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

This article provides insights into the consequences ofthe Aarhus Convention in the field of European Union(EU) climate change law. It discusses climate changecases concerning environmental procedural rights thatare decided by the Court of Justice of the EU and theAarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC).Regarding access to environmental information, casesreveal reluctance on the part of governments to provideclimate-related information. Regarding public participation,the ACCC has illustrated that the EU RenewableEnergy Directive falls short in light of the Aarhus Convention.Given the need to adopt even more stringentmeasures to reduce greenhouse gases, more case law isexpected. A systematic analysis of case law will help usto understand to what extent EU climate policy complieswith the Aarhus Convention. Such an analysis willalso show what lessons can be learned from the AarhusConvention for putting the procedural provisions of theUNFCCC into practice