Information, public participation and access to justice are key to ensure an effective environmental protection. Through these three pillars of the Aarhus Convention the public should have access to plans, programs and... [ view full abstract ]
Information, public participation and access to justice are key to ensure an effective environmental protection. Through these three pillars of the Aarhus Convention the public should have access to plans, programs and projects that affect the environment. Public information on these policies is necessary to participate in the development of plans, programs and projects and, if necessary, to have access to courts. Ultimately, all the three pillars must serve to demand effective environmental justice.
We describe how have been tried in court the disputes that have taken place in relation to nuclear energy and radioactive waste management in Spain, emphasizing the issues raised on access to information and public participation processes.
We analyze legal proceedings about conflicts between nuclear companies, the Spanish State and NGOs and social movements regarding (A) public information and (B) public participation and access to environmental justice.
A) In relation to public information, differences between actors in conflict ―nuclear companies and the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN)― arise because of the publication on the Internet of information about inspections carried out in the power plants by the CSN (JUR/2008/173166).
B) The building project of the temporary storage of high level radioactive waste (ATC) makes evident the differences between the participatory process promoted by the Spanish Government against the effective public participation mechanisms and practices demanded by social movements and by Greenpeace (ROJ: SAN 431/2012 and ROJ: STS 5149/2013).
We observe how different actors in conflict assessed information and public participation linked to nuclear facilities and concerns, and the different interpretations of what transparency and environmental justice mean. We also found that the Spanish nuclear legislation is archaic and scattered, which complicates the comprehension of the issue by the general public. We conclude that law and courts are prime actors in the construction of meanings about the environmental conflict.
Keywords
Environmental justice, public information, public participation, access to justice, nuclear power
