[As most Harmless Sky readers will know, climate science can be a pretty secretive business. David Holland has spent much time attempting to bring important information about research that underpins global warming alarmism into the public domain. He has written an excellent critique of Michael Mann’s Hockey Stick graph and the IPCC processes which allowed a shoddy piece of research to become a political  icon. He has also co-authored an analysis of  the Stern Review with Ross McKitrick, Bob Carter, Richard Lintzen Nigel Lawson and others. ]

From time to time Brits have complained that only we bother to implement EU Directives properly, and then with some vigour and occasional gold plating. We note, sometimes admiringly, the apparent lack of their enforcement the further south one goes in Europe.   Directive 2003/4/EC, on the other hand, is an exception because it is almost universally honoured in its breach. In a preamble it refers to a little known convention, to which the EU is a signatory, and states that provisions of Community Law must be consistent with it. To understand the importance of the convention and the directive you have to consider the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 – the EIR.

The EIR came to public attention when Mr Justice Sullivan, on a judicial review request from Greenpeace, required the British Government to redo its consultation over nuclear energy.   An important part of his judgement was:

Whatever the position may be in other policy areas, in the development of policy in the environmental field consultation is no longer a privilege to be granted or withheld at will by the executive. The United Kingdom Government is a signatory to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (“the Aarhus Convention”).

Ultimately, it is the Aarhus Convention that has primacy and to which those interested in “Justice in Environmental Matters” should look. There is, incidentally, a Compliance Committee to which anyone may report breaches of the convention.  Article 1 states the objectives of the convention to be: Continue reading »