Conference session 1: Strategic litigation to make the green transition happen.

The document summarizes a ClientEarth conference session featuring experts who discussed the importance of strategic litigation, transparency, and the Aarhus Convention in achieving the green transition. Key discussions focused on the European Commission's proposal to revise the Aarhus Regulation, the limitations of the CJEU's Plauman judgment, and the tension between representative democracy and the long-term environmental goals pursued by NGOs.

• Strategic litigation has seen a significant increase in volume in recent years, driven by the determination of NGOs and individuals, the Aarhus Regulation, and the dynamic case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
• Transparency and access to information are essential for generating political debate and enabling participation in decision-making, supporting the EU's identity as a participatory democracy under Article 10 of the Treaty on European Union.
• Despite progress in document availability and access to trilogue documents, EU institutions are exhibiting a 'dangerous trend' toward a general presumption of secrecy in more areas, which conflicts with transparency regulations requiring access to be as wide as possible.
• The European Commission's proposal to revise the Aarhus Regulation suggests expanding administrative review for environmental NGOs to include regulatory acts and acts beyond those of individual scope.
• ClientEarth identifies several shortcomings in the proposed Aarhus Regulation revision, including a new barrier restricting challenges to acts that entail implementing measures, the continued exemption of state aid decisions, and a lack of provisions regarding legal costs for NGOs.
• The CJEU's Plauman judgment is cited as a cause of a long-standing implementation gap at the EU level, creating a paradox where legal standing decreases as the number of people impacted by a decision increases.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). Conference session 1: Strategic litigation to make the green transition happen. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gksdhvk0/conference-session-1-summary.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Conference session 1: Strategic litigation to make the green transition happen. 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gksdhvk0/conference-session-1-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Conference session 1: Strategic litigation to make the green transition happen. |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/gksdhvk0/conference-session-1-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2020conference, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Conference session 1: Strategic litigation to make the green transition happen.}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/gksdhvk0/conference-session-1-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }