Access to Justice under the Climate Law

The document supports a European Parliament proposal to grant the public and NGOs the right to challenge the legality of national climate plans (NECPs and LTSs) in court. It argues that such a provision is necessary to ensure equal protection across EU Member States and is consistent with existing EU environmental law, the Aarhus Convention, and the right to an effective remedy.

• The European Parliament proposes a provision enabling affected individuals and environmental NGOs to initiate legal proceedings in national courts if a Member State violates EU law during the preparation or adoption of an Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) or a Long Term Strategy (LTS).
• Legal challenges under this provision could target procedural failures, such as a Member State's failure to conduct public consultations or prepare summaries of public views as required by Art. 10 of the Governance Regulation, or substantive violations of EU environmental law, such as the abandonment of contributions to the climate neutrality target.
• The proposed provision aligns with existing EU environmental legislation, including the EIA Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive, and is supported by the Aarhus Convention and the fundamental right to an effective remedy under Art. 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
• Explicit access to justice provisions are necessary because current court access for EU law violations varies by Member State, leading to unequal protection for citizens and a lack of a level playing field.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). Access to Justice under the Climate Law. https://www.clientearth.org/media/iziosvmx/access-to-justice-under-the-climate-law.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Access to Justice under the Climate Law. 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/iziosvmx/access-to-justice-under-the-climate-law.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Access to Justice under the Climate Law |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/iziosvmx/access-to-justice-under-the-climate-law.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2020access, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Access to Justice under the Climate Law}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/iziosvmx/access-to-justice-under-the-climate-law.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }