Search

This article provides updates on various environmental issues and legislation, including Private Members' Bills in the UK Parliament addressing marine biodiversity conservation, heritage tree protection, and water quality monitoring. It also discusses the outcomes of COP28, highlighting fossil fuel emissions as a driver of climate change. The article mentions ongoing legal challenges related to the UK's National Adaptation Programme and the development of the Rosebank North Sea oilfield. It concludes with a summary of recent domestic case law related to environmental information disclosure. The article is concise, factually accurate, and respectful of diverse perspectives, making it suitable for library patrons conducting research on these specific topics. [Extracted from the article]

The given text provides a comprehensive list of ongoing consultations, legal cases, and reports related to various environmental issues in the UK. The consultations cover topics such as air and water quality, renewable energy, waste management, and fisheries management. The legal cases involve disputes over issues such as pollution, energy assessments, and bin-related offenses. The reports highlight concerns and recommendations on topics such as nuclear energy, decarbonization, and environmental regulations. [Extracted from the article]

Https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022D1244&qid=1666536011124 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1203 of 12 July 2022 amending Implementing Regul... Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 (2) establishes a list of invasive alien species of Union concern ("the Union list"), which is to be kept updated as appropriate, in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R1203&qid=1666536011124 Commission Decision (EU) 2022/1229 of 11 July 2022 amending Decisions 2014/312/EU, 2014/391/E... Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle. Keywords: Environmental law; Environmental policy; EU law; Environment; European Union EN Environmental law Environmental policy EU law Environment European Union 321 342 22 12/06/22 20221201 NES 221201 EDITORIAL Amidst what was a plethora of resignations and subsequent appointments (many times over) and a virtual rotating door of Prime Ministers it is surprising that any meaningful work was done in respect of the environment. Https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/architect-paris-agreement-discusses-nexus-law-and-climate-change "UK environment laws under threat in "deregulatory free-for-all"", The Guardian, 23 September... Hundreds of Britain's environmental laws covering water quality, sewage pollution, clean air, habitat protections and the use of pesticides are lined up for removal from UK law under a government bill. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/23/uk-environment-laws-under-threat-in-deregulatory-free-for-all. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Environmental law; Environmental policy; EU law; Subject; Environment; Other related subjects; European Union EN Environmental law Environmental policy EU law Subject Environment Other related subjects European Union 52 81 30 03/22/22 20220301 NES 220301 EDITORIAL The government's beleaguered flagship I Environment Act 2021 i has finally received royal assent. Https://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/2021/2021 CSOH 112.html EU CASE LAW PlasticsEurope v European Chemicals Agency, Appeal C-876/19 P, Judgment of the Court (Ninth C... The European Court of Justice dismissed a final appeal by the trade association PlasticsEurope against EU regulators' decision to class bisphenol-A (BPA) as a "substance of very high concern" due to its endocrine disrupting properties. Https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&td=ALL&num=C-373/20 Biofa AG v Sikma D. Vertriebs GmbH und Co. KG, C-29/20, Judgment of the Court (First Chamber)... This request for a preliminary ruling concerned the interpretation of Articles 3(1)(a) and 9(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Environmental law; Environmental policy; EU law; Subject; Environment; Other related subjects; European Union EN Environmental law Environmental policy EU law Subject Environment Other related subjects European Union 350 366 17 12/14/21 20211201 NES 211201 EDITORIAL Over the summer period, a catalogue of changes have been put in motion. Https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/296b6d9a-092c-11ec-b5d3-01aa75ed71a1/language-en B I Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1384 of 13 August 2021 on the request for registration of the European citizens' initiative entitled 'ReturnthePlastics: A Citizen's Initiative to implement an EU-wide deposit-system to recycle plastic bottles' pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2021) 5953) i b This decision concerns a request for registration of a European citizens' initiative entitled 'ReturnthePlastics: A Citizen's Initiative to implement an EU-wide deposit-system to recycle plastic bottles', which was submitted to the Commission on 2 July 2021. Https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021D1211 B I Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1199 of 20 July 2021 amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in granules or mulches used as infill material in synthetic turf pitches or in loose form on playgrounds or in sport applications i b This Regulation amends Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 in accordance with a new annex. [Extracted from the article]

The Regulations further set out energy labelling requirements for light sources and are a product-specific measure for the purposes of Regulation 2017/1369 setting a framework for energy labelling.SI29/7/2021International Waste Shipments (Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and 1418/2007) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/785)These Regulations amend the Annex to Regulation 1418/2007 to set out export control procedures for a new category of sorted, non-hazardous, plastic waste classified as "B3011".SI1/10/2021Hydrocarbon Oil and Biofuels (Northern Ireland Private Pleasure Craft) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/780)These Regulations make provision about the use of fuel in private pleasure craft. Keywords: Environmental law; Environmental policy; EU law; Subject; Environment; Other related subjects; European Union EN Environmental law Environmental policy EU law Subject Environment Other related subjects European Union 272 296 25 11/15/21 20210901 NES 210901 EDITORIAL The G7 summit, the Queen's Speech and the Environment Bill all made appearances this quarter. The Bill further aims to place further restrictions on energy pricing.BillFirst reading 21/06/21Clean Air Targets (World Health Organization Guidelines) Bill 2021-22 (HC Bill 52)A Bill to require UK clean air targets to comply with World Health Organization guidelines. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this short article is to provide a brief overview and reflections on the European Union's relatively recent introduction of a biennial Environmental Implementation Review (EIR) cycle as part of its activities in monitoring EU Member States' (MS) implementation of Union environmental law and policy. The EIR reflects an increased level of interest on the part of the Union in seeking to identify ways in which MS may improve upon their track records in implementing EU environmental legislative requirements at national level. Notably, it envisages a more intense form of engagement and dialogue on the part of the European Commission with MS authorities on identifying strengths and weaknesses in terms of individual MS performance as well as identifying common challenges at national level. The article assesses what key outcomes may have emerged thus far with the two EIR cycles that have been completed and how the EIR relates to the other principal supranational supervisory tool used by the EU for the purpose overseeing compliance with the EU environmental acquis, namely the use of law enforcement action via infringement proceedings. Ultimately, the article posits the view that the tools of EIR and law enforcement may be best seen to be in a complementary and mutually supportive relationship, each needing the other to be able to make a sufficient impression and impact on MS in terms of inducing them to address the subject of implementation with the degree of importance and urgency it deserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The date on which that transitional provision expires is amended from 31 March 2021 to 31 December 2021.SITBDRecognised Auction Platforms (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021 Draft)These Regulations amend financial services legislation relating to the auctioning of emissions allowances, to ensure that the rules which applied to the auctioning of emissions allowances created as part of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will continue to work in the UK in relation to the auctioning of allowances created under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme established under the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020.SSI29 January 2021Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/53)These Regulations amend the Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014 Regulation 7(2) by replacing the date on which the provision ceases to have effect with 31 May 2021. The local authority's screening officer concluded that no environmental impact assessment (EIA) was necessary, as the development was not EIA development within the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 Regulation 3, not being likely to have significant environmental effects. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Environmental law; Environmental policy; EU law Subject: Environment; Other related subjects: European Union; Subject; Environment; Other related subjects; European Union EN Environmental law Environmental policy EU law Subject: Environment Other related subjects: European Union Subject Environment Other related subjects European Union 306 342 37 01/22/21 20201201 NES 201201 EDITORIAL Autumn has sprung, lockdowns have withered into tiered restrictions and the government has produced a flurry of secondary legislation at a volume and rate previously unheard of. Regulations 4, 5 and 6 introduce Sch. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/631, Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1388 and Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1447. The 2009 Regulations provide for the execution and enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products. Https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020R1315&qid=1603734672508 Council Decision (EU) 2020/1325 of 21 September 2020 on the position to be taken on behalf of... The position to be taken on behalf of the EU will be to approve the application of the UK to join the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the North-East Atlantic Fisheries. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020D1325&qid=1603734672508 Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1323 of 21 September 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as r... The Regulation places limitations on fishing for Spain, Portugal and the general Union in subareas 9 and 10 of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and division 34.1.1 of the Fishery Committee for the Central Atlantic. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Environmental law; environmental policy; EU law Subject: Environment; Other related subjects: European Union EN Environmental law environmental policy EU law Subject: Environment Other related subjects: European Union 49 74 26 04/11/20 20200301 NES 200301 EDITORIAL The international campaign against climate change has reached new heights this quarter, as 16 children from across the world have collectively filed a legal complaint to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, alleging that the failure of their home countries to properly tackle climate change is a violation of their rights under the Convention, including their rights to life and health. The fishing of Turbot is limited to 180 fishing days per year per vessel, regardless of size. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1580225241289&uri=CELEX:32019R2236 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2201 of 1 October 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU... The Regulation implements detailed rules for the real-time closure of fisheries in the Skagerrak with the aim of conserving juvenile Northern prawn. Https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1580225241289&uri=CELEX:32020D0115(01) Commission Decision (EU) 2019/2252 of 17 December 2019 on the proposed citizens' initiative e... Under EU law, the removal of fins on board of EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited and sharks must be landed with their fins naturally attached. Although this is one-sixth of the area burnt in 2017, significant 36 per cent of the areas burnt were vulnerable ecosystems. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip 19 6176 Agreement on EU budget for 2020: Tackling climate change and delivering on other EU prioritie... On 18 November 2019, three EU institutions agreed on the EU's budget for 2020. [Extracted from the article]

Part 2 of these Regulations amends legislation concerning animal health; amending retained direct EU legislation and secondary legislation. Following the UK leaving the EU, the UK will no longer be part of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, it will be an independent coastal state responsible for managing fisheries in the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone. The House of Commons Library Briefing Paper published on 5 September 2019, examines the potential structures of the UK fishing industry in light of no deal Brexit as well as other deal options, as well as examining the other internal community agreements the UK will still be bound to adhere to. On 10 July 2019, the Committee on Climate Change - Adaptation Sub-Committee published its report advising the Government on climate change risks and opportunities for the UK through the UK Climate Change Assessment as well as its first evaluation of the Government's second National Adaptation Programme. [Extracted from the article]

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/585 of 11 April 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No... This Regulation amends Regulation 206/2010 laying down lists of third countries, territories or parts thereof authorised for the introduction into the European Union of certain animals and fresh meat and the veterinary certification requirements. The applicants brought an action under the Treaty on the Functioning of the Eurpoean Union Article 263 for partial annulment of Directive (EU) 2018/410 on the EU's emissions trading scheme, Regulation (EU) 2018/842 on GHG reductions and Regulation (EU) 2018/841 on neutralising emissions by land and forest management, on the grounds that they set goals that were too low to comply with obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The Court found that Article 1(3)(d) of the Regulation must be interpreted as meaning that shipments of animal byproducts falling within the scope of the Animal byproducts Regulation are (generally) excluded from the scope of Regulation No 1013/2006. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Environmental policymaking has conventionally aimed at preserving the integrity of the environment. To protect ourselves from the consequences of (man‐caused) environmental degradation and climatic change, however, intentional manipulation of the environment through means of technology appears more and more necessary. In this context, this research introduces the core objectives of EU environmental law – ‘preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment’ and ‘protecting human health’ – as increasingly conflictive. Taking an environmental ethics perspective, this research explains that both the letter of the law as well as the case law of the Court provide a mixed picture of environmental rationales captured in these two objectives. In the absence of clear legal and ethical direction, it becomes all the more necessary to closely re‐examine what goals ought to be pursued through EU environmental law in the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the possibility that the precautionary principle may be scrapped from the European Union's (EU) free trade agreements. Topics covered included the legal and regulatory approaches to environmental policymaking which helped the formation of the precautionary principle as a guideline in environmental decision making and the reasons the Innovation Principle is much favored in the U.S. and why it is under intense scrutiny in the EU.

The article focuses on China's plan to launch a national emissions trading scheme (ETS). Topics discussed include the possibility that China will seek to link its ETS with other ETS schemes, the various forms of linkage and their different effects, and signs that China and the European Union are very likely to cooperate in the field of emissions trading.

The Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals ( REACH) is the most important piece of European Union legislation for the management of chemicals. It is characterized by a hybrid nature, as it combines traditional and new governance approaches. This article reviews REACH hybrid features and analyses how they are affecting the implementation process. It concludes that the search for increased flexibility and participation within a traditional form of governance has contributed, through a learning process, to managing REACH complexity and developing practical solutions to improve implementation. However, it also causes uncertainty and inefficiency, especially when flexibility masks substantial problems that have been postponed by decision makers to the implementation phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming combined with low carbon transition plans is threatening the future of high energy consumption industry sectors in the European Union (EU). The need to respond to environmental challenges is demonstrated by support for international level energy policies and legal requirements, such as the Kyoto Protocol which the EU supports, and increased EU-level environmental legislation and energy policies. The effect of these initiatives is gradually transforming industrial activities in the EU. However, since not all countries have adopted these policies, evaluation of their net effect needs to take account also of side-effects such as delocalization of industry activity and the legal environmental frameworks in the countries where companies have chosen to relocate. This paper analyses EU energy policy and its impact on a particular energy intensive industry, the European ceramic tile sector. The discussion in this paper is not about the purpose of EU legislation, but about its effects on a specific industry. The effect of policy on industry is not a new topic, but the question of the unwanted effects of environmental and energy policy on European industry is becoming more relevant as the struggle to achieve a post-carbon Europe increases. In focussing on a specific set of EU legislation on a particular industry this article adds to the debate by showing the negative effects of policy mechanisms. The need for a scientific evaluation of the systemic changes required for a transition to a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy outlined in the 7th Environment Action Programme is highlighted. It is suggested that the EU should periodically re-evaluate its Emissions Trading Scheme legislation to include specific actions and a follow up system which would prevent the best performing environmental companies from delocalizing or shutting down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the stated aims of the EU ETS is to promote investment in clean, low-carbon technologies. Against this background, this paper aims to provide an original analysis of how the EU ETS has impacted on corporate investment decisions and whether it does so at a level adequate to reach the long-term political targets required for a decarbonization of the European economy. In this paper, the authors provide empirical evidence for this question by analyzing corporate reactions to the EU ETS for Belgian EU ETS sites. Despite the fact that most managers use prices that are much higher than spot prices in their appraisal reports, expected prices are still far too low to mobilize additional financing for new investments in lower carbon modes of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of air pollution as a global problem contributing to health disorders and damage to the environment sparked the development of national legislation as well as international cooperation initiatives to improve air quality. As a result, the introduction of new and tighter air quality standards, national emission ceilings and more environmentally friendly technologies led to significant progress in reducing the levels of different pollutants in the ambient air. However, notwithstanding the achieved success, the overall damage dealt by air pollution remains high, while further attempts to tackle it are losing their momentum. With no perceptible finish line, the situation could last for decades, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of Euros outlays annually, thus compromising the very foundation of air policy. The article addresses this problem from the EU perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main problem addressed in this paper is assessment of quality of current methodologies for expressing environmental tax revenue, since measurements' outcomes have significant influence on the future environmental policies and legislation. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the existing way of measuring financial effects of environmental taxation in EU27 and propose new methodology approach, based on use of ETE – Environmental Taxation Efficiency as a new indicator suggested by authors. The first phase of the study involves the analysis of quality of measuring two existing methodologies (based on the use of GDP and total revenues). In second research stage, the authors apply the newly proposed methodology for determining a composite ETE indicator that, apart from existing indicators, takes into account the environmental taxation effects per capita, as an indicator unjustifiably neglected in previous methods of measuring. Measurement of environmental taxation by using a newly-proposed composite indicator shows significant differences in ranking compared to two current methodologies in use. Only 6 countries showed a very similar rank, regardless of the methodology applied. Differences by more than ten ranking positions were found in 12 countries. The overall results showed significant differences in ranking of all EU-27 countries by using all four indicated methodologies, which clearly points to the conclusion that further improvements are needed. ETE methodology limits predominant role of GDP and introduces a social component which should serve as a basis for further development of a unique methodology for establishing efficient environmental taxation implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Codification of environmental law has been underway in Estonia from 2007. As the first result of this process, the General Part of the Environmental Code Act (GPECA) was adopted in February 2011. Among other provisions, the framework act establishes operators' general obligations. These obligations, applicable to all operators, are focused on prevention of environmental hazards and implementation of precautionary measures in order to minimize environmental risks to the reasonable extent. Being generally applicable and abstract in their nature, they constitute a ``safety net'' supporting the often overly casuistic and fragmented legal structure in the present environmental law (e.g. air quality law, nature protection law), national as well as EU. This article aims to draw attention to the concept of operators' general obligations and to highlight their possible role as tools for implementation of environmental policy goals both on EU and national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an analytical framework based on current implementation theory, this research examines the transposition of the EU Waste Framework Directive into UK law and local government development control procedures. The study which forms the basis of this paper was commissioned by the UK Government to evaluate the effectiveness of the construction Waste Management Plans introduced as a legal requirement in 2008. It was found that its implementation had largely failed and that these new laws had been ineffective. Subsequently, in March 2012 the UK Government announced its intention to withdraw these Regulations. In the context of current deregulatory pressures, but with the continuing need to minimise construction waste, this research concludes that more attention should be paid by central government to their current ‘top-down’ implementation procedures in order to better roll-out new environmental legislation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream analyses have often understood environmental effectiveness as a consequence of the shape of interests and policymaking, and have tested their models through statistical techniques. Results have, however, proved quite erratic. It is argued that these weaknesses reflect a misconception about causality, thus highlighting the need for a shift in both model and method. A different model is therefore developed that explains effectiveness through policy tools and ideas. The model is then applied to the performances of the EU15 member states in mid-2000s, and assessed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Cases are polarised around two classic cleavages (‘environmentalists’ vs. ‘productivists’, and ‘pro-marketers’ vs. ‘protectionists’), but give evidence that all the related tool mixes are able to deliver – while the relevant difference between leaders and laggards lies in the use of evaluation devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal waste management activities violate specific rules that aim at preventing or reducing the negative effects they may have on the environment and human health. For the purpose of providing a more effective protection of the environment, in many countries and since 2008 even at the European Union (EU) level, besides the relevant administrative offences, it is also provided for a specific criminal offence against environment concerning serious infringements of the waste management legislation. This paper examines the current legal framework in Albania concerning waste-related criminal offences, against the minimum standard set forth by the EU in the Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of environment through criminal law. While the adoption of the new framework law on Integrated Waste Management in 2011 as part of Albania's efforts in aligning its legislation to that of the EU, has been a positive step towards more stringent rules concerning waste management, thus helping in tackling the serious and constantly evolving problems that the country has been facing in this field for years, the paper suggests that certain amendments to the Criminal Code are also necessary, as the minimum standard of the EU requires that criminal law applies at least in the case of particularly serious infringements of the new waste management legislation. These amendments would increase the protection of the environment and further the alignment of the Albanian legislation with that of the EU, while the country is seeking to fulfill obligations for EU membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the challenges and threats currently facing water management and the exacerbation of uncertainty by climate change, the need for flexible yet robust and legitimate environmental regulation is evident. The European Union took a novel approach toward sustainable water resource management with the passage of the EU Water Framework Directive in 2000. The Directive promotes sustainable water use through long-term protection of available water resources, progressively reduces discharges of hazardous substances in ground and surface waters, and mitigates the effects of floods and droughts. The lofty goal of achieving good status of all waters requires strong adaptive capacity, given the large amounts of uncertainty in water management. Striking the right balance between flexibility in local implementation and robust and enforceable standards is essential to promoting adaptive capacity in water governance, yet achieving these goals simultaneously poses unique difficulty. Applied resilience science reveals a conceptual framework for analyzing the adaptive capacity of governance structures that includes multiple overlapping levels of control or coordination, information flow horizontally and vertically, meaningful public participation, local capacity building, authority to respond to changed circumstances, and robust monitoring, system feedback, and enforcement. Analyzing the Directive through the lens of resilience science, we highlight key elements of modern European water management and their contribution to the resilience of the system and conclude that the potential lack of enforcement and adequate feedback of monitoring results does not promote managing for resilience. However, the scale-appropriate governance aspects of the EU approach promotes adaptive capacity by enabling vertical and horizontal information flow, building local capacity, and delegating control at multiple relevant scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cap-and-trade schemes are of tremendous interest in the current trends of climate law and policy. Taking into account Phase I and Phase II, the EU ETS directive has been reformed in 2009 and will establish a totally new Phase III starting from 2013 until 2020. The new system will propose a broader material scope, new forms of allocation of allowances, due attention to benchmark free allowances and careful measures to address carbon leakage. Furthermore, the directive sets new forms of market oversight and opens up for stronger relations with other compatible systems. On the other side of the Atlantic, the lack of a US federal cap-and-trade system has not prevented the creation of sub-national or regional cap-and-trade schemes. The Californian cap-and-trade final regulation represents the most interesting and most advanced scheme in the US. It has been eventually adopted in fall 2011 and is designed to reduce GHG emissions by 2020 through a market-based compliance system. The two systems show improvements to earlier forms of emissions trading, but still raise questions on the actual compatibility between each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution discusses, critically, the application of the so called Aarhus Regulation. This regulation enables environmental NGOs to request an internal review under environmental law of acts adopted, or omissions, by EU institutions and bodies. It emerges that this internal review procedure does not function adequately at all. It can be concluded from the small number of requests that have been lodged since the entry into force of the regulation, that the procedure is not very popular. It appears that in the few cases in which a request for internal review has been lodged, this, leaving aside one single case, did not lead to a substantive assessment of the request. The vast majority of the requests were declared inadmissible. The authors propose that the conditions in the Regulation for admissibility should be interpreted and applied more in conformity with the Aarhus Convention. And that only 'legislative acts' within the meaning of Articles 289-292 TFEU should be excluded from the internal review procedure of the Regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arguments about the need to improve “skills for sustainable communities” have emerged recently in the context of debates around spatial and territorial polices for the EU. This debate has been driven by the UK government as part of its contribution to framing debates around what should follow on from the European Spatial Development Perspective. A programme to shape spatial policy discourse around a skills agenda within EU policy circles was mounted, with considerable UK government support, and this paper explores the success of this attempt, using concepts familiar within environmental policy discourse analysis. We suggest that the attempt met with some success, but achieved a lower level of policy influence than was hoped for, and the paper goes on to examine the reasons for this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article draws lessons from the experience of the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) that are relevant to current climate change debate in the U.S. It highlights the changes that have been made since the implementation of EU ETS to adapt and improve the performance of the resulting carbon market. It also identifies some lessons that have been learned from this experience and highlights particularly how those lessons shed light on current U.S. policy debates.

The article discusses the issue concerning the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) in addressing environmental damage. The ELD focuses on imposing liability to people on the damage they cause to the environment subjecting them to fines and penalties which aims to promote enhancing environmental protection. It provides an overview on the definitio of ELD and an assessment whether the environmental damage meets the requirements found on the directive's threshold criteria. It concludes that people responsible for environmental damage should carry out remedial actions to restore affected affected areas as states in Annex II of the ELD.

Since the supremacy of European law was established, public interest group litigation before national courts is regularly presented as a promising instrument of decentralized law enforcement capable of effectively remedying compliance problems. It has, however, attracted little empirical research. In this paper, I analyse the limits and possibilities of this enforcement instrument on the basis of new empirical evidence. After having identified the conditions under which the instrument should work, I present the results of an in-depth comparative study on the implementation of the Natura 2000 Directives in France, Germany and the Netherlands. In all these countries, environmental organizations turned to their national courts in order to enforce key provisions of the Directives, yet with very differential effects. I argue that the instrument is in principle able to remedy compliance problems, but only if a set of demanding conditions is met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents developments of the environmental policy in Tehran and in European. It includes the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea which tackles several issues including the adoption of the Strategic Convention Action Programme and the development of priority Protocols to the Tehran Convention which includes the area of conservation and rational use of the aquatic resources. Another is the agreed climate package by the European Union (EU) which aims to lower carbon emission that contributes to climate change. Also, is the developments of environmental protection in the EU.

The case is an interesting example of the legal difficulties faced by private parties challenging before a Member State's courts the validity of Community acts in light of the ever proliferating international environmental agreements signed by the Community or the Member States themselves. In this case, a shipping industry coalition challenged in the English High Court the legality of Directive 2005/35/EC on Ship-Source Pollution in light of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships ("Marpol 73/78") and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), which in turn referred questions for a preliminary ruling before the European Court of Justice. Predictably, the Directive has been vilified by the shipping industry for imposing higher standards than those established under international law. The case also shows how the concept of serious negligence, which appears in a number of EU/EC acts or proposals establishing an obligation of Member States to introduce criminal sanctions for violations of Community legislation or with the broader object of combating crime in the EU, may be interpreted by the national courts and the legislature of the Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article gives a structural legal analysis of the Energy using Products (EuP) Directive and addresses macro-economic questions and draws connections between the Directive and international competitiveness, and the legality of international environmental regulation. The European Union (EU) has chosen a forward-looking approach in the field environmental regulation due to the resistance and reluctance to implement effective environmental policies. The Commission in the field of eco-design is believed to give priority to the regulation of products. It is also likely that the Directive will become a Kyoto protocol substitute.

