment with smaller life cycle carbon footprint.
  • Stopping the dumping of energy inefficient cooling equipment with obsolete high-GWP refrigerants avoids the high cost of servicing with increasingly scarce HFCs and the savings in electricity cost are spent locally on goods and services supporting quality of life and community jobs and prosperity.

Authored by Stephen O. Andersen, Jianxin Hu, Pengnan Jiang, Suely Carvalho, Richard Ferris, Xiaopu Sun, Kofi A. Agyarko, Ziwei Chen, and Marco González.

Available for download here.

10 October 2025 – Three advisory opinions on climate change have clarified state obligations under international law: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and the Law of the Sea (May 2024); the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on Human Rights and the Climate Emergency (May 2025); and the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change (July 2025).

Below we include recent judicial decisions that reference or engage with the advisory opinions, starting with three recent decisions that reference the Inter-American and the International Court of Justice’s opinion.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights — Advisory Opinion on Human Rights and the Climate Emergency (OC-32/25, 3 July 2025)

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights published its groundbreaking legal opinion on July 3, 2025, declaring that States have a wide range of human rights obligations to address what the Court unanimously agreed to be a real and escalating climate emergency. In order to protect and guarantee multiple human rights including the newly articulated right to a healthy climate, States must undertake urgent and effective actions on mitigation, adaptation, and progress toward sustainable development through a lens of resilience and human rights.

For additional information, see:

Recent Judicial Decisions that Engage with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Important note: Under the Inter-American Court’s doctrine of ‘conventionality control,’ all domestic authorities—in judicial, legislative, and executive functions—of States which have ratified the American Convention on Human Rights have a legal obligation to ensure that their laws and policies conform to the Convention as interpreted by the Court. This includes the Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency, which constitutes the most authoritative interpretation of States’ human rights obligations under the Convention and other relevant and related treaties, in the context of climate change. The items below show recent examples of how courts are already engaging with the new international jurisprudence.

1.    Colombia – Santurbán Páramo Case

  • Court: Tribunal Administrativo de Santander [Administrative Court of Santander]
  • Case Name: Municipio de Bucaramanga y otros con Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y otros [Municipality of Bucaramanga et al. v. Ministry of the Environment et al.]
  • Decision No.: 680012333000-2018-00196-00
  • Date: 21 July 2025
  • Link: Access the decision here.  
  • Description: The Administrative Tribunal of Santander recognized the Santurbán páramo, a high-altitude wetland ecosystem in the Colombian Andes, as a subject of rights, ordering the Ministry of Environment to serve as its legal representative and prohibiting new mining licenses in the region. In a groundbreaking move, the Tribunal relied on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the Climate Emergency, particularly on its recognition of states’ obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nature as a rights-bearing entity. This judgment set an important precedent by directly linking international climate jurisprudence with national environmental protection in Colombia.

2.    Brazil – Candiota Coal Mine and Powerplant Case

  • Court: 9ª Vara Federal de Porto Alegre [9th Federal Court of Porto Alegre]
  • Case Name: Instituto Preservar, AGAPAN y Núcleo Amigos da Terra v. Uniao Federal et al. [Instituto Preservar et al. v. Federal Union et al.]
  • Decision No.: 5050920-75.2023.4.04.7100
  • Date: 22 August 2025
  • Link: Access the decision here.  
  • Description: This structural climate litigation was brought before the Federal Court in Rio Grande do Sul against the Candiota coal mine and the Candiota III coal-fired power plant, one of Brazil’s most polluting coal plants. The Court suspended their environmental licenses until climate considerations are incorporated into the licensing process, mandated the Union and the State to present a Just Energy Transition Plan for the coal sector, and required democratic participation in climate governance bodies. The judgment drew on the precautionary principle, the Paris Agreement, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the Climate Emergency, marking a landmark integration of international climate law into domestic environmental governance.

