Environmental Rights
A healthy environment is a basic right to which we are all entitled, and should all be able to defend.
We believe that individuals and environmental organisations should have the right to challenge decisions that will have a serious impact on our environment and that excessive costs and legal complexities should not stop them from doing so.
We support individuals and communities to use their environmental rights in areas such as land-use planning, pollution control and conservation to protect the environment, so we work with allies to influence Scotland’s planning framework and helped set up the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland.
The odds are so stacked against ordinary people who want to challenge environmentally damaging decisions. Going to court has become a luxury that only the rich can afford.
Challenging bad decisions
Individuals and communities can often find that they haven’t been properly engaged in decisions that affect their area, or that decisions have been made that will adversely impact them and their surroundings. Successive Scottish Governments have neglected the issue of access to justice for the environment.
There are plenty of high-profile examples of this, from Donald Trump’s golf course in Aberdeenshire, the planned coal-fired power station at Hunterston, the M74 motorway extension or the Coalbed Methane plans in Airth, Falkirk. But when people try to legally challenge a poorly made decision or a damaging development, all kinds of barriers stand in the way.
Your right to be involved
Individuals, communities and groups not only have the right to be involved in planning decisions that affect our environment, but the responsibility too. When people are enabled to take part in decision-making, this helps to shift the balance of power away from big business and developers towards the communities who are most affected.
We campaign for legal changes to ensure that the right to a healthy environment is seen as a fundamental human right. We are calling for Scotland’s full compliance with the Aarhus Convention, an international UN treaty that enshrines rights of participation, information and access to justice in environmental matters.
An Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
Launched in 2021, the ERCS helps people and communities across Scotland exercise their environmental rights more effectively and pushes for stronger environmental protections. It increases the capacity and opportunity of individuals, community groups and organisations to promote environmental justice at neighbourhood, local authority and national levels.
Read moreWhat we are doing
- Working with allies, we helped establish the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
- The ERCS provides advice to those in need, education and advocates for environmental reform
- Pushing for Scotland’s new National Planning Framework to help address the climate emergency
- We have challenged big polluters like multinational petrochemicals company INEOS in court.
Why we went to court against INEOS
We belived that Scotland's fracking ban was vital - and arguably legally required - in the fight against climate change.
Find out what happened when INEOS tried to get the fracking ban overturned.
What is the Aarhus Convention?
The Aarhus Convention is an inspirational UN treaty that establishes critical environmental rights.
The Convention recognises the link between the protection of human rights and the environment, and every person’s right to a healthy environment – as well as their duty to protect it.
Why Scotland needs a specialist environmental court
Our report explains how these can be a highly effective way to ensure better access to justice for citizens and communities trying to protect their environment.
They can also provide a speedier, more cost-effective system, and a more level-playing field for developers and operators.
As we face the unprecedented challenges of the climate and nature emergencies, it’s more important than ever to protect the environment including going to court where necessary. People should not have to face impossible costs in doing so.
Mary Church, Head of Campaigns
Latest Blogs
Post-Brexit rules threaten environmental standards
Scotland’s higher rules to protect nature and environment could be under threat from the UK Government’s desire for global trade deals.
12 big wins from 2021
2021 was undoubtedly the biggest year of climate action in Scotland’s history. We’re celebrating some of the wins.
Planning for the future must not include new fossil fuel infrastructure
Planning decisions affect us every day, from how we access schools, services and workplaces to how much climate emissions our country produces.
Latest Press Releases
Programme for Government 2022-23 reaction
Commenting on the Scottish Programme for Government, Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “There is a welcome recognition in the Programme for Government that the…
Environmental campaigners urge UN body to recommend equal rights in Scotland’s planning system.
PLANNING DEMOCRACY, ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS CENTRE FOR SCOTLAND, RSPB SCOTLAND & FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SCOTLAND JOINT PRESS RELEASE For immediate use: Monday 05/09/22 ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNERS URGE UN BODY TO RECOMMEND…
Scottish Government fails to deliver for UN action plan deadline on environmental rights
Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, RSPB Scotland Press Release Environmental NGOs have branded a UK and Scottish Government Action Plan to deliver on environmental rights…
Resources
Response to UK Action Plan on Aarhus Convention
The letter is in response to the UK and Devolved Administrations Action Plan in relation to the UK’s compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
National Planning Framework 4 Consultation Response
Letter to UK Aarhus Focal Point
Letter to the DEFRA representative who is the UK Focal Point for the Aarhus Committee.
National Planning Framework Call for Ideas Response
Response to the National Planning Framework 4 – why it must help tackle the climate emergency, cut air pollution and create a circular economy
Letter to Equalities and Human Rights Committee regarding petition on compliance with Aarhus Convention
Letter to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee regarding our petition on Scotland’s compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
Overcoming Barriers to Public Interest Litigation in Scotland
The report from leading NGOs explores why there is a lack of strategic court action in Scotland and suggests recommendations to address this.
How post-Brexit rules threaten environmental standards
Scotland's higher rules to protect nature and environment could be under threat from the UK Government's desire for global trade deals.
Planning for the future must not include new fossil fuel infrastructure
Planning decisions affect us every day, from how we access schools, services and workplaces to how much climate emissions our country produces.
Planning & the climate
National Planning Framework 4 - now under development - is going to be absolutely central to our fight to tackle the climate emergency and build the better world we know is possible. Find out more about our priorities for the new NPF.
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Campaigns
From plastics to air pollution and from challenging greenwashing to fossil fuel divestment, we are making a real difference.
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