CLM’s Centre for Environmental Justice has recognised the current interrelated crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution that Ireland is currently facing. While Ireland may have a wide range of environment governance regime, implementation and enforcement issues continue to undermine the effectiveness of its environmental laws and policies.
Currently in Ireland, there are no express constitutional environmental rights. In April 2023, the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss recommended that a referendum be held on inserting environmental human rights of Nature into the Constitution.
The report, “Constitutionalising Environmental Rights – Practical Insights into the Irish Context” examined if and how, Ireland should constitute environmental rights. The project was undertaken by Dr Orla Kelleher and Dr Mary Dobbs of the School of Law and Criminology in Maynooth University and Commissioned by Community Law & Mediation.
The report finds that a key advantage of explicit environmental rights is their potential as a legal accountability tool.
It points out that environmental protections and safeguards within existing legislation already deliver on environmental rights to varying degrees, while some rights already exist in the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights, and the Constitution. It adds, however that even with a relatively broad interpretation of existing rights, stand-alone constitutional environmental rights would still be significant.
The report recommends for policymakers to include a clear political commitment recognising the fundamental nature of substantive and procedural environmental rights as well as to review and necessary amendments to existing environmental rights. The report additionally recommends engaging in public education in relation to environmental rights and to undertake a referendum campaign that learns from the previous experiences of successful referenda in Ireland.
Click here to read the full report.