November 2026 marks the beginning of JUSTGREEN, a two-year project to advance environmental justice through strategic litigation.
Environmental harm is not only an ecological issue. It also affects people’s health, homes, livelihoods and basic rights. Across the EU, certain communities are more affected than others, such as those living near polluting industries, contaminated land or poorly managed infrastructure.
CEESEN’s CEO, Hector C. Pagan, said that this inequality in resources and opportunities is becoming increasingly common, and that the pursuit of sustainable energy to combat climate change is becoming linked to issues of social and environmental justice.
“Imagine there is a huge storm that causes flooding in a city, but only wealthy neighbourhoods avoid significant damage because they have advanced drainage systems installed. Or a heat wave forces power outages that put everyone in darkness, except those households that could afford to install solar panels and thus can keep the lights on, the food refrigerated and the house warm in the winter. This is the world we live in today,” explained Pagan.
Strategic litigation can change this imbalance, but it requires legal knowledge, resources and support that many affected people, NGOs and activists do not have. Those who do speak up can face intimidation, including Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
Pagan stated that the importance of JUSTGREEN lies in its goal to equip people with the legal tools and support they need to fight for their environmental rights.
Over the next two years, the project will develop two training tracks: one for community members and activists who want to learn more about their environmental rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and one for lawyers and other professionals, to help them better support people who need environmental law advice. JUSTGREEN will also develop an AI-assisted digital tool where people can check whether their situation might involve an environmental rights violation. The tool then connects them to a human legal helpdesk, which gives individual advice on possible next steps, including support in preparing strategic litigation where applicable. Finally, the project will create a network of organisations that links people who need environmental law advice with experts who have the tools and resources to guide them. CEESEN leads the communication activities in the project.
The JUSTGREEN project brings together eight partners from Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Romania and Slovenia. It is co-funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme.