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The emergence of a right to clean air: Transforming European Union law through litigation and citizen science
Author(s) -
Misonne Delphine
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
review of european, comparative and international environmental law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2050-0394
pISSN - 2050-0386
DOI - 10.1111/reel.12336
Subject(s) - legislation , european union , context (archaeology) , political science , law , interpretation (philosophy) , economic justice , european union law , air quality index , quality (philosophy) , common law , law and economics , international trade , business , sociology , geography , programming language , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , meteorology , computer science
Air quality is a matter of rights. A substantive right to clean air for individuals has emerged from European Union legislation, the corollary of duties made ever tighter by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In delivering on these developments, reliance on two factors was and remains of crucial importance: litigation and citizen science. The present article focuses on the CJEU’s interpretation of European Union law on ambient air quality and on how that interpretation impacts domestic jurisdictions. The article explores the apparent absence of rights talk in such legislation, while showing in parallel how air quality, health and rights constantly intersect and form an undeniable backdrop, or context, that favours – and even requires – a stricter protection of individuals against air quality degradation.