A new General Comment published by the United Nations makes clear that 'a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is an essential precondition for the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.' ...
Law reform
UN body finds that Scotland fails to guarantee access to environmental justice – press release
The Scottish Government has failed to implement recommendations to guarantee access to justice to uphold environmental rights, according to a new UN report ...
Advocacy Manifesto sets out route map to secure environmental rights
ERCS today launches our new Advocacy Manifesto, setting out a route map of how every person’s right to live in a healthy environment can be respected, protected, and fulfilled ...
Landmark climate change ruling reaffirms States’ obligations to protect the right to a healthy environment
The International Court of Justice has issued a landmark Advisory Opinion on States’ obligations regarding climate change ...
Reforming legal aid to deliver environmental justice
A new ERCS briefing discusses the importance of amending Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 to enable public interest environmental litigation and increase access to environmental justice. The briefing summarises evidence supplied by ERCS legal director Ben Christman to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights, and Civil Justice Committee in November 2024, which highlights how the ‘joint interest test’ specified under Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2002 makes it difficult to obtain legal aid for environmental cases. ERCS recommends that Regulation 15 is amended so that it does not apply to cases falling within the scope of the Aarhus Convention. Read the briefing
Everyone’s Environment: Recommendations for more inclusive environmental policy in Scotland
Last September, we were commissioned by NPC’s Everyone’s Environment project to co-produce recommendations for making environmental policy more inclusive. This blog shares the project’s resources ...
Environmental and human rights groups urge UK government to back binding Council of Europe Protocol on the right to a healthy environment – press release
Over sixty organisations have written to UK government ministers ahead of a major meeting of the Council of Europe, urging them to back proposals for an additional binding Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights that would finally recognise the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment ...
Scottish charities call on Holyrood to make environmental policies more inclusive – press release
Ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, human rights and environmental organisations have urged Scottish political parties to improve how environmental policies affect marginalised and disadvantaged groups ...