3.    Canada – Wet’suwet’en Climate Case

  • Court: Federal Court of Canada
  • Case Name: Dini Ze’ Lho’imggin v. His Majesty the King in Right of Canada
  • Decision No.: T-211-20, 2025 FC 1586
  • Date: 26 September 2025
  • Link: Access the decision here.
  • Description: Two Wet’suwet’en houses filed a constitutional climate challenge alleging that Canada’s greenhouse gas policies violated their rights to life, liberty, and security of the person under section 7 of the Canadian Charter. The Federal Court held that the claim was justiciable and could potentially rest on novel causes of action grounded in customary international law, citing the International Court of Justice’s 2025 Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. However, the claim was struck for being overly broad—implicating nearly 1,900 statutory provisions—though leave to amend was granted. This ruling is a pioneering step in recognizing climate litigation as justiciable within Canada’s constitutional framework and international advisory opinions.

1 October 2025 – On 16 September 2025, Haryana Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini unveiled the new State Environment Plan (SEP), released in Panchkula, Haryana, which offers a complete analysis of the state’s environmental landscape. The plan covers areas like agriculture, waste management, transportation, air and noise pollution, as well as biodiversity. The SEP was developed through a partnership between the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Also released was A Dual Strategy Sprint Towards Sustainability: Non-CO₂ Pathways for Haryana. This report calls for a dual-pronged approach to tackle non-CO₂ pollutants, or short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), which are fast-acting climate forcers, in addition to CO₂. This is important because SLCP mitigation offers immediate dual benefits: dramatically improving air quality and rapidly combating climate change. This report was also collaboratively developed by IGSD, HSPCB, and TERI.

The urgency is clear. Haryana’s 2022 heat stress experience already showed significant damage to crops. Future assessments predict a 15-17% loss in essential irrigated rice and wheat yields by mid-century. This poses a serious risk to the state’s food security.

Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini framed the environment as non-negotiable for prosperity:

“Even if our GDP is the world’s highest, if our air is polluted, our water is contaminated, and our essential resources are depleted, our lives will lose meaning, no matter how strong the economy looks on paper.”  The Chief Minister highlighted the twin challenges of waste management and citizen participation. He noted that despite the 2013 ban on single-use plastics, polythene is still widespread.  “No law, campaign, or NGO effort will succeed unless people themselves feel that pollution is making life unbearable.” He urged for a united front: “The three essentials of human life—food, water, and oxygen—are all polluted today. The government will continue its efforts, but unless NGOs, students, communities, and ordinary citizens join hands, nothing significant will change.”

Echoing this focus on grassroots change, Minister of Environment, Forest & Wildlife, Shri Rao Narbir Singh, stressed the need for public awareness:

“The biggest issue is segregation of waste. People are still not aware of segregating wet waste and dry waste. Fines and challans alone cannot solve the problem—change must come from within.” 

Pardeep Kumar, IAS, Member Secretary, HSPCB, reinforced the state’s commitment to long-term sustainability.

“Our focus is not just on achieving short-term goals, but on ensuring that development in Haryana is always aligned with sustainability principles. Development should never come at the cost of our environment.”

 He detailed departmental efforts across critical areas like crop residue management, plastic pollution control, and air and water quality. “We have set clear departmental targets,” he said, “and I am confident that with everyone’s cooperation, we will achieve even better results.” 

Ms. Zerin Osho, Director for the India Program, IGSD, praised the strategic focus of the plan, noting its national significance:

“Haryana’s 2025 State Environment Plan (SEP) makes it the first in the country to have a non-CO₂ focus beyond its traditional structure.” She highlighted that the SEP’s dual strategy—reducing non-CO₂ emissions in the near term and CO₂ in the longer term—is a model for others to follow.

“This will ensure long-term food and socio-economic security for the state, and provide an example for other states to follow. Haryana’s 2025 State Environment Plan makes it the first in the country to have a non-CO2 focus beyond its traditional structure, making it a dynamic and responsive plan that has the capacity to deliver results in the current state of the environment.”

Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, said:

 “The need to supplement long-term decarbonization with short-term warming mitigation is urgent, especially since countries like India in the Global South face immediate impacts. Haryana is showing leadership here. The State Environment Plan and Non-CO₂ Pathways reports provide a granular, scientific understanding of emissions, offering best-case scenarios for cutting non-CO₂ pollutants. When we make climate issues measurable with data, we deliver precise solutions in faster timeframes. These reports, developed in close partnership with IGSD, TERI, and HSPCB, will be key to Haryana’s success.”