The fabric of Irish environmental policy has been significantly influenced by EU membership. Can the same be said of the process of environmental policy-making in Ireland? Europeanisation as a conceptual tool has widely been used to analyse the domestic impact of the EU. This term refers to how the EU influences the policies, politics and polity of each of its constituent states. But Europeanisation is not without its critics. Studies employing the concept have so far been unable to fully uncover the mechanisms through which Europeanisation can occur across these three dimensions. Yet the analysis of EU implementation offers a conceptual way out. This article applies an actor-centred institutional framework to two instances of EU implementation in Ireland and in so doing explores the impact of the EU on the domestic institutions, structures, processes and actors involved in environmental policy-making in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directive 2002/95/EC, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances or ‘RoHS’ Directive, restricts the use of environmentally hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment distributed and sold in the EU from 1 July 2006. The Directive's objectives are to harmonize EU Member States’ national legislation and protect human health and the environment. This article reveals differences in the implementation of the RoHS Directive at the time it took effect. Differences were revealed in the analysis of results obtained from telephone interviews conducted with all but four of the 25 EU Member State RoHS enforcement officials. Differences in implementation created barriers to the achievement of the RoHS Directive's objectives and caused problems for producers of electrical and electronic equipment. The article attributes the principal cause of differences in implementation to insufficiently detailed text in the RoHS Directive. The article also considers how barriers and problems could have been prevented and makes proposals to solve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Which actors in the aviation sector ought to be obliged to participate in emissions trading? The European Commission opted for the aircraft operator in their proposal for a Directive. A major drawback is that non-EU aircraft operators might legally challenge their inclusion in this scheme and, if the challenge was successful, discrimination between EU and non- EU operators would undermine the scheme. An alternative would be to place an obligation on fuel suppliers to prove possession of allowances, thus avoiding discrimination. However, emissions trading can be evaded to some extent by increased refuelling beyond EU boundaries (tankering).Typical city pairs were used to analyse the conditions under which such tankering strategies are economically attractive. The analysis shows that the attractiveness of tankering depends substantially on the relationship between fuel prices and allowance prices. If the price relation as of March 2006 is taken as a basis, tankering would be attractive within a radius of up to 4,000 km especially on southbound and eastward routes. Emissions trading could, under unfavourable conditions, be evaded for up to 20% of the total fuel consumption in aviation with the help of tankering. Although this value is only a theoretical upper limit, more than 10% of fuel consumption could be affected by tankering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the aviation sector is one of the fastest growing climate change contributors in Europe, it is not covered by the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). Therefore the European Commission suggested including aviation in the EU-ETS and announced the aim of putting forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2006. In this article the legal aspects, which have to be considered for an successful inclusion of aviation into the EU-ETS, will be reviewed. This includes the legal framework for the inclusion of aviation into the EU-ETS which consists of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Community Law. Important legal aspects are also possible legal obstacles like the existing traffic rights in the different Member States, bilateral air transport agreements like the Open Skies agreements and the Chicago Convention. Another crucial legal point of the inclusion of aviation into the EU-ETS is the interplay of the EU-ETS and the Kyoto Protocol. Furthermore the legal aspects regarding the scope and certain design points of emission trading scheme will be reviewed. This includes the obliged parties, the allocation and certain points of the administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the impact of the infringement action under Art. 228(2) of the EC Treaty in assisting in the enforcement of EC environmental law. Its entry into force in November 1993 introduced for the first time in EC law the possibility of financial sanctions being imposed on EU Member States by the European Court of Justice over persistent failures on their part to adhere to Community law. One might have thought that Member State performance on implementing EC environmental legislation would have improved as a result, the threat of substantial financial sanctions serving as an effective deterrent against non-compliant state behaviour. However, experience has indicated that any initial optimism in the new infringement procedure has been misplaced in this regard. The evidence suggests that in many instances Member States have not been deterred continuing to delay or obstruct the correct implementation of EC environmental obligations into national law and practice. In analysing the evolution of law and practice of the procedure and in particular its impact on litigation over breaches of environmental law over the last decade, this article questions whether the penalty infringement procedure under Art. 228(2) has proved itself fit for purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]