Reforming climate governance in light of recent international judicial decisions

Key points

The EESC:

• calls for the European Commission (EC) and EU Member States to defend the meaningful and structured participation of organised civil society in the UNFCCC process;
• stresses that the Working Party on International Environment Issues (WPIEI) should create a dedicated issue group/task force on civil society, governance reform and non-state-actor participation;
• proposes a formalised participation of the EESC in WPIEI meetings to facilitate the uptake of the perspectives of European organised civil society in the positions of the EU at COPs;
• recommends the establishment of structured daily consultations and debriefings for civil society organisations at EU level throughout the duration of COPs. EESC members should be part of the official EU delegation;
• urges that the Council conclusions ahead of each climate summit, as well as the diplomatic actions and strategies of the EC and Member States, should include a clear stance against hosting climate conferences in countries that are authoritarian or that restrict civil society access and participation, or that maintain economic models heavily dependent on fossil fuel extraction and expansion;
• calls on EU Member States and the Commission to ensure a balanced representation and limit the amount of delegates with links to fossil fuel interests in their official delegations;
• proposes strengthening diplomatic efforts to position the EU as a leader in promoting transparency, accountability and the meaningful inclusion of organised civil society in the COP process;
• considers that the latest rulings by international courts represent a watershed and enhance the progress already made in the national courts of the various EU Member States, triggered by the legal actions brought by civil society;
• urges the EC to develop a transparency mechanism and database to inform the public about how Member States and the Commission are complying with obligations arising from climate litigation;
• encourages the introduction of a compliance clause in the Commission’s legislative impact assessments for new proposals on the environment, climate or energy, explaining whether draft legislation incorporates conclusions from the International Court of Justice and other tribunals.