Resources
At the Centre for Environmental Justice, our mission is to engage, inform and mobilise people on their environmental rights.
You can read the research and reports we’ve published or been involved in, check out our information guides, and watch back events and webinars that we’ve held in the past, in case that you missed them.
Research and Reports
Centre for Environmental Justice Report: ‘Constitutionalising Environmental Rights – Practical Insights into the Irish Context‘
Ireland, like all countries, is facing the interrelated crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. While Ireland has a wide-ranging environmental 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 and Rights of Nature into the Constitution.
Featuring research by Dr Orla Kelleher and Dr Mary Dobbs of the School of Law and Criminology in Maynooth University, this report, ‘Constitutionalising Environmental Rights – Practical Insights into the Irish Context‘ examines if, and how, Ireland should constitutionalise environmental rights.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s report into Consitutionalising Environmental Rights.
Click here to read the executive summary.
REPORT: Environmental Justice in Ireland – Environmental and climate injustice experienced by vulnerable and marginalised communities.
‘Environmental Justice in Ireland: Key dimensions of environmental and climate injustice experienced by vulnerable and marginalised communities’, is a report published by DCU (School of Law and Government) and CLM (Centre for Environmental Justice) in March 2022.
This report identifies and sets out key recommendations to improve the monitoring of environmental pollution and its correlation with measures of deprivation and vulnerability, with the ultimate aim to strengthen the pursuit of environmental justice in Ireland.
Manuals
The Manual of Environmental Justice
Community Law & Mediation partnered with the Environmental Justice Network Ireland to establish the Manual of Environmental Justice, as research shows that 78% of academics, activists, NGOs and broader civil society groups cite ‘lack of accessibility to expertise and/or information’ as a main obstacle to carrying out their work.
The Manual of Environmental Justice is a digital toolkit which aims to resource and connect organisations and communities across the island of Ireland on intersectional environmental issues.
It is free to use and provides an expert directory for people working in environmental and social justice, an advocacy map which shows locations of environmental and social groups across Ireland and a resources hub which contains a range of expert and journalistic articles, blogs, podcasts and videos.
Click here to check out the Manual of Environmental Justice.
Information Guides
An Overview of Residents’ Associations and Community Groups
In this short guide, we provide an overview of community groups and residents’ associations that do not have a formal legal status, also known as unincorporated associations. We describe how it is possible for these types of groups to become incorporated, and obtain seperate legal status, by applying to the Companies’ Registration Office (CRO).
A Guide to Dealing with Littering and Dumping
Is your community being impacted by illegal dumping or constant littering?
Are you unsure who is responsible or how to take action?
This guide is for anyone who wants to keep their community clean and safe—from tenants, homeowners, and residents, to landlords, businesses, and community groups. It also provides useful information for those working in local government or enforcement.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s guide to Dealing with Littering and Dumping.
A Guide to the Use of Pesticides
Are you concerned about the use of pesticides in your neighbourhood, community, or locality?
Do you want to know who can use them, where they can be used, and how to take action if they’re causing harm?
This guide is for residents, communities, landowners, and environmental advocates who want to better understand how pesticide use is regulated in Ireland. It is also useful for anyone affected by pesticide use near homes, water sources, schools, or nature reserves.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s guide to the Use of Pesticides.
A Guide to Making a Environmental or Planning Submission
What kind of environmental considerations may be grounds for making a planning submission?
How do you best go about it?
This guide provides answers to some of the frequently asked questions surrounding making a planning submission.
A Guide to Judicial Review – Challenging an Environmental or Planning Decisions
This guide from the Centre for Environmental Justice is designed to help you to understand the judicial review process.
Have you encountered a planning or environmental decision that seems unlawful or unfair?
Do you want to understand your legal options?
This guide is for individuals, community groups, environmental organisations, and others who wish to challenge decisions made by public authorities in planning or environmental matters.
It may also be helpful for legal professionals, campaigners, and anyone with an interest in environmental justice and the rule of law.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s Guide to Judicial Review.
A Guide to Energy Poverty
Do you struggle to pay your home heating or electricity costs?
The guide is for tenants or homeowners experiencing or concerned about energy poverty. It is also useful for landlords and local authorities.
The guide explains the supports, measures and protections against energy poverty that may be relevant to you. It also outlines organisations to contact if you need further help.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s Guide to Energy Poverty.
A Guide to the Aarhus Convention – Access to Environmental Information, Public Participation & Environmental Justice.
The Aarhus Convention is a key international agreement which protects: “The right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and wellbeing.”
This right is is protected by 3 distinct rights:
- Right of Access to Justice – Your right to access a legal remedy if your
rights are infringed.
- Right of Access to Information – Your right to know.
- Right of Access to Public Participation – Your right to have your say.
Established by the United Nations Economic Commission in 1998, it was
entered into law in Ireland in 2012.
This guide breaks down each of the rights enshrined under the Aarhus Convention, provides a jargon buster to better grasp the legal-speak, and provides a useful environmental information requrest template if readers wish to access information on their local environment.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s guide to the Aarhus Convention.
A Guide to Minimum Standards of Local Authority Homes (Council Housing) – Mould, Damp, and other environmental ills.
