Public Participation in the EU and other legal frameworks: towards a more effective public participation practice.
Public Participation plays an important role in the development and implementation of European Union (EU) environmental
policies, as underlined also under the Green Deal. Yet, in practice it is difficult to organise public participation effectively. In
this lecture, we compare three main regulatory approaches to public participation, in light of their ability to implement
social sciences insights on effective public participation. First, we will look at the Aarhus Convention, which is binding upon
the EU and its Member States. Secondly, we will look at two non-EU related frameworks, the Escazú Agreement and Impact
and Benefits Agreement, which could provide inspiration for the modernisation of public participation regulatory
frameworks in the EU. We will understand the shortcoming of each regime, when taken individually, potentially explaining
why public participation practices have difficulty in fulfilling the envisaged goals. This will serve as a basis for a discussion
on potential solutions that could be developed by combining the positive elements of each regime.
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Speaker
Prof. Lorenzo Squintani is the
- Director of the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate, (co-)Director of the Energy Law Section and the Groningen Centre for Energy Law and Sustainability, the Like!Me Living Lab Project, the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) and the U4 Environmental Law Network
- Chief-editor of the Journal for European Environmental and Planning Law (Brill) and of the European Environmental Law Forum Book Series (Intersentia)
- Member of the University Council of the University of Groningen (Science Faction)
- Ambassador for Open Science; Sustainability; and Open Education
Lecture Series
This lecture is part of the Environmental Law Lecture Series: Strengthening EU Environmental Law, Legal Perspectives on Greening Europe series. This series provides a set of important insights from environmental law scholars on how EU environmental law helps to achieve the aim of a high level of environmental protection in the European Union and across the world.
With the European Green Deal from 11 December 2019 the European Commission tabled an ambitious legislative program, based on fundamental aims such as zero pollution, do no harm, and climate neutrality. Many legal developments took place and are still on-going, both at the European and national regulatory levels as in the courtroom, including the national courts. While efforts to protect the environment are direly needed, including effective implementation and enforcement, the regulatory acquis, and the flow of case law, has become utterly complex which poses challenges for acquiring a good understanding and application.
This freely accessible online (and hybrid) lecture series provides students and scholars with core insights in the state of affairs and further improvement of EU environmental law. The lecture series will run in 2023 and 2024. All lectures will be recorded and will be made accessible through our YouTube channel.
This GreenDeal-Net lecture series is hosted by MCEL, METRO and organised in cooperation with GLaw-Net and GreenDeal-NET. Maastricht University students will be eligible for certificates of attendance (see more information under the registration link).