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Climate Commitments Fuel Emissions Lawsuits
December 08, 2017
An article in The Economist explains how the growing number of commitments by governments to climate change targets, including those made under the UN's Paris climate deal agreed in 2015, is fueling an expansion in "climate lawsuits" seeking to hold businesses and governments to account for their contributions to or failure to contain global warming.
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Communities File IFC Complaint over Global Warming
December 08, 2017
The Manila Bulletin reports that a coalition of citizen groups and communities in the Philippines filed a complaint in October with the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Compliance Advisor Ombudsman alleging that IFC investments in a Philippine bank that in turn invests in coal projects are contributing to the "death and destruction" caused by global warming.
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EC Investigates UK Corporate Tax Exemption
December 08, 2017
In October, the European Commission (EC) opened a formal investigation into whether the UK's Group Financing Exemption in its tax rules violate EU State Aid laws by potentially giving some companies transferring funds to offshore subsidiaries better tax treatment than others.
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NGO: Respect Environment, Rights by Stopping Economic Growth
December 07, 2017
In November, the nongovernmental organization Friends of the Earth Europe hosted a conference pushing for an end to the "sustainable growth dogma" to be replaced by pressure for slowing or halting economic growth through the "equitable downscaling of production and consumption that will reduce societies' throughput of energy and raw materials."
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UN Fund: Businesses Must Promote "Peaceful" Societies
December 07, 2017
The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Fund recently published a report placing responsibility on businesses to help achieve SDGs promoting "peace, justice and strong institutions" through such activities as diversity efforts and "supporting justice initiatives."