Admissibility Revisited - EU climate litigation between Plaumann, Aarhus, and KlimaSeniorinnen

Abstract

In an effort to force the European Union to adopt more ambitious climate targets, two environmental NGOs initiated a proceeding before the EU General Court, invoking the rarely used mechanism of “internal review” under the EU’s Aarhus Regulation. The reason for this unusual approach lies within a reoccurring issue of climate litigation: overcoming restrictive admissibility requirements. This new approach follows a path that had not yet been considered by legal scholarship or practice. While the line of argument is rather innovative, it goes beyond the boundaries of the Aarhus Regulation and is therefore likely to fail.

Keywords

• Aarhus Convention
• Aarhus-Verordnung | Europäische Union
• KlimaSeniorinnen
• climate litigation
• Aarhus-Verordnung | Europäische Union