JOINT STATEMENT Call for an Aarhus Regulation amendment that delivers the European Green Deal

A group of NGOs argues that the European Commission's proposal to amend the Aarhus Regulation fails to meet international law standards for access to justice. The statement highlights that the current internal review mechanism is ineffective, with most NGO requests rejected as inadmissible. The signatories demand amendments to include 'implementing measures', State aid decisions, and cost protections for NGOs to ensure the delivery of the European Green Deal and compliance with the Aarhus Convention.

• The existing internal review mechanism under the Aarhus Regulation is ineffective, as the majority of nearly 50 NGO requests for internal review submitted to the Commission were rejected as inadmissible and did not reach the EU courts.
• The current proposal to amend the Aarhus Regulation is criticized for being unclear on whether it will remedy the exclusion of critical Commission decisions from internal review, such as those regarding pesticide active substances (e.g., glyphosate), fossil fuel energy infrastructure (PCI list), State aid that fuels climate change, and motor vehicle emissions tests.
• The EU is currently in violation of the access to justice provisions of the Aarhus Convention, according to the responsible United Nations body; the statement argues that failing to fix this undermines the EU's credibility regarding the Paris Agreement.
• The signatories propose four specific amendments: expanding the definition of 'administrative act' to include all acts producing legal effects and 'implementing measures', making State aid decisions subject to internal review, introducing cost protection and effective court review for NGOs, and explicitly stating in the Recitals that the Regulation implements the Aarhus Convention.
• Effective implementation of EU environmental legislation is estimated to potentially save the EU economy EUR 50 billion annually, primarily through reduced health and direct environmental costs.

APA

ClientEarth (n.d.). JOINT STATEMENT Call for an Aarhus Regulation amendment that delivers the European Green Deal. https://www.clientearth.org/media/cglakcea/joint-ngo-statement-aarhus-reg_final.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. JOINT STATEMENT Call for an Aarhus Regulation amendment that delivers the European Green Deal. n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/cglakcea/joint-ngo-statement-aarhus-reg_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=JOINT STATEMENT Call for an Aarhus Regulation amendment that delivers the European Green Deal |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/cglakcea/joint-ngo-statement-aarhus-reg_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearthndjoint, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{JOINT STATEMENT Call for an Aarhus Regulation amendment that delivers the European Green Deal}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/cglakcea/joint-ngo-statement-aarhus-reg_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }