European Environmental Law Forum – serie

Governments, companies, environmental associations and citizens all over the European Union (EU) are struggling with large scale projects. On the one hand large scale projects can contribute to economic development, on the other hand they often also raise environmental concerns. Because of their size and potential impact, large scale projects usually lead to heavy debates and quickly become of great symbolic value. Consequently, large scale projects are excellent examples of the difficulty to balance economic development with environmental protection.The types of large scale projects, planned as well as under construction in the EU, are very diverse. One can think of all kinds of infrastructure projects (motorways, railways, waterways, stations, ports, airports,...), building projects (offices, housing projects, sports stadiums, redevelopment of brownfields,...), waste projects (incineration, landfill,...), energy projects (electricity and gas networks, wind farms, biogas installations, heat networks, extraction projects,...), climate projects (CDM projects,...), water projects, etc.In order to promote the legal thinking about all kinds of environmental and planning law aspects of large scale projects, Hasselt University and KU Leuven, Campus Brussels jointly hosted from 10 to 12 September 2014 the second European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) Conference, with as central topic ''Environmental and Planning Law Aspects of Large Scale Projects''. The conference focused more specifically on the following aspects:- The role of spatial and environmental planning- Permitting and review procedures- Critical sectoral regimes- Horizontal measuresThis book offers a selection of the contributions presented at the EELF Conference. They have all been submitted to two double-blind peer reviews.The book is subdivided into six main themes:1. General2. Public participation3. Environmental impact assessment4. Water5. Nature6. Land use

This book is the third volume in the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) Book Series. The EELF is a non-profit initiative of environmental law scholars and practitioners from across Europe aiming to support intellectual exchange on the development and implementation of international, European and national environmental law in Europe. One of the activities of the EELF is an annual conference. This book bundles 15 contributions from those presented during the Third EELF Conference in Aix-en-Provence, hosted by the CERIC, Aix-Marseille University, from 2 to 4 September 2015.The central topic of the book is the effectiveness of environmental law. Indeed the impressive developments in environmental law in recent years have not always been matched by corresponding improvements in environmental quality. The threats to our environment and, by extension, to human health have never been so numerous or so serious. Paradoxically, the effectiveness of environmental law has been a long-neglected issue. This book offers a fruitful and stimulating dialogue between practitioners and academics, from varied countries and varied fields, combining empirical and theoretical approaches to the topic. Suggestions for improving the effectiveness of environmental law range from classic yet still necessary approaches working within criminal and administrative channels, such as civil sanctions, liability rules and strengthening the regulatory structure and the role of judges, to more innovative methods involving public participation, collaborative or hybrid governance and private environmental enforcement.

This book is the fourth volume in the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) book series. The Fourth EELF Conference dedicated to Procedural Environmental Rights of the public was organised in Wrocław from 14 to 16 September 2016 by the Faculty of Law of the University of Wrocław in co-operation with the Environmental Law Center, Wrocław, the law firm Jendrośka Jerzmański Bar & Partners and the Faculty of Law of the University of Opole.`Procedural Environmental Rights: Principle X in Theory and Practice’ is not a random collection of papers presented at the conference but rather a monograph presenting in a structured manner some of the topical issues related to this subject. It provides an overview of various aspects of the current status, development and practice of rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters following their codification as non-binding principles in Principle X of the Rio Declaration.The book goes far beyond presenting merely the issues related to environmental procedural rights in Europe - it brings together the expertise of worldwide legal scholars, representing a wide range of legal cultures, to discuss the adoption and implementation of procedural environmental rights in different jurisdictions and under various legal instruments. Furthermore, it provides insight into the various aspects of procedural environmental rights ranging from theoretical issues of global application to practical problems at local level.

This book is the fifth volume in the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) Book Series. The EELF is a non-profit initiative established by environmental law scholars and practitioners from across Europe aiming to support intellectual exchange on the development and implementation of international, European and national environmental law in Europe. One of the activities of the EELF is the organisation of an annual conference.The fifth EELF Conference dedicated to 'Sustainable Management of Natural Resources - Legal Instruments and Approaches' was held in Copenhagen from the 30th of August to the 1st of September 2017 at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with the Department of Law, Aarhus University.This book is a collection of peer reviewed contributions addressing various legal aspects of sustainable management of natural resources. Natural resources are in this book understood in broad terms encompassing biodiversity, water, air and soil, as well as raw materials. Based on the contributions, it can be asserted that despite many efforts there is still a long way to go in order to achieve sustainable management of natural resources. Making ecosystem integrity ultimately the bottom-line for sustainable development requires not only dedication in the design and coherence of (environmental) legislation at international, EU and national level, but also a strong commitment to the implementation and enforcement of the legislation. Thus, it is necessary to carefully consider how different legal instruments and approaches may pave the way for the sustainable management of natural resources.

Over the last decades, environmental law has significantly contributed to limiting pollution and decoupling economic growth and negative environmental effects. However, current challenges require out-of-the-box solutions, integrated and inclusive approaches of both public and private actors and cross-border sets of instruments. This book presents inspiring ideas about how law can support the fundamental transition processes to a sustainable future and how it can provide guidance on the pathways to sustainability.This book focuses on issues such as what legal instruments optimally encourage disruptive breakthroughs and where law may actually hamper sustainable innovations and solutions. It examines conceptual issues and specific legal tools, not only from an EU law perspective, but also from national and international law perspectives. Alongside general discussions about the role that law plays in encouraging sustainability, the book also concentrates on substantive areas in which transition processes to sustainability are urgently needed: the transition to a low carbon economy in order to comply with the Paris Agreement for climate change, the transition to a holistic management of water resources to achieve water security and the transition to halting the loss of biodiversity.The different contributions make clear that until recently, law played a limited role and should be further developed and improved to better align with the more general aim to move towards a sustainable society. This book can serve as an inspiration for further discussion on the role of law as a tool for supporting the transition to a sustainable future.