Climate change-related Aarhus conflicts: how succesful are procedural rights in EU climate law?

This article provides insights into the consequences of
the Aarhus Convention in the field of European Union
(EU) climate change law. It discusses climate change
cases concerning environmental procedural rights that
are decided by the Court of Justice of the EU and the
Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC).
Regarding access to environmental information, cases
reveal reluctance on the part of governments to provide
climate-related information. Regarding public participation,
the ACCC has illustrated that the EU Renewable
Energy Directive falls short in light of the Aarhus Convention.
Given the need to adopt even more stringent
measures to reduce greenhouse gases, more case law is
expected. A systematic analysis of case law will help us
to understand to what extent EU climate policy complies
with the Aarhus Convention. Such an analysis will
also show what lessons can be learned from the Aarhus
Convention for putting the procedural provisions of the
UNFCCC into practice.