Co-organised by GreenDeal-NET and EEB

You can register via this link

The ongoing updating of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), as well as the proceeding discussion on a revision of the Governance Regulation, provide the background for this roundtable debate. Guided by the questions posed in soon to be published GreenDeal-NET report “The EU’s climate and energy framework in light of the Aarhus Convention”, the event will dive into the public’s role and rights in EU climate and energy governance.

The report assesses the compliance of the Governance Regulation with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation, and access to judicial review. The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has repeatedly found this governance framework to be non-compliant with the Aarhus Convention’s requirements, notably with regards to public participation in the establishment of the NECPs. This report asks the question: Is the EU climate and energy governance framework up to the environmental democracy standards guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention?

Public participation and citizen involvement have been at the centre of the climate governance discussion. Ensuring operative procedural rights within the governance framework is not only a matter of complying with international law. It empowers citizens to take ownership of the green transition and ultimately enhance the quality, coherence and implementation of energy and climate policies. This roundtable debate will be an opportunity to spark a discussion on minimum governance standards with a view to the ongoing evaluation of the Governance Regulation.

Agenda

11:00 – 11:25   Presentation of the paper and its main findings – Juliette Robert, Assistant for Environmental Law and Justice (EEB)

11:25 – 11:50   Discussants:

• Alison Hough, Head of the Access to Justice Observatory in Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI)
• Prof Dr. Marjan Peeters, Professor of Environmental Policy and Law at Maastricht University

Moderation: Frederik Hafen – Senior Policy Officer for Environmental Law and Democracy (EEB)

11:50 – 12:15   Q&A session