Center for International Environmental Law
Description
The Center for International Environmental Law, known as CIEL, is a nonprofit environmental law organization.
It uses the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and work toward a just and sustainable society. Its attorneys, policy experts and staff provide legal counsel and advocacy, policy research and capacity building. Work is organized around three program areas: Climate and Energy, Environmental Health and Fossil Economy, covering issues such as biodiversity, chemicals, plastic, trade and international financial institutions.
CIEL also publishes research, including reports on fossil fuel industry disinformation and the impact of plastics on health and climate. It runs a legal internship and fellowship program for law students, training more than 500 interns and fellows from 54 countries over its history, and conducts a joint research and teaching program with a law school.
CIEL was founded in 1989. It is based in Washington, DC, with an additional office in Geneva, Switzerland.
Latest news
The Insurance Industry’s Fossil Fuel Problem
Published September 21, 2026 By Nikki Reisch (Director, Climate & Energy Program) and Charles Slidders (Manager and Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies) at the Center for International Environmental. The US Supreme Court opens its new term on October 5 with oral arguments in Suncor v. Boulder...
22 Sep 2026
From CIEL to Climate Breakthrough: Building a Global Path Beyond Petrochemicals
Published September 21, 2026 Delphine Lévi Alvarès, reflects on the people, movements, and ideas that shaped her work at CIEL—and the vision she will now pursue through the Climate Breakthrough Award, the largest climate award for individuals. The award sets her to answer one of the most...
21 Sep 2026
The Plastics Treaty’s ‘Aid to Negotiations’ Text, Explained — And Why It Falls Short
Published September 17, 2026 The plastics treaty negotiations are approaching another critical moment, but the text intended to get them back on track instead risks doing the opposite. Released on August 8, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) Chair’s “Aid to Negotiations” text is...
17 Sep 2026
How Climate Law Is Reshaping Global Politics
Published July 29, 2026 By Nikki Reisch, Climate and Energy Program Director at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). This piece was originally published as an opinion by Forward Law Review. One year after the ICJ’s landmark advisory opinion and on the heels of the UN General...
29 Jul 2026
Europe’s largest carbon capture project is not a Climate win. It’s a dangerous distraction
Europe’s largest carbon capture project locks in fossil fertilizers, wastes public funds, and delays real climate solutions and energy resilience.
27 Jul 2026
One Year On: From Legal Clarity to Global Implementation of the ICJ Climate Advisory Opinion
Published on July 22, 2026 Joie Chowdhury, Climate Justice and Accountability Manager and Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental, Richard Harvey, formerly Legal Counsel Campaigns at Greenpeace International, and Nicole Ponce, Advocacy Lead at World Youth for Climate...
22 Jul 2026
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