Last Thursday, the Scottish Parliament hosted a debate on the Aarhus Convention and access to environmental justice, jointly proposed by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport (NZET) and the Equalities, Human Rights, and Civil Justice (EHRCJ) Committees.
The debate was a key milestone for our parliamentary advocacy, following on from the invitation to give evidence on environmental governance and access to justice to the Committees in 2024 and 2025, and many MSPs picked up on points raised in our briefing paper – you can watch the full session on the Scottish Parliament website (skip forward to 16.00 for the start of the debate).
These are the highlights.
Cross-party support for environmental justice
It was encouraging to hear cross-party support from MSPs for all our key advocacy priorities, including on amending regulation 15 of Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2002; replacing the ‘loser pays rule’ with Qualified One-Way Cost-Shifting; establishing a dedicated Scottish Environment Court; and introducing an enforceable right to a healthy environment.
With such a unified message from members of two parliamentary committees (whose role it is to collate expertise on a particular topic and scrutinise government progress on these matters), the onus is now firmly on the Scottish Government to implement the recommendations of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee to remove barriers to accessing environmental justice.
Piecemeal progress on legal reforms
Scotland had a deadline to comply with the Aarhus Convention’s access to justice requirements by 1 October 2024. Yet, when questioned in the debate, Scottish Ministers were still unable to give a concrete timeline for when Scotland would fully meet these legal obligations.
There were positive words from the Scottish Government on legal aid reform, including an openness to considering different funding models for strategic litigation, as well as promises for a new consultation on court fees, which may be an opportunity to extend exemptions for Aarhus cases. Scottish Ministers were clear that changes to legal aid regulations will be enacted by the end of 2025 through secondary legislation.
Scottish Ministers also made much of their commitment to amend the Protective Expenses Order (PEO) regime, which is supposed to cap court costs. However, these minor reforms are insufficient to guarantee access to environmental justice – read more in our briefing on PEOs.
Growing momentum for a Scottish Environment Court
Both the NZET and EHRCJ committee conveners emphasised the beneficial role a Scottish Environment Court could play in securing access to environmental justice. This was echoed in passionate speeches from Douglas Lumsden MSP, Monica Lennon MSP, Mark Ruskell MSP and others.
If the Scottish Government is truly committed to an evidence-informed approach as they stated in the debate, then they must respond to the evidence presented to both committees.
Turning words into action
Opposition parties must continue to hold Scottish Ministers to account on these issues. They also have a duty to translate their supportive words into action, by including manifesto commitments at the next election to recognise an enforceable right to a healthy environment, increase access to justice, and establish a dedicated Scottish Environment Court.
There has been an alarming tendency in Scottish Government over the past twelve months towards the weakening of ambition on environmental rights and dilution of environmental protections.
The next Scottish Parliament must turn the tide and step up to the challenge of delivering environmental justice for all.
Benji Brown, ERCS policy & advocacy officer