The CEO of GMH, Marcelo Mena, said:

“Haryana, often described as one of India’s industrial and agricultural powerhouses, has become the second state after Punjab to adopt such a forward-looking climate strategy. Its plan shows the power of innovation and leadership at the subnational level. By addressing both carbon dioxide and other short-term super pollutants, the state is protecting communities today while advancing India’s long-term net-zero goals. The Hub is proud to support this milestone, which sets an inspiring precedent for states and regions around the world.”

Durwood Zaelke, Founder-President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, said:

“With warming accelerating and irreversible tipping points getting closer and closer, it’s essential to cut non-CO2 climate pollutants, especially the short-lived super climate pollutants. Cutting the super pollutants is the sprint we can win in the next few years to slow warming while we also run the marathon to decarbonize and reduce CO2. I am proud that IGSD in India has been able to successfully develop emissions reports at a sub-national scale in Haryana. Such reports are invaluable in terms of the data insights they offer, and I am sure we will be able to replicate the success for states across India in future.

Offering a global perspective, Kevin Tidwell, Managing Director, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, said:

“Climate change will disproportionately burden the Global South. It is essential to support research aiming to understand and mitigate the near-term effects of global warming; in particular, we need to better understand non-CO₂ climate pollutants and related mitigation pathways. IGSD’s work in India, with a focus on the impact of short-lived climate pollutants at the subnational level, is particularly significant. More quantifiable emissions and their effects on local communities help drive cost-effective impact by shaping policy, funding, and action.”

Michael Northrop, Program Director, Sustainable Development Program, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said:

“As the world readies for intensified climate conversations in the days and weeks ahead, it is essential to recognize the value of subnational emissions efforts. For climate-vulnerable geographies especially, it is critical to have dual strategies in place—not only long-term decarbonization pathways, but also frameworks that drive action on short-lived climate pollutants such as methane and black carbon, which have severe near-term impacts. IGSD’s work in India is crucial for the country’s climate future.”

New York, 28 September 2025 – The Climate & Clean Air Coalition’s methane forum, co-hosted with Michael Bloomberg, was one of the most important meetings of Climate Week 2025. Ministers and current and former heads of State urged the world to take faster action to cut methane emissions to slow near-term warming. The call for binding methane mitigation starting with the oil and gas sector was heard throughout the week.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley stated that:

“We need to recognize that if we are going to reduce emissions, and I say this to you, President Lula, as we go into COP, we … need a legally binding global agreement for methane reduction.  …  I feel that we do not need to reinvent the wheel. The Montreal Protocol that allowed us to reduce HFCs is the most successful climate agreement in history. We can replicate it….”

President Macron of France agreed:

“We need binding objectives on methane. We know that this is a reachable goal…. This is the best way to reduce our emissions and it’s also a G7 priority.”

President Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia elaborated:

“Voluntary methane pledges are failing to reduce emissions. Markets cannot align and polluters cannot be held accountable without stronger mandatory measures at national, regional, and global level. We need clear, predictable, mandatory approaches to ensure success. … Excellencies, friends, we have done this before. When the ozone layer was in crisis, leaders forged the Montreal Protocol—a binding, enforceable system that saved lives, created markets, and restored balance. We must summon that same courage for methane.”

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo also called for a binding methane agreement:

“Tuvalu therefore calls on major emitters to … step up methane action with binding commitment. … The ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change has made it crystal clear that inaction is not just immoral, it is unlawful. Together, we must rise to the challenge of honoring both legal and moral responsibility in safeguarding our shared future and pulling the emergency brake on methane. Cutting methane is the fastest scalable way to slow global warming, avoiding up to 0.3 degrees centigrade of warming by 2040 and buying critical time for long-term CO2 decarbonization strategies to take effect.” 

UN Secretary-General Guterres summed it up when he stated that for success at COP30:

“Five areas are crucial: First, … the clean energy transition.  …  Second, methane…. Drastic cuts this decade are essential – and most can be achieved quickly and cheaply. … fossil fuel operations could cut 40% of methane emissions today with no net cost. … The International Energy Agency estimates fossil fuel operations could cut 40% of methane emissions today with no net cost. Third, forests. We must end the destruction of nature’s greatest carbon sinks. This could deliver a fifth of needed emissions reductions by 2030.”

Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD, wrapped up the meeting, along with Eamon Ryan, the former Environment Minister from Ireland. Durwood noted:

“This meeting on Wednesday the 23rd of September was one of the most important of Climate Week 2025, co-hosted by one of the most important climate organizations in the world, the CCAC, where every minister and current and former head of State drew their methane facts from this organization as they unanimously urged the world to take faster action to cut methane emissions and slow near-term warming. The call for binding methane mitigation starting with the oil and gas sector was heard and is clearly the way forward.”

In addition, Laurent Fabius, the president of COP21 and a member of the COP Presidents’ Circle, published an Op-Ed September 24th setting out options of developing a Montreal Protocol-inspired methane agreement and/or extending the European methane regulations. He builds his argument using the same basic framing and facts, that methane is responsible for 30% of historic warming, has the potential to avoid 0.3ºC in the next 15 years and 0.5ºC by 2050, and that the Montreal Protocol is one model.

Following Climate Week, on October 1st, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change published a letter offering “Support for a strong and properly implemented EU Methane Regulation” signed by 42 leading institutional investors, representing more than EUR 4.75 trillion in assets, urging the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Union Member States “to maintain and implement the Regulation as adopted – including its timeline and core provisions”.

IGSD’s full report on methane efforts at NYCW is available here.

16 September 2025 – Today, on the occasion of the United Nations International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, IGSD, in collaboration with the Planetary Guardians Initiative, Plus Wonder, and others, released a report describing how the stratospheric ozone layer recovered from the danger zone through swift action under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The paper, How the Montreal Protocol Put the Stratospheric Ozone Layer on the Path to Recovery and Delayed Climate Tipping Points That Would Have Forced Earth Further Beyond Planetary Boundaries, also documents how recovery of the ozone layer helps protect the climate, agricultural and natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, and the built environment.

The paper was co-authored by leaders from the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Planetary Guardians Initiative, Plus Wonder, and other experts formerly with the Montreal Protocol Ozone Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme.

In a parallel effort, also in celebration of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, the Planetary Guardians Initiative released two reels sharing the inspiring history of Ozone protection (see here and here).

Dr. Sylvia Alice Earle, marine biologist and oceanographer:

“The authors are among the architects and implementers of the Montreal Protocol and pioneers of the planetary boundaries framework for maintaining a “safe operating space for humanity.” Here, they convey a sense of hope but also of utmost urgency for action concerning the other features identified as planetary boundaries.”

Dr. Stephen O. Andersen, IGSD Director of Research and lead-author:

“This paper shows how, over its nearly 40-year history, the Montreal Protocol can rightly claim to be the most successful international treaties ever struck. It has fulfilled its original objective by putting the stratospheric ozone layer on the road to recovery. But its benefits have not stopped there: it has also done more than any other measure to combat climate change.”

Dr. Johan Rockström, founder of Planetary Guardians Initiative and Co-Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK):

“Boundaries are set to avoid tipping points, to have a high chance to keep the planet in a state as close as possible to the Holocene, that allows it to maintain its resilience, stability, and life support capabilities. Go beyond and we enter a danger zone… the uncertainty range of science.”

Forthcoming from the Planetary Boundary Initiative is also the Planetary Health Check 2025 Report, which will include an extra special focus on the oceans. The launch of the report will be on 24 September 2025.

How the Montreal Protocol Put the Stratospheric Ozone Layer on the Path to Recovery and Delayed Climate Tipping Points That Would Have Forced Earth Further Beyond Planetary Boundaries is available here. Co-authored by Dr. Stephen O. Andersen and Durwood Zaelke (IGSD), Dr. Suely Carvalho (formerly UNDP), Marco González (formerly Montreal Protocol Ozone Secretariat), Jean Oelwang (Plus Wonder), Dr. Johan Rockström (Planetary Guardians), and Dr. Guus J. M. Velders (RIVM)

Constructive peer-review comments can be submitted to Dr. Andersen at sandersen@igsd.org.

16 September 2025 – In celebration of the United Nations International Ozone Day, the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and the Mobile Air Climate Systems Association (MACS) released a 100-page history of automotive leadership in air conditioning and heating technology that protects the stratospheric ozone layer and climate. The history also includes a case study of the global cooperation in research, development, and commercialization of Secondary-Loop motor vehicle air conditioning (SL-MAC) using the ozone-safe and climate-friendly natural refrigerant R-290 (propane) in all-electric vehicles.

