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Ashfaq Khalfan

@ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social
102 followers 133 following 136 posts

Director, Sustainability Regulation Observatory, London School of Economics

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Reposted by Ashfaq Khalfan
Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Somewhat under the radar, there is an important vote coming up in the @europarl.europa.eu on CBAM expansion for downstream products. Thank you to Ignacio bruegel.org for this somewhat critical review. www.bruegel.org/first-glance...
bruegel.org
Extending CBAM to downstream products risks undermining its credibility as a climate policy tool
The current proposals to extend CBAM's coverage are more about trade protection than stopping carbon leakage
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Open Society Foundations @open-society.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
We’ve joined American Friends Service Committee, @hrw.org, and @ccrjustice.org in challenging a U.S. executive order that imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court officials and others working to pursue justice for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court officials and those who work with them threaten fundamental rights and the rule of law. Those who pursue justice for the world’s gravest crimes should not be punished for doing so.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
A revealing moment when I surveyed the room through a show of hands: nearly all felt governments must lead, compared to companies and individuals. But hardly anyone believed they will.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I spoke at the Mahfil Ali mosque on who should end carbon pollution. My focus was on governments' responsibility to do this through regulation and taxation. There were excellent questions, and an interesting discussion followed that's worth listening to.
youtube.com
Friday 3 July 2026 - Who should be responsible for ending carbon pollution?
YouTube video by SICM Mahfil Ali
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LSE Blogs @lseblogs.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Deadly wildfires like those now gripping France and Spain are often cited as evidence of the need to tackle climate change. But do these events lead to real political change? @timwapps.bsky.social @antvalentim.bsky.social @heikekluever.bsky.social @lstoetze.bsky.social @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk
There is little evidence extreme weather events spur political action on climate change - LSE European Politics
There is no evidence of a shift in the political attention paid to the environment in the aftermath of extreme weather events like flooding and wildfires.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
To receive invitations to similar events and our policy brief that builds on the event and our research, Regulating Corporate Responsibility, please join the LSE Sustainable Governance mailing list: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/mhDWvFvV5w
forms.cloud.microsoft
Microsoft Forms
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
The speakers: levick.bsky.social (e3g.bsky.social), Prof. Dr. Galina Kolev-Schaefer (IW Köln), Sarah-Jane Denton (Travers Smith), pbloomer.bsky.social (@business-humanrights.org), Colleen Theron (ardeaint.bsky.social), @richardhowitt.bsky.social (Frank Bold) with vmlheyvaert.bsky.social as judge.
levick.bsky.social
Kate Levick (@levick.bsky.social)
East Londoner, @E3G Sustainable Finance, generally curious about things/people.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Full write-up by Ana Fati and the recording here www.lse.ac.uk/law/gsos/pub...
lse.ac.uk
Due Diligence on Trial: What the Verdict Tells Policymakers
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Corporate sustainability due diligence went on trial at LSE. Our jury of 65 found it guilty of being "too little", but cleared it of being a distraction or harmful to economies.
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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
How can respect for human rights respond to the global challenge? The African Court's existing case law on environmental protection can serve as a good basis for an answer of this question says Hon. Judge Duncan Gaswaga (African Court of Human & Peoples Rights). @cisdl.bsky.social #SDLaw26
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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Closing of the Human Rights in the Global Climate Emergency panel - What are the links between HR and climate change, and how can respect for human rights respond to the global threat of climate change? How are HR courts rising to the challenge of this historical moment? @cisdl.bsky.social #SDLaw26
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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Start of the Global Experts Plenary I on Linking HRs & Climate Change chaired by @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social and Ayman Cherkaoui with Profes. Sumudu Atapattu, Marcel Szabo, Payam Akhavan, Tenia Kyriazi, David Boyd and @unsrclimatehrights.bsky.social Elisa Morgera @cisdl.bsky.social #SDLaw26
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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Climate action is increasingly translated into legal obligation and the future is implementation says Prof. Tenia Kyriazi, here with Profes. David Boyd ( @ires.ubc.ca), Elisa Morgera ( @unsrclimatehrights.bsky.social / @durham.ac.uk) and Dr @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social @cisdl.bsky.social #SDLaw26
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Just another day in autodestruct mode.
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Reposted by Ashfaq Khalfan
Grantham Research Institute at LSE @granthamlse.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
“Cases brought to resist regulatory rollbacks, funding freezes and the dismantling of existing climate rules, now constitute around 20% of climate cases filed in the US in 2025” according to analysis published today by the Grantham Research Institute.
lse.ac.uk
Global trends in climate change litigation: 2026 snapshot - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
An exploration of key trends and evolutions in global climate change litigation from the calendar year 2025, plus important new developments through to May 2026.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The accompanying Sustainability Regulation Observatory policy brief maps the principal obstacles facing litigants, the legal and methodological approaches that can be utilised to surmount each, with examples of how these approaches have been deployed #ClimateAccountability
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The clinic report identifies two theories to make this argument: banks should be held directly responsible as enablers for the emissions their capital makes possible or they should be held responsible as facilitators, bearing proportional joint responsibility for the emissions each facilitates.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The report assesses the available methodologies to attribute responsibility for emissions to banks, where they have been used and begins to identify the principles that a legally compelling approach to attribution for the financial sector would need to satisfy.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
10 LSE students examined how litigants and civil society organisations have sought to quantify financed emissions and articulate the legal responsibility of banks for enabling climate breakdown.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Since the Paris Agreement, the world's 65 largest banks have committed $7.9 trillion to fossil fuel companies. Can they be held legally responsible for the climate harm that their financing enables?
