Ministry of Environment and Forests acted illegally when it provided an opportunity for project developers to obtain post facto environmental clearance for activities conducted without prior environmental review and authorization.
The Dutch government must reduce CO2 emissions by a minimum of 25% (compared to 1990) by 2020 to fulfil its obligation to protect and improve the living environment against the immiment danger caused by climate change.
Citizens group entitled to access environmental records held by private company describing how the company planned to address pollution and rehabilitate manufacturing sites.
UK regime for costs and interim relief in environmental cases does not fulfill obligation under Aarhus Convention to provide procedures that are not “prohibitively expensive.”
A Mexican municipality violated the National Water Act when it built a breakwater on Lake Chapala without obtaining a concession from the National Water Commission. The Commission initiated action against the Municipality and ordered the breakwater’s demolition. The Constitutional Court upheld the demolition order.
The State of Panama violated the land rights of indigenous communities impacted by the construction of the Bayano dam and failed to provide adequate judicial protection for the communities to protect their ancestral lands. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights directed the State of Panama to, among other things, demarcate community lands and pay compensation.
Owner of motor speedway held liable to nearby landowner for committing a nuisance. Although speedway owner obtained planning consent and the landowners moved into their house after the speedway had been operating for more than 20 years, neither of these factors constituted a defense. Court reinstated injunction limiting the amount of noise emitted from the speedway.
A U.S. energy regulatory agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued a certificate authorizing a natural gas company to upgrade part of a pipeline. The agency improperly segmented its environmental review of the project by failing to consider the cumulative and connected impacts of other related pipeline projects in the vicinity.
The government of Kenya has an affirmative duty to publicly disclose a power purchase agreement with Ethiopia and information describing the possible social and environmental impacts of hydropower facilities in Ethiopia that would divert water flowing into Lake Turkana. The State must also ensure Lake Turkana is sustainably managed utilized and conserved, and exercise the necessary precautions in preventing environmental harm that may arise from any power purchase agreements with Ethiopia.
Costa Rican environment and energy ministry was justified in terminating a petroleum exploration contract when the oil company proposed exploration activities that would cause unacceptable environmental impact. Oil company violated contract obligations when it failed to obtain approval of its environmental impact assessment for exploratory drilling.
