Transnational Bodies

IMF Report Nudges Vietnam on Green Growth

January 18, 2018

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) evaluation of Vietnam's response to the impacts of climate change, calling on the country's government to "adapt its economy toward a more sustainable and ecofriendly growth model," demonstrates how the IMF is shifting its focus toward pushing for climate-friendly development in response to global warming.
IACHR Recognizes Right to Same-Sex Marriage

January 11, 2018

The BBC reports that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), an arm of the Organization of American States that issues rulings on human rights issues in the region, has ruled that its members must recognize a right of same-sex couples to marry and rejected the establishment of a separate legal regime governing same-sex relationships.
OSCE Official Criticizes Latvian Expulsion of Reporter

January 09, 2018

The Baltic Review reports that the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir, responding to a demand from the Russian Foreign Ministry, has called on Latvia to rescind its decision to expel a Russian news reporter the Latvian government has deemed a threat to the country's national security.
EU-Supported Research Warns of Increase in Climate Refugees

January 08, 2018

The Daily Mail reports that research commissioned and funded by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre indicates that asylum applications to EU member states will triple by the year 2100 due to the impacts of climate change on developing countries, fueling calls to create new institutions to handle such "climate refugee" flows.
OSCE Official Opposes US "Net Neutrality" Decision

January 04, 2018

In the lead-up to the decision by the US Federal Communications Commission to roll back rules prohibiting internet providers from discriminating against certain internet content, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir warned that such reform of US "net neutrality" policy would violate international standards on freedom of expression.
OECD Pushes Environmental Reforms in Switzerland

January 02, 2018

A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) calls on the Swiss government to adopt an "action plan" to improve biodiversity in the country and to expand its carbon taxes to help meet global climate commitments.
IACHR Judges Move to Bind All States with Rulings

December 15, 2017

Dr. Marianna Orlandi of the Center for Family & Human Rights reports that judges of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) called, at a recent session in Panama, for the recognition of a doctrine under which all countries in the Americas are bound to the human rights judgments of the IACHR, including those loosening restrictions on abortion and gay marriage.
World Bank Bond Project Incentivizes Low-carbon Business Practices

December 14, 2017

The World Bank has completed the second repayment of bonds under its Pilot Auction Facility, a program designed to “promote private sector investment in climate action” through an incentivized bond regime.
Development Financiers Commit to Climate-friendly Financing

December 14, 2017

Members of the International Development Finance Club and the Multilateral Development Banks have issued a joint statement promising to increase the proportion of investment directed to “low-carbon and climate resilient sustainable development,” as well as to fight for related policy adaptation by national and subnational governments.
OECD Seeks National Budgetary Alignment with Climate Accord

December 14, 2017

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has announced a new initiative—the “Paris Collaborative on Green Budgeting”—that will seek to drive national governments into aligning their respective budgets with the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.