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Globalization & Law Network seminar with Chiara Armeni

The new Globalization and Law Network seminar series of the academic year 2023/24 has started! We had the pleasure to host our first guest Chiara Armeni, Professor of Environmental Law at Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE). Armeni discussed her current research on “Inequalities and environmental justice in the EU climate transition”, while Dr. Marijn van der Sluis, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at Maastricht University and member of the Globalization and Law Network, acted as discussant. The seminar was organized in collaboration with the Maastricht Center for European Law (MCEL) and co-sponsored by GreenDeal-NET. 

The first part of Armeni's presentation focused on the question of how the climate crisis shapes and is shaped by inequalities. She analyzed the current massive disproportion in society when it comes to emissions, and how the socially regressive nature of climate policies and energy transition can be deteriorating and consequently creating even more inequalities. Armeni highlighted the so-called climate paradox, whereby the climate transition exacerbates disparities, but at the same time the more profound these inequalities are, the slower and harder the climate transition becomes.

In the second part of her talk, Armeni discussed the importance of public participation in environmental decision-making: according to her, the role of the individual needs to be enhanced to ensure "an active participation” based on collective action through, for example, contributing by behavioral action. From this perspective, she expressed concern on the limited role assigned to public participation in the EU Green Deal, especially in light of the procedural rights afforded to the public by the Aarhus Convention.

The next seminar of the Globalization & Law Network will take place on 11 October. See the full program here.

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