4 November 2025
Today, over 40 of the biggest environmental NGOs and several King’s Counsel Barristers have written to the Prime Minister to ask that the UK Government reaffirm its commitment to the Aarhus Convention and reject any move to weaken the public’s right to defend the environment in court.
The joint letter expresses deep concern over recent reports suggesting Ministers may further restrict judicial review, remove cost caps in environmental cases, or even consider withdrawing from the Aarhus Convention – a cornerstone of environmental democracy. The Convention guarantees access to information, participation in decision-making, and access to justice. Despite reports, the Government has recently stated in a Parliamentary Question that it has “no plans” to withdraw from the Convention.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, would remove the “paper permission” stage of judicial review and restrict rights to appeal in cases involving major infrastructure. Signatories warn that further weakening of access to justice would represent a serious regression in the UK’s commitment to transparency, accountability and the rule of law, further eroding public trust at a time when environmental rights have never been more important.
The Aarhus Convention ensures that everyone, regardless of income, can take steps to protect the environment. Yet the UK has been in breach of its access to justice obligations for 15 years, with legal costs still putting environmental cases out of reach for most people.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
"Legal action by charities and communities has broken open the scandal of sewage pollution, affirmed our rights to breathe clean air, won proper plans for nature and climate, and defended wildlife against damaging development. Ensuring affordable access to environmental justice is fundamental to public trust in Government's growth plans.
"The Government rightly says it remains committed to the Aarhus Convention, now it must show that commitment by ensuring that everyone can participate in environmental decision-making and rely on the rule of law"
With the Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Convention approaching this month (17-19 November), the letter urges the Government to:
- Maintain robust access to justice protections and cost caps
- Endorse the Aarhus Compliance Committee’s findings on legal costs
- Uphold the UK’s reputation as a law-abiding, internationally cooperative nation
Carol Day, Co-Chair of the Wildlife & Countryside Link Legal Strategy Group, said:
“Attacks on the Convention seem to be coming from the highest level – it is only fitting that the UK’s continued commitment to international law, an issue always assumed to be a core part of Labour’s DNA, is now reiterated at that highest level.”
Read the full joint NGO letter here and you will find Carol Day’s blog which explains this further here: Is Environmental Democracy in Peril?
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