Law is our strongest tool to protect the planet, and to empower people to defend their environment

Law-making must be done properly and fairly and once strong laws are in place, they must be respected by everyone. That’s where we step in. We make sure there are strong mechanisms to ensure that law-making and decision-making is transparent and subject to scrutiny by the courts, the public and the media.

10

years after ClientEarth brought the EU before the UN, the EU is finally amending its laws so people can go to court to protect the environment.

140k

cases brought against polluting companies and local government since we started our rule of law work in China.

What we do

We make sure strong laws exist, and are respected. We have sued regulators over dangerous chemicals in household products, and forced ministers to admit why they allowed overfishing in our ocean. We call out public bodies that hide the information people need to protect their environment, and help bring this information to court, where it can be used to defend nature.

We want a world where governments and business are transparent, so everyone knows who is doing their bit to defend the planet. And we want a society where, when the law is broken, people have the knowledge and tools to take the perpetrators to court, and to uphold/win the legal protections our planet so desperately needs.

What we've achieved

Laws made in Brussels affect 27 countries, so our first act there was to sue for the right to go to court to protect the environment. It took ten years, but we won that case. Upholding the rule of law is slow, painstaking work. We do it because it’s our best hope for a cleaner, greener world.

EU flags outside a large building

117

lawyers across 14 countries in our online database, so people around Europe can find a legal expert to help them protect the planet.

500+

public interest lawyers, judges, members of the public administration and academics trained to defend rule of law in Europe.