Omnibus Simplification Package – The European Commission’s change of heart on corporate sustainability
by Saga Eriksson, Doctoral Researcher In February 2025 the European Commission introduced the Omnibus Simplification Package aimed at making changes to key sustainability reporting provisions outlined in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Taxonomy Regulation. The main aim of the Package is to reduce the scope […]
The ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: A Business and Human Rights Perspective
by Annalisa Savaresi, Professor of International Environmental Law at University of Eastern Finland and Marisa McVey, Lecturer in Law at Queen’s University Belfast This blog post was first published on Opinio Juris (4 August 2025). State obligations in relation to climate change have come under increasing scrutiny by international courts in recent years. In July 2025, it […]
The EU’s Dilemma on International Carbon Credits
by Kateryna Holzer, Senior Researcher This blogpost is based on research under the project ‘Voluntary carbon offsetting in (climate) action: Perception coalitions, representations, and regulation (OFFCORR)’, funded by the Research Council of Finland (grant 355944). Opinions expressed are however those of the author only. With the adoption of additional decisions on registries and standards for […]
Designing Climate Clubs in Harmony with the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities
By Catherine Hall, PhD Researcher Despite some notable successes and progress, the UN climate regime has been unable to stem the flow of global greenhouse gas emissions at the speed and scale needed to avoid dangerous climate change. The latest Emissions Gap Report reveals a particularly sobering reality. If countries fail to deliver stronger ambition […]
Democracy and Deliberation in the UNFCCC
By Tuomas Palosaari, Lecturer Democracy and the International System People living in democracies have ways to influence and follow public decision-making that affects their lives. International decision-making is problematic in this regard. The ‘chain of legitimacy’ imagined as extending from the people to the public decision-makers is convoluted when applied to international decision-making. In democracies […]
Climate Initiatives and Research Facilitating the Expansion of High-integrity Voluntary Climate Action
By Lauri Peterson, Senior Researcher In recent years, various initiatives have emerged aimed at promoting voluntary climate action (VCA). Put simply, VCA consists of efforts and measures that businesses and governments undertake of their own accord, without being legally mandated or required to do so by regulatory frameworks to tackle climate change. An increasing number […]
Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment at the Council of Europe: Why it matters
By Corina Heri, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Zurich, Linnéa Nordlander, Assistant Professor at University of Copenhagen, and Annalisa Savaresi, Professor at University of Stirling and Associate Professor, University of Eastern Finland. First published in the GNHRE blog on 5 January 2024. Established in 1949, the Council of Europe (CoE) is the world’s oldest human rights system. It now […]
Climate COP-28: What is all the hype about, what exactly is it that COPs do in legal terms?
By Tuula Honkonen, Senior Lecturer of International Law. First published in the 2035Legitimacy blog on 1 December 2023. In the advent of yet another UN Climate Change Conference, it is relevant to ask what these massive gatherings produce in legal terms. What exactly are the COP decisions that are the main legal outcome of the […]
“Oikeus kehittyy, kun sitä käytetään”: Asiantuntijoiden analyysi Suomen ensimmäisestä ilmasto-oikeudenkäynnistä
Kirjoittajat: Kati Kulovesi, Maiju Mähönen, Milka Sormunen. First published in 2035Legitimacy blog on 13 September 2023. Ympäristöjärjestöjen valitus hallituksen riittämättömistä ilmastotoimista johti tilanteeseen, jossa korkeimman hallinto-oikeuden täytyi arvioida vakiintuneita käytäntöjään. Neljä asiantuntijaa purkaa oikeudenkäynnin vaikutuksia ilmastolakiin, oikeusturvaan ja Suomen ilmastopolitiikkaan. “Ilmastonmuutos on parhaan tieteellisen tiedon perusteella ihmiskunnan kohtalonkysymys, joka uhkaa nykyisen ja tulevien sukupolvien elinehtoja […]
The EU needs to constitutionalise climate policy to stabilise the climate transition
By Kati Kulovesi, Professor of International Law and Sebastian Oberthür, Professor of Environmental Policy and Law. First published in the GreenDeal-NET blog on 19 June. While the European Commission has launched public consultations on the EU’s intermediary climate target for 2040, mounting calls for a pause in implementing the European Green Deal risk derailing progress. […]