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ClientEarth launches EU Aarhus Centre Newsletter, 9 May 2011 ClientEarth establishes European Union Aarhus Centre ClientEarth's EU Aarhus Centre has been established to promote environmental justice for NGOs and citizens' groups working in the EU. Until now, not one citizen or NGO has ever been granted standing in the EU courts to challenge decisions by European institutions on environmental grounds. Under the Aarhus Convention citizens have a right to access information, access justice (i.e. the courts) and participate in decision-making in environmental matters. ClientEarth set up the Aarhus Centre to ensure the effective implementation of these principles. Ludwig Kramer, Europe's leading authority on enviromental law, is heading this exciting new endeavour by ClientEarth. Our CEO, James Thornton says, "ClientEarth’s Aarhus Centre will provide environmental organisations with the tools they need to make the most of their legal opportunities. We hope the institutions will welcome the centre as a new stakeholder and take advantage of its expertise when forging future legislation." Read our story in European Voice. You can also read about the legal situation in the UK in the Law Society Gazette. Plus - see how legal pressure from ClientEarth forced the European Commission to release information about Porsche's 'secret' lobbying the Parliament.  UK readers: we need your helpBuilding on the success of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight Campaign and February’s Early Day Motion on ending discards, which gained the second highest number of 'yes' votes in this parliamentary session, MPs Zac Goldsmith, Douglas Carswell, Joan Walley and Sheryll Murray have secured a three-hour debate in the House of Commons on the important issue of ‘Fish discards and the 2012 Common Fisheries Policy Reform’. Write to your MP about fish discards before the House of Commons debates on May 12. Find our toolkit here. ClientEarth launches Sustainable Seafood Coalition ClientEarth has developed an exciting new initative to combat the unacceptable practice of throwing dead fish back into the sea. Made up of major seafood retailers and their suppliers, the Sustainable Seafood Coalition (SSC) - endorsed by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - will take the lead on delivering sustainably sourced seafood. ClientEarth will work with these groups to ensure adequate data is obtained on fish stocks from source fisheries and that all SSC members agree on labelling standards for seafood products. We hope that the SSC will also encourage UK consumers to eat a wider variety of seafood; the majority of people eat just five species of fish which puts enormous pressure on those stocks.  Read more coverage in FIS.  Photo: jespahjoy ClientEarth sues EFSA for lack of transparency over pesticides guidance ClientEarth and PAN Europe launched a case in the General Court of the European Union against the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA has published guidance that would potentially allow pesticides into the EU market without the reviews from independent scientists. By not being transparent about the decisions that led to this guidence, the EFSA may be putting both the environment and human health at risk. Read our press release here.  Photo: IainBuchananUK government allows London's air pollution to soar Since 2009, ClientEarth has been working for tighter controls on London's air pollution but sadly, the UK government has once again failed to make the mark. Read the story in the Guardian.  Photo: ideum BP in deep water over annual reporting Remember our complaint to the FRRP about BP's inadequate annual reporting? We argued that BP were not providing realistic projections about the future of global energy provisions. In February, we made our complaint public in the hope that BP would be more transparent about social and environmental matters. Read the story in the Guardian. Take a peek at our latest blog posts...
And don't forget us on Twitter! We've now reached over 100 different Twitter lists - organised by Twitter users to receive news about their favourite topics such as sustainability, climate, energy, environment etc. Equally exciting is ClientEarth being included in Business Green’s top 100 of the world’s best environmental tweeters! You can find us here: www.twitter.com/clientearth |