Durwood Zaelke, Founder and President, IGSD:

“This is the history of hundreds of engineers over more than five decades, continuously improving cooling and heating technology. Today, they have accomplished “moon shot” secondary-loop designs that extend electric vehicle driving range and battery life using clean power.”

Sangeet Kapoor, retired from TATA Motors, SL-MAC consultant:

“My former engineering team at TATA Motors India, in collaboration with Mahle and IGSD, demonstrated a climate-friendly SL-MAC superior in economic, environmental, and technology performance. SAE International, with a larger team, accomplished the safety, performance, and service standards for fast market penetration.”

Steven Schaeber, Director of Training and Regulatory Affairs, MACS:

“It was more than 35 years ago that MACS began teaching its US Clean Air Act Certification and Training program for mobile air conditioning technicians. Over the years, this training — including the proper use of leak detection tools and refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment — has helped to protect the ozone layer and climate by significantly reducing the amount of harmful refrigerant released into the atmosphere.”

James A. Baker (retired from General Motors/Delphi):

“I was working at General Motors in refrigerant systems chemistry when Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland warned that chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants destroy the ozone layer that protects life on Earth from ultraviolet radiation. Others were skeptical of the science, but General Motors was not. We identified R-134a as the fast ozone-safe replacement and were ready in 1987 when the Montreal Protocol was signed.”

Industry Leadership in Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning (MACs) and Case Study of MAC Secondary-Loop Architecture Vital to Economic and Environmental Performance of All-Electric Vehicles is available here. Co-authored by Stephen O. Andersen, James A. Baker, Timothy D. Craig, Sangeet H. Kapoor, Steven G. Schaeber, Jr., and Sean Dennis (Technical Editor).

On World Environment Day, the Indian state of Punjab published Pathways to Net Zero in Punjab: The Critical Role of Non-CO₂ Pollutants, a groundbreaking report signaling a shift toward comprehensive climate action. The report, collaboratively developed by the Punjab State Council for Science & Technology, the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), calls for a dual-pronged approach targeting short-lived climate pollutants alongside CO₂ mitigation.

Between 2010 and 2023, Punjab experienced 128 heatwave days, including an early-season heatwave in 2022 that slashed wheat yields by up to 25% in certain districts. With all nine monitored cities surpassing national ambient air quality standards for PM2.5 in 2024, and projections suggesting a temperature rise of 2.1°C to 4.5°C by mid-century, immediate and effective action on non-CO₂ pollutants is vital.

Dr. Ravjot Singh, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs of Punjab:

“Punjab’s commitment to a clean environment is evident in our ongoing efforts, particularly in urban waste management. This comprehensive technical report, expertly prepared by IGSD and its partners, is a testament to the power of collaboration and data-driven solutions. I am extremely optimistic that its insights will translate directly into effective policies and a clear action plan, ensuring a sustainable and healthy future for all Punjabis.”

Executive Director PSCST, Mr. Pritpal Singh:

“This report offers Punjab a clear roadmap grounded in robust scientific analysis and practical recommendations. It identifies priority sectors and actionable interventions crucial for integrating climate action with clean air goals, ensuring informed decision-making and targeted policy implementation. Our collaborative approach has positioned Punjab to deliver meaningful reductions in non-CO₂ pollutants, setting an ambitious yet achievable standard for environmental excellence nationwide.”

Ms. Carolina Urmeneta, Program Director for Waste and Circular Economy of GMH:

“Concrete action plans to reduce non-CO₂ pollutants are critical – not only to bend the temperature curve and prevent overshoot, but also to deliver immediate local benefits, particularly in waste management, that improve the lives of communities. By supporting IGSD in developing this pathway together with different actors, we aim to strengthen South-South collaboration and accelerate collective climate action. This work reflects the vision of COP30 and supports India’s leadership in driving a decisive, multisectoral response to climate change, a challenge we must address together”.

Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD:

“While the marathon fight to cut carbon dioxide is vital, the sprint to cut short-lived climate pollutants may decide whether South Asia can survive the next two decades of heat stress. A first-of-its-kind report from Punjab shows why: SLCPs drive nearly half of today’s warming, and cutting them delivers quick wins for both health and climate. With granular, state-level SLCP data now available, India has a chance to lead by turning evidence into urgent action.”

Zerin Osho, Director of IGSD’s India Program:

“At IGSD, we’ve consistently advocated for addressing both long-term decarbonization and immediate reduction of short-lived pollutants. With severe impacts already experienced in Punjab—such as extensive heatwaves and reduced agricultural yields—immediate action becomes critical. Punjab’s integration of SLCF mitigation into its Vision 2047 roadmap and SAPCC 2.0 demonstrates leadership that can deliver significant emission reductions.“

Strategic Interventions Outlined in the Report:

  • Electrifying public transport and implementing comprehensive vehicle scrappage and hydrogen policies, aiming for up to 58% emission reductions in transport by 2047.
  • Achieving near-zero emissions from residential cooking by attaining 100% LPG adoption by 2030 (urban areas) and 2047 (rural areas).
  • Significantly reducing solid waste emissions through landfill closures and sustainable waste management practices such as composting, anaerobic digestion, and recycling.
  • Mitigating agricultural emissions through Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and crop diversification, potentially cutting emissions by up to 91% by 2047.
  • Reducing livestock emissions per unit of milk produced by integrating breed and fodder management, achieving reductions of up to 52% by 2047.
  • Promoting the use of paddy straw-based fuel in industrial boilers to support sustainable paddy straw management and enhance farmer incomes

The report emphasizes Punjab’s readiness to leverage ongoing initiatives and implement essential policy shifts. It serves as a living document, adaptable to evolving policies, technologies, and sectoral shifts, guiding the state toward a cleaner, healthier, and more climate-resilient future.

The full report, Pathways to Net Zero in Punjab: The Critical Role of Non-CO₂ Pollutants, is available here.

27 August 2025 – Today, China released its Action Plan for Controlling Industrial-Sector Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) Emissions (“Action Plan”), jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. IGSD’s bilingual Chinese-English version of the Action Plan is available here.

This interagency Action Plan tasks MEE to lead the establishment of a comprehensive industrial N₂O management system, strengthen policy and standards, and coordinate with air-pollution reduction and ozone-layer protection agendas. The release of the Action Plan follows the Chinese workshop on controlling emissions of N₂O, convened in September 2024, as described in IGSD’s earlier briefing, here.

Priorities and 2030 Targets

The Action Plan focuses on three N₂O-emitting industrial sectors, including adipic acid, nitric acid, and caprolactam. It promotes industry advancement in source/in-process abatement by operating control equipment with catalysts and encourages tail-gas recovery and purification, especially in the adipic acid industry. It also calls for strengthening the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for industrial N2O emissions and supporting the development and deployment of industrial N2O mitigation and reutilization technologies.

The Action Plan provides that China will further refine its policies on N₂O emissions control in the industrial sectors. Further, the Plan provides for China’s continuous mitigation of industrial N2O emissions, with the target of lowering N₂O emissions per unit of product in the adipic acid, nitric acid, and caprolactam industries to internationally leading levels by 2030.

Key Policy Measures

The Action Plan identifies key policy measures to strengthen the industrial N2O management system and promote the deployment of industrial N2O mitigation technologies, including the following:

  • Finance and market incentives: Supporting industrial N2O mitigation projects under the environment/climate finance system and incentivizing N2O abatement in China’s voluntary greenhouse gas emissions trading program.
  • Technology development and demonstration: Promoting industrial-sector N2O mitigation technology development and demonstration projects by incorporating these technologies into China’s National Catalogue of Key Low-Carbon Technologies for Promotion.
  • Co-control policies: Coordinating N₂O emissions control and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) control. Explore adding N₂O emission assessment into the environmental impact assessment for key industries and identify measures with co-benefits on pollution control and climate mitigation.
  • MRV systems: Establishing an enterprise emissions reporting system, including monitoring and emission-related standards and exploring the automatic monitoring of industrial N2O emissions.

The Action Plan provides a basis for monitoring China’s future policy action in the above areas and tracking N2O mitigation progress towards the 2030 emissions reduction goal specified in the Plan.

