Environmental Democracy

This call for evidence seeks views on the UK’s compliance with the Aarhus Convention’s access-to-justice provisions (Article 9), focusing on three issues raised by the UN Aarhus Compliance Committee about Northern Ireland’s justice system: Costs protection – ensuring justice is not prohibitively expensive, covering the effectiveness of current regulations, appeals and cost caps, shared caps, cross-undertakings in damages, and costs...

The Social Climate Fund (SCF) is part of the European Union's Fit for 55 package and is the first fund dedicated to counterbalancing the negative socio-economic effects of the extension of the Emissions Trading System (ETS2) that will apply to the transport and heating & cooling sectors.1 Social Climate Plans (SCPs) outline how Member States will allocate SCF resources and...

EU Member States are required to prepare, consult upon, and submit a national Social Climate Plan (SCP) to the European Commission before June 30th, 2025. This briefing explains the public participation requirements for the production of Ireland’s SCP in detail.

In recent years Just Transition has been the subject of significant research and analysis and is increasingly enshrined in legal obligations at national and supranational level. It has been widely acknowledged that just transition policies and initiatives can deliver useful measures and on the ground action to address the social risks of industrial decarbonisation and make decarbonisation socially fair and...

The concept of a just transition has broadened from focusing mainly on protecting workers in high-emission industries to addressing the unequal impacts of climate policies on vulnerable and marginalized groups. Closely tied to ideas of climate justice and equity, it has legal relevance in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland, just transition principles are indirectly supported under section 3(3) of...

Ireland must submit a Social Climate Plan (SCP) to the European Commission by 30 June 2025, outlining how it will use EU Social Climate Fund (SCF) resources to address the social impacts of the new EU Emissions Trading System 2 (ETS2), which extends carbon pricing to buildings and road transport. Although Ireland has a derogation from ETS2 from 2027 to...

The Social Climate Fund (SCF) is part of the European Union's Fit for 55 package and is the first fund dedicated to counterbalancing the negative socio-economic effects of the extension of the Emissions Trading System (ETS 2) that will apply to the transport and heating & cooling sectors.1 Social Climate Plans (SCPs) outline how Member States will allocate SCF resources...

This joint assessment represents the collaborative work of the Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI), and the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition Ireland.  This document is an assessment of Ireland’s final draft NECP.

This document is a compilation or ‘bibliography’ of research and resources connected to the concept of a ‘Just and Fair Transition’.

The following statement on behalf of the Environmental Justice Network of Ireland will highlight some key recent challenges to Access to Justice and upcoming developments. These include the presentation of a Bill in Ireland that seeks to drastically reduce access to justice in environmental matters, in the name of speeding up the planning process, a review of the missed opportunities...