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Read the report and policy brief: www.lse.ac.uk/law/gsos/cli...
lse.ac.uk
Banks, Financed Emissions, and the Road to Climate Accountability – A Collaboration with ClientEarth’s Accountable Finance Team
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
New report out: Who Pays for Climate Breakdown? Banks, Financed Emissions, and the Road to Climate Accountability — from the LSE Sustainability Law and Policy Clinic, part of @gsos-lse.bsky.social in partnership with @clientearth.bsky.social and @granthamlse.bsky.social anthamlse.bsky.social
lse.ac.uk
Banks, Financed Emissions, and the Road to Climate Accountability – A Collaboration with ClientEarth’s Accountable Finance Team
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LSE Review of Books @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
NEW: Tax is a powerful tool for improving our lives – a social superpower, even. But the world loses around half a trillion dollars every year through crossborder tax abuse. @alexcobham.bsky.social @taxjustice.net argues for stronger international tax frameworks ahead of his #LSEFestival event.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Stronger tax frameworks can make a fairer world - LSE Review of Books
Alex Cobham argues that fairer rules, progressive taxation and a new UN tax framework could ensure more accountability and better public services worldwide.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
No naivety, though: powerful lobbies are mobilising against sustainability and economic justice, with serious resources. David is facing an intelligent Goliath, so we need more than a slingshot. Let's talk about the strategies needed: www.lse.ac.uk/events/lse-f... @gsos-lse.bsky.social
lse.ac.uk
How the right laws can save the planet | Enactment and Implementation
1pm Wed 17 Jun | Alex Cobham, Siva Thambisetty, Tessa Khan | Free event at the LSE Festival: How to save the planet | Ticket required
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
In despair about 'strongmen' rolling back environmental rules and economic justice? Don't be. Join me Wed 17 June, 1 pm BST online/in-person with people making law work: @tessakhan.bsky.social on oil & gas limits sivathambisetty.bsky.social on protecting nature @alexcobham.bsky.social on global tax
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Oil and gas profits are booming, and there is unprecedented attention to taxation on fossil fuel companies seen at the Santa Marta Conference on phasing out fossil fuels. There is a political path for new permanent higher taxes on fossil fuel companies.
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Reposted by Ashfaq Khalfan
Chris Hopkins @chrishopkins.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Ok, I'm bundling professional announcements again (since I clearly *love* doing them?👎😅) First, very excited to be joining the Sustainability Regulation Observatory (SRO) @ @gsos-lse.bsky.social as part of the brand new policy team; co hosted by @granthamlse.bsky.social & @lselaw.bsky.social 🏭💚
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Looking forward to working with you Chris! @gsos-lse.bsky.social @vmlheyvaert.bsky.social
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Open Society Foundations @open-society.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
As Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social writes in @theguardian.com, these hatreds cannot be defeated apart. That’s why we recently announced a $30 million initiative to counter both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate and keep communities safe across faiths. Read more:
theguardian.com
Anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism are twin crises. We must confront them together | Binairfer Nowrojee
The two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers. But they overlap even as Muslim and Jewish communities are pitted against each other
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
How do you turn people off the green transition and deliver them to the far right? Through #ClimateAuthoritarianism. The government seeks to coerce, not to persuade. And it's turning a planning system based on consent into one based on decree. This week's column.🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? | George Monbiot
Tearing up planning and using protest laws to criminalise local people – this isn’t how to build the broad consent needed, says the Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
A deeply concerning analysis by @richardjmurphy.bsky.social I'm not qualified to assess its merits, but it sounds as if we should at least be highly alert to the possibilities he raises. www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/05...
taxresearch.org.uk
This could be as bad as 1929, and maybe very much worse
As Katie Martin has noted in the FT this morning, there is something exceptionally strange going on in the world's financial markets at the moment, and we should be taking note. Since 30th March this...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Speakers include @levick.bsky.social (@e3g.bsky.social), Prof. Dr. Galina Kolev-Schaefer (IW Köln), Sarah-Jane Denton (Travers Smith), @pbloomer.bsky.social (BHRRC), Colleen Theron (@ardeaint.bsky.social), with @vmlheyvaert.bsky.social as judge. #LSE #DueDiligence #Sustainability #CSDDD
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Registration link - lselaw.events/event/due-di...