Additional IGSD Resources:

IGSD’s mission is to build resilience by accelerating fast climate mitigation actions to slow near-term warming and self-reinforcing climate feedbacks, avoid catastrophic climate and societal tipping points, and limit global temperature to 1.5°C—or at least keep this temperature guardrail in sight. This work includes advancing international exchanges and cooperation to reduce the emissions of non-CO2 climate super pollutants in China and elsewhere around the world, such as N2O.

San Jose, Costa Rica, 4 July 2025 — Yesterday the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published its groundbreaking legal opinion declaring that States have a wide range of human rights obligations to address what the Court unanimously agreed to be a real and escalating climate emergency. In order to protect and guarantee multiple human rights including the newly articulated right to a healthy climate, States must undertake urgent and effective actions on mitigation, adaptation, and progress toward sustainable development through a lens of resilience and human rights.

The Opinion is a monumental development in the application of international human rights law to climate change. The Inter-American Court’s willingness to step up to the plate and issue its comprehensive legal proclamations necessary to preserve human rights in the face of the climate emergency should serve as an inspiration to courts and litigants everywhere.

Among other conclusions, Advisory Opinion (OC-32/25) sets a high (“reinforced”) standard of due diligence on all OAS members to take near-, medium-, and long-term actions to strengthen resilience and to protect human rights. In addition to declaring that States have binding obligations to implement domestic climate policies, the Opinion also declared  that States have duties to cooperate internationally on climate measures (noting specifically the UN Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as a model), and to protect citizens’ access to justice by adapting judicial procedural requirements to the climate context, strengthening the democratic rule of law, and establishing specific protections for environmental defenders and for other vulnerable groups disproportionately impacted by climate change.  

“Nation states, which have the power to implement mitigation and adaptation policies, and which will gather in the Amazon for COP30 this year, have a duty to defend the rights of their citizens. The Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is not just a safeguard for litigants: it is a powerful message to negotiators to fight for the rights of their peoples,” said Romina Picolotti, founder of the Center for Human Rights and the Environment and former Minister of Environment for Argentina.

Compliance with these obligations is necessary to protect and guarantee multiple human rights including the right to a healthy climate, which the Court articulated for the first time in the Opinion. This right, though closely connected to the right to a healthy environment, functions autonomously to protect present and future generations of humanity, as well as the Rights of Nature (which the Opinion also embraced for the first time). Emphasizing the interdependence of essential natural processes with the continuation of human life and the life of other species, the Court also declared that human actions which irreversibly damage the “vital balance” of the common ecosystem constitute a violation of international law at its highest level.

The Court’s reasoning was guided by the best available science, climate and human rights law, and the concept of climate resilience. The Opinion identifies methane and other short-lived climate pollutants as powerful contributors to climate change and praises the Montreal Protocol’s role as one of the most successful international environmental agreements in history.

“The Opinion is destined to become one of the most important legal documents of the century. It provides the roadmap for litigators and judges throughout the world, giving them the guidance they need to effectively address the climate emergency,” said IGSD President Durwood Zaelke.  “The Court stresses the need for speed and the need for binding mitigation at national and global level. The Court recognizes that promises and pledges are not a substitute for binding legal requirements,” he added.

States are legally required to comply with the Opinion, as the highest authoritative interpretation of binding human rights obligations. Under the doctrine of ‘conventionality control,’ all domestic authorities—in judicial, legislative, and executive functions—must act in conformity with the Court’s pronouncements.

For additional information, see:

For media inquiries, please contact Katie Super at ksuper@igsd.org

On Thursday 3 July, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is releasing its long-awaited Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights. 

In the forthcoming Opinion the Court is expected to clarify the obligations of States to protect human rights by addressing the causes and consequences of climate change, taking into account considerations of equity, justice, and sustainability.

This will create authoritative legal guidance for all 34 Member States including some of the most populous and highest-emitting countries in Latin America, which are bound by the American Convention, such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

📅 Join us this Friday, 4 July 2025 from 11am–12pm EDT for a webinar that will feature initial reactions and expert analysis, with a focus on what this Advisory Opinion means for strategic litigation, legal enforcement, and vulnerable communities in the region and beyond. 

📍Register at https://lse.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KuNJ3QB-RuOWjTm8JjiqXw#/registration  

Co-hosted with the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Center for Human Rights & Environment.

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