International:
Independent international expert committee on liability
Establish a democratically controlled, independent international liability expert committee to develop guidelines that support the drafting and implementation of binding international, regional, national, sub-national, and local legislation that advances liability mechanisms.
What does this look like?
This expert group should be housed independently of multilateral or bilateral institutions), and should be comprised of independent experts, attorneys, and representatives of frontline communities.
Ensure representation by people on the front lines of the climate and environmental crisis who hold first-hand expertise on polluting industries’ abuses and impacts of climate change.
Ensure the work of this committee is bound by timelines that match the urgency of the need.
Protect the work of this committee from the undue influence and manipulation of polluting corporations and industries, or those directly or indirectly representing them.
Implementing the measures of the liability roadmap
Decision-makers and movements at all levels should keep the following in mind when implementing the measures laid out in this roadmap:
Enacting these policies and measures is simply the first step to holding polluting and destructive industries liable: There will be much work for government officials, decision-makers, activists and civil society alike to do to ensure these measures are fully implemented and move us toward the transformative change the world needs.
Liability should be applied to all industries and corporations that make business decisions that contribute to climate change and its impacts, or that cause harm to people and nature. In addition to the fossil fuel industry, these industries include but are not limited to agribusiness, forestry, mining, and the energy sector.
Many of these measures could equally apply to state-owned corporations. Because the national contexts and unique needs vary from country to country, it is worth considering where to apply and how to adapt the principles and measures listed in the Liability Roadmap to address state-owned polluting corporations. Factors to consider when doing so could include but are not limited to the degree of democratic control over the entity, role and use of funding from oil/gas revenues, and responsiveness of the entity to transition to regenerative, renewable energy sources.
Measures implemented at the national level should support and reinforce, rather than contradict, measures implemented at the sub-national and local, and vice versa.