lselaw.events
Due Diligence on Trial: What can corporate sustainability due diligence regulation deliver for people, the climate and nature? - LSE Law School Events
Corporate sustainability due diligence has emerged as one of the most significant and contested regulatory innovations of the past decade. The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
⚖️ Due Diligence on Trial — a mock trial event from @gsos-lse.bsky.social's Sustainability Regulation Observatory What can corporate sustainability due diligence actually deliver? 📅 20 May | 6:30pm | LSE Marshall Building and online | Reception to follow Registration link in replies
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Grantham Research Institute at LSE @granthamlse.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
A new working paper by Simon Dietz and Nikolaus Hastreiter finds little evidence of large immediate emissions cuts after firms adopt net zero targets, but some signs of gradual emissions reductions and stronger strategic climate management and governance practices.
lse.ac.uk
Corporate net zero targets: have they achieved anything? - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
In this paper, the authors examine whether firms that adopt long-term net zero targets subsequently reduce their carbon emissions or strengthen their climate-related management and governance.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Glad to see the MCB statement on the appalling Golders Green attack. mcb.org.uk/mcb-statemen...
mcb.org.uk
MCB Statement on Golders Green Stabbing Attack | Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain shares our deepest concerns and prayers with the Jewish community following the horrific stabbing attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green this morning taking place in f...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Chair: @sivathambisetty.bsky.social Register at lselaw.events/event/climat... Organised by @gsos-lse.bsky.social @granthamlse.bsky.social and LSE Law School #ClimateLitigation #HumanRights #ClimateAction #LSE
lselaw.events
Climate Change on Trial - Book Talk by César Rodríguez-Garavito - LSE Law School Events
Please join us for an event where Professor César Rodríguez-Garavito will speak about his book Climate Change on Trial: Mobilizing Human Rights Litigation to Accelerate Climate Action (Cambridge Unive...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Join us next Wednesday 29 April 2–3:15 PM BST online and in person at LSE for a exciting panel on climate litigation. César Rodríguez-Garavito presents his new book Climate Change on Trial, with Joana Setzer, Eoin Jackson @granthamlse.bsky.social and Vesselina Newman @clientearth.bsky.social
lselaw.events
Climate Change on Trial - Book Talk by César Rodríguez-Garavito - LSE Law School Events
Please join us for an event where Professor César Rodríguez-Garavito will speak about his book Climate Change on Trial: Mobilizing Human Rights Litigation to Accelerate Climate Action (Cambridge Unive...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Money for nothing indeed ..... for our favourite corporations
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge Iran war windfall from consumers, analysis finds Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026 @globalwitness.org #rystadenergy Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds
Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I initiated this project during my recently concluded tenure at Oxfam. Thanks to Anders Dahlbeck, Arimbi Wahono, Sze-Vei Leong and Martina Sole for making this happen. Full details, including the complete country list, in my LinkedIn post: www.linkedin.com/posts/ashfaq...
linkedin.com
Oxfam and Shared Planet have completed a first-of-its-kind mapping of where 62 countries (including all G20 countries), the European Union, and the African Group stand on making fossil fuel companies…...
Oxfam and Shared Planet have completed a first-of-its-kind mapping of where 62 countries (including all G20 countries), the European Union, and the African Group stand on making fossil fuel companies ...
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
The mapping covers national laws and policies, government positions, and stances in global forums like the UN Tax Convention negotiations. A summary of the project and conclusions to date is in these slides: docs.google.com/presentation...
docs.google.com
Polluter pays mapping - Summary slides
Polluter pays taxation country mapping Summary of findings March 2026
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
New from @Oxfam and Shared Planet: a first-of-its-kind mapping of where 62 countries, the EU, and the African Group stand on making fossil fuel companies pay -- through higher corporate taxes, financial penalties, or levies on extraction. Available: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
Fossil fuel profit taxes country position mapping .xlsx
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Andreas Sieber @andreassieber.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
💥 5 countries ask the #EU to tax the obscene #windfall profits of #fossilfuel companies. At @350.org, we calculate 100bn+ has been transferred in excess costs to these companies just in 1st month of war. The countries: Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. www.politico.eu/article/aust...
politico.eu
5 countries ask Brussels to tax energy companies benefitting from Iran crisis
Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain want extra corporate profits generated during the Mideast conflict to be distributed fairly.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
By allowing impunity in Gaza, governments created the conditions for what may follow. The moment to attach real consequences to violations of international law, like comprehensive arms embargoes and targeted economic sanctions is now.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Countries that abetted the Gaza genocide or failed their obligations to prevent it under the Genocide Convention (in spite of a reminder of these obligations from the ICJ) signalled to Trump and Netanyahu that mass atrocities carry no consequences.
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Netanyahu could undermine this ceasefire and thereby prompt Trump to act on his appalling threats to end Iran's civilisation, with catastrophic consequences for Lebanon too
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Here's the risk. Netanyahu's objective is to turn Iran into a failed State. He subverted a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza in March 2025, following which Israel continued to carry out a genocide, in part through famine caused by its siege. I worry he will achieve the same goal here
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Ashfaq Khalfan @ashfaqkhalfan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
At least one head of government did NOT breathe a sigh of relief when the ceasefire was announced. Netanyahu's office immediately declared it does not cover Lebanon, contradicting the Pakistani mediators who said it covered all fronts. Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued.
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