Strategic Litigation and Environmental Rights

ongoing

The applicant and its member organizations, each as separate beneficiaries will focus on a specific area: climate and energy policy, and raise the awareness of the target audiences to be able to rely on the EU Charter rights in the climate and energy related policies of the EU. The higher level of awareness of the target groups, i.e., CSOs, legal practitioners and ombuds institution staff will contribute to a balance between EU policies on energy and environment while respecting fundamental rights and transparency, participation, and justice. Actual project activities will consist of researching EU legal instruments, collecting data on Member State level implementation of policies, training the target groups (CSOs, legal practitioners etc.) at training sessions and having national events with ombuds institutions and EU level events with the participation of EU institutions and journalists. Also, national and EU level publications will be prepared, and the entire project will be covered by appropriate communications actions. Awareness raising and training activities will be focused on procedural rights stemming from the EU Charter and the Aarhus Convention and will increase the knowledge of the target groups of EU law, the available remedies and their application in climate and energy policy matters (strategic and project level decision-making). They will increase the ability of the members of the target groups to develop a litigation strategy and communicate and advocate for the enforcement of Art. 37 of the EU Charter, in order to promote a high level of environmental protection with special regard to climate and energy matters. All this will result in a higher level of awareness and capacity to enforce rights stemming from the EU Charter and to make steps to improve access to justice and enforcement of rights under EU (climate, energy and environmental) law. The project will be implemented in a coordinated fashion in 8 EU Member States.