Newsletter October 2010

Europe bases new offshore oil laws on our recommendations

In June, following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the European parliament asked ClientEarth if there were sufficient laws to deal with a similar oil spill in Europe. Our answer was no. We then developed proposals for a new legislative system that could help protect against a European disaster. To read about them click here

As a result, the European Commission has announced reform of its laws almost totally in line with ClientEarth’s recommendations.

CEO James Thornton said: “This kind of work is exactly what ClientEarth was set up to achieve: expert analysis of environmental threats and practical legal solutions that are implemented.” Read about the EU’s reforms at the BBC

ClientEarth report: By law, the EU must fight to ban bluefin tuna fishing

In November, the European Commission will join with other delegates of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to decide how much of the magnificent but imperilled bluefin tuna should be fished in the next three years. Negotiations are happening right now to decide what position the Commission should take, with some countries pushing to continue stripping thousands of tonnes of the perilously overfished species from the oceans each year.  But our analysis of the law, submitted to the Commission this week, shows that it is legally bound to call for a complete ban on fishing bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean from 2011 – 2013. We are delighted to have attracted the support of journalist, filmmaker and marine biodiversity expert Charles Clover for our work to save bluefin tuna. Read his blog, The End of the Line

What sorts of fish are ok to eat? Find out using the Marine Conservation Society’s handy breakdown at Fish Online

UK Government acknowledges environmental court costs are illegal

Following ClientEarth’s successful case against the UK on its breach of international rules on access to justice, the government has officially acknowledged the UN’s verdict. Sandy Luk, ClientEarth senior lawyer, said: “We celebrate the committee’s recommendations. But the government’s promised rule changes simply do not go far enough... We call on the government to stop pursuing measures that will continue to breach international law, and that do not afford its citizens the access to justice guaranteed in the Aarhus Convention.” Follow this story in the Ecologist

James Thornton appears on top BBC environment programme

The BBC’s ‘Costing the Earth’ covers man's effect on the environment and how the environment reacts. James was talking about the power of the law to effect meaningful change to the environment. You can listen to the programme at the BBC

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