Do you have damp or mould in your home?
Do you have a leak in your home?
Do you have no ventilation in your home?
Your local authority, as your landlord, is under a duty to ensure your home meets these standards. These standards cover issues such as the structural condition of your home, damp, heating and ventilation.
Our series of resources focus on examining and highlighting these legal standards. The resources explain what your rights are and what you can do if these standards are not met.
Learn more below and find out how to check if your council home meets these minimum standards.
Read our guide to Minimum Standards of Local Authority Homes (Council Housing).
A Guide to the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive
More than 300,000 premature deaths are attributed to air pollution in the EU each year, with short-and long-term exposure increasing the risk of developmental delay, cardiovascular disease, strokes, asthma, heart disease and lung cancer.
On 10 December 2024, the revised EU Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) entered into force.
This represents a significant breakthrough in the improvement of public and environmental health, with estimates that the directive will lead to a 55% reduction in premature deaths as well as annual health, economic and environmental benefits of up to €121 billion.
Under the directive, EU Member States have until 11 December 2026 to transpose the AAQD into national law.
This guide summarises the AAQD and outlines the measures that must be taken by EU Member States to ensure adherence to its provisions.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s Guide to the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive.
Click here to read our summary of the directive.
Policy Submissions
Our vision in the Centre for Environmental Justice rests on the full realisation of fundamental rights for all, ensuring people’s needs are met within a socially just and ecologically sustainable economy and society.
One way that we seek to advance legislative and policy change is via policy submissions and law reform.
Please see a selection of our most recent policy submissions below.
CLM Submission to the Public Consultation on Updating the Clean Air Strategy 2025.
Community Law & Mediation (CLM) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the public consultation on updating the Clean Air Strategy 2025.
CLM contends that the updated strategy should contain specific and measurable priority actions that seek to advance environmental justice and protect public health in line with World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines.
Check out the full submission below:
Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment – A visit to Ireland
Below, you can read our January 2026 submission to the UN Special Rapporteur regarding the human right to a healthy environment:
The Centre for Environmental Justice’s response in relation to proposed changes to the Scale of Fees.
The below submissions outlines importance of Access to Justice in environmental matters, in relation to the proposed changes to the scale of fees.
Community Law & Mediation’s submission on Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union presents an opportunity to champion bold measures that advance fundamental rights and promote a socially just, ecologically sustainable society.
In our submission on Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we call on Ireland to prioritise:
- Upholding and affirming Ireland’s and the EU’s commitment to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Protecting access to information on the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters in line with the Aarhus Convention.
- Progressing the commitment to effectively and urgently tackle the homelessness and housing crisis in Ireland and across Europe.
- The adoption of a 2040 climate target which is fully aligned with the best available climate science and consistent with the EU’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, supported by the effective resourcing of the EU’s transition across all Member States via the Multiannual Financial Framework.
Read our submission in full below:
The Centre for Environmental Justice’s Pre-Budget Submission 2026.
Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions are not occurring at the scale and pace necessary to achieve national climate commitments or EU targets.
Failure to achieve these legally-binding commitments would mean the goals of the Paris Agreement become increasingly out of reach. This climate inaction poses an immediate and pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies throughout the world, including Ireland.
The adverse impacts of climate change directly and indirectly threaten the full and effective enjoyment of a range of human rights.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s Pre-Budget submission for 2026 in full below.
The Centre for Environmental Justice’s response to the draft Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Biodiversity 2025.
The EU’s proposed 2040 climate target falls short of scientific advice and risks weakening its climate framework. By choosing a 90% reduction—the lowest end of the advisory range—and allowing up to 3% reliance on international carbon credits, the proposal undermines ambition and raises legal and policy concerns.
Read the CEJ’s full response here:
The Centre for Environmental Justice’s response to the EU’s proposed European Climate Law Amendment.
The EU’s proposed 2040 climate target falls short of scientific advice and risks weakening its climate framework. By choosing a 90% reduction—the lowest end of the advisory range—and allowing up to 3% reliance on international carbon credits, the proposal undermines ambition and raises legal and policy concerns.
Read the CEJ’s full response to the EU’s proposed 2040 target here:
The Centre for Environmental Justice’s response to the EU’s call for evidence on simplifying environmental legislation.
The EU’s call for evidence on simplifying environmental legislation lacks clarity, transparency, and scope. Without specifying which laws are subject to amendment or assessing the legal, social, economic, and environmental impacts, the process risks undermining democratic participation rights under the Aarhus Convention.
Read the Centre for Environmental Justice’s full response to the EU’s call for evidence below:
The Centre for Environmental Justice response to the European Commission’s proposed 2040 target for carbon emissions reductions.
Carbon credits are not a fast or cost-effective solution to Europe’s need to decarbonise.
We call on the EU to continue its practice of achieving its binding climate targets domestically for the 2040 goal, as enshrined in the EU Climate law, for the 2030 target and for the 2050 climate neutrality goal.
Check out our full response to the European European Commission’s proposed 2040 target below.
Events, Webinars and Recordings
The Centre for Environmental Justice regularly hosts information talks, webinars and events on a range of topics. Check out some of our recent events below, and watch this space for new events that are added.