EU Climate Law Through the Lens of the Aarhus Convention
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EU climate law through the lens of the Aarhus Convention Citation for published version (APA): Nóbrega, S. (2020). EU climate law through the lens of the Aarhus Convention: Access to environmental information and public participation in EU climate change decision making. ProefschriftMaken. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20201028sn Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2020 DOI: 10.26481/dis.20201028sn Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: www.umlib.nl/taverne-license Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at: [email protected] providing details and we will investigate your claim. Download date: 07 Oct. 2021 EU Climate Law Through the Lens of the Aarhus Convention Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in EU Climate Change Decision Making Sandra Nóbrega Copyright © 2020 by Sandra Nóbrega All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automated data system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the author. ISBN : 978-94-6380-996-2 Printed by: ProefschriftMaken | | www.proefschriftmaken.nl Cover design by: ProefschriftMaken | | Stefanie van den Herik EU Climate Law Through the Lens of the Aarhus Convention Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in EU Climate Change Decision Making DISSERTATION to obtain the degree of Doctor at the Maastricht University, on the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof.dr. Rianne M. Letschert in accordance with the decision of the Board of Deans, to be defended in public on Wednesday 28 October 2020, at 16 hours by Sandra Nóbrega Supervisor(s): Prof.dr. Marjan Peeters Prof.dr Mariolina Eliantonio Assessment Committee: Prof.dr. Ellen Vos (chair) Prof.dr. Bruno de Witte Prof.dr. Ellen Hey, Erasmus University, The Netherlands Prof.dr. Michael Faure Prof.dr. Stefan Weishaar, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands To my beloved family Acknowledgements Writing this thesis would certainly not have been possible without the support of great many people who accompanied me through this journey and to whom I would like to express my gratitude in the following lines. First of all, I thank Prof. Marjan Peeters and Prof. Mariolina Eliantonio for all the comments, questions, corrections, inspiring discussions and patience, which have made the conclusion of this PhD possible. Since meeting Marjan, when I was her master student, she has advised and supported me in finishing both my master and my PhD thesis, and she gave me the enriching opportunity to teach environmental law. Mariolina provided me with clear comments and helped me to take the reader by the hand. Thank you both for making this project happen! I am grateful for the feedback received from the members of the reading committee for my PhD dissertation, namely Prof. Ellen Vos (chair), Prof. Ellen Hey, Prof. Stefan Weishaar, Prof. Bruno de Witte and Prof. Michael Faure. A big thanks goes to my colleagues from the Faculty of Law who shared the experience of doing a PhD over coffee and lunches: Taotao, Yuan, Ancui, Constantijn, Sejla, Andrea, Mayke. Furthermore, for their continuous support and encouragement I would like to thank my friends and family. It is difficult to find the words to express my gratitude and to translate how important they are. Thank you, Family Cidral and Family Scarpelli, for bringing joy when I struggled along the way. Thank you Joana, Laura, Luisa and Ana Paula for sharing the hardship and the joy of doing a PhD, and becoming my friends along this journey. To all my friends from before and the ones I have made during my PhD and are now scattered around the globe: Thank you for being part of my life! The conclusion of this thesis would not be possible without the ceaseless support of my family. For allowing me to dream, I would like to thank my parents, Osman and Jussara, who gave everything so that their daughters could be happy. I am truly grateful for your faith in me! Also, my sisters, Rafaella and Thaíse for dreaming with me. You both are a beautiful part of my existence. Querida família, obrigada por serem meu porto seguro. Furthermore, for giving me the joy of watching how beautiful it is to learn and grow every day, I would like to thank my son Hugo and my daughter Alice. Thank you both for loving me every day, which gives me energy to keep on going even when the going got tough (even if sometimes it was your own doing…) 7 Last but by far not least, my final words go to my husband Olivier to whom I am profoundly indebted. I know that I can always count on you and this is priceless. Along these years, you told me every day that I could make it. You have supported me in all aspects incessantly. Thank you for knowing how to balance professional and family life and for teaching me this. Without you, I would never have completed this research. Thank you for building a family with me in a caring and loving environment. You are more than I could wish for a partner in life! Obrigada, Coração! 8 Chapters Chapter I – Introduction Chapter II – The UNFCCC requirements for access to climate information and public participation in climate change decision making Chapter III – The Aarhus Convention, the EU and Climate Change Chapter IV – The EU Emissions Trading System: Access to environmental information and public participation at EU level Chapter V – Certification of Biofuels: Access to environmental information and public participation at EU Level Chapter VI – Conclusion 9 10 Detailed Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 7 List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 19 Chapter I – Introduction ................................................................................................... 23 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 23 1.1. Procedural obligations in the field of EU climate change law .......................... 23 1.2. The UNFCCC ................................................................................................... 26 1.3. The Aarhus Convention .................................................................................... 27 1.4. European Union climate policy and law ........................................................... 29 2. Research questions ...................................................................................................... 31 3. Methodological approach ............................................................................................ 32 3.1. Doctrinal legal research .................................................................................... 32 3.2. Case-based approach: focus on specific elements of EU climate change law .. 34 3.2.1. Case study 1: The EU Emissions Trading System Directive ....................... 35 3.2.2. Case study 2: The Renewable Energy Directive .......................................... 37 3.3. Research limitations ......................................................................................... 38 4. Outline of the thesis .................................................................................................... 39 Chapter II – The UNFCCC requirements for access to climate information and public participation in climate ..................................................................................................... 41 change decision making ....................................................................................................... 41 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 41 1.1. Aim and structure ............................................................................................. 41 1.2. Research approach