Environment: Aarhus Convention

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any of the provisions of the Aarhus convention have yet to be implemented in (a) the European Union, and (b) the United Kingdom. [HL105]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker)
The Aarhus convention sets out a range of obligations on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. The list of ratifications, including those of the European Community and its member states, is at www.unece.org/env/pp/ctreaty.htm.

When the UK ratified the convention in February 2005, the Government published a detailed explanation of how they considered the EU and the UK complied with these obligations at the time, including under requirements imposed under common Community measures. This information can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/aarhus/pdf/compliance-summary.pdf.