ClientEarth Europe

We’re taking legal action against Spain to protect dolphins from unselective fishing. 🧵

We are taking legal action against Spanish authorities to ensure that: - Governments have concrete plans to reduce this threat - Data is collected so we know the true scale of bycatch - Laws aimed at monitoring bycatch and protecting marine mammals and seabirds are enforced.

We’re taking legal action against Spain to protect dolphins from unselective fishing. 🧵

Guess how much could you save if you produced clean energy locally? Up to €930/year. For some, this is already a reality: in Policzna, a municipality in Poland, an energy cooperative helped cut the town hall’s electricity bills by almost 90% and avoid increases in water and sewage prices. 🧵

EU countries were required to make it easier for people to participate in renewable energy communities. Yet five years after the deadline, Poland and Hungary still have national rules that make it too difficult, unclear and expensive to set one up. So we're taking action:

WIN💫 The EU Commission refused to give us access to crucial documents around mining projects in Europe. We filed a complaint to @ombudsman.europa.eu and we won: she agrees with us that refusing to give access to the documents is unjustified and that the Commission should make them public! 🧵

These projects, if designated as “strategic” under the Critical Raw Materials Act, could reshape landscapes and impact the livelihoods. Take the lithium mine "strategic project" in northern Portugal that we're challenging in court: it's planned next to people’s homes and farmland.

WIN💫 The EU Commission refused to give us access to crucial documents around mining projects in Europe. We filed a complaint to @ombudsman.europa.eu and we won: she agrees with us that refusing to give access to the documents is unjustified and that the Commission should make them public! 🧵

We're taking legal action against Hungary and Poland to make it easy for everyone to access clean, affordable energy. How? With energy communities☀️ The EU gave us the right to energy communities years ago. But some countries still haven’t made them accessible. That's why today we're taking action.

Energy communities mean lower bills, local renewable energy, and less dependence on fossil fuels. What’s not to like? 💫 If you've never heard of energy communities before, get started here:

Fluffy promises won’t cut it this time: the Ombudswoman calls on the institution to show, in practice, how it will ensure transparent, evidence-based and inclusive law-making. That counts for urgent procedures too. This is what it means:

This means: publishing climate consistency assessments for all proposals, making sure that imbalanced “implementation dialogues” and "reality checks” don’t replace standard democratic consultation procedures, including clear and transparent procedures in Better Regulation Guidelines to avoid misuse.

📢 Companies incl. Shell & TotalEnergies are being called out for greenwashing 📢 Today, @beuc.eu & 12 other consumer organisations across Europe filed a complaint against Shell, TotalEnergies, ENGIE & EniPlenitude, for using misleading green claims around fossil fuels in household energy offers.1/6

“No European consumer should be misled into believing fossil fuels are sustainable – they deserve to know what suppliers and products fuel the heatwaves and floods facing Europe.” Johnny White, ClientEarth lawyer 5/6

📢 Companies incl. Shell & TotalEnergies are being called out for greenwashing 📢 Today, @beuc.eu & 12 other consumer organisations across Europe filed a complaint against Shell, TotalEnergies, ENGIE & EniPlenitude, for using misleading green claims around fossil fuels in household energy offers.1/6

👉 Claims about goals like net-zero emissions, despite continuing to invest heavily in fossil fuel expansion. 👉 Carbon-offsetting claims indicating that emissions from gas are compensated by investing in climate-related projects elsewhere, which has been shown to be scientifically invalid. 3/6

📢 Companies incl. Shell & TotalEnergies are being called out for greenwashing 📢 Today, @beuc.eu & 12 other consumer organisations across Europe filed a complaint against Shell, TotalEnergies, ENGIE & EniPlenitude, for using misleading green claims around fossil fuels in household energy offers.1/6

We just won a landmark case to protect one of Europe’s most important marine sanctuaries: the Dogger Bank. 💫 The court ruling sets a precedent for governments across Europe and sends a clear message: protected must mean protected.

Dear Fashion Brands, Thanks to industry lobbying, leather is about to be cut out of the EU’s deforestation law. If leather is excluded, there'll be no credible system for you to prove your leather is deforestation-free. So the legal & reputational burden will shift onto you. Will you speak up?

Dear Fashion Brands, why are you silent? With 16 civil society organizations including @mightyearth.org , @greenpeace.eu , @globalwitness.org, @umwelthilfe.bsky.social and @wwf.eu, we asked the European Fashion Industry to speak up. Because their absence is being read by decision-makers as consent.

ClientEarth reaction to the European Commission’s evaluation of the #CommonFisheriesPolicy, published today ⚖️🐟 The report confirms that the #CFP “remains a very important and relevant tool to manage a common natural resource and related economic activities in a changing world.”

"Where the rules have been implemented, progress is visible. The real problem is not the law itself, but the persistent failure by Member States and the Commission to enforce it.

ClientEarth reaction to the European Commission’s evaluation of the #CommonFisheriesPolicy, published today ⚖️🐟 The report confirms that the #CFP “remains a very important and relevant tool to manage a common natural resource and related economic activities in a changing world.”

⚠️We're taking France to court to protect seabirds from unselective fishing. Every year, 30-40,000 birds are caught in fishing gear and discarded into the ocean. We think that French authorities failed to monitor and protect them - breaching multiple EU laws, like the Birds and Habitats Directives.

The Commission has infringement procedures open against several EU countries for failing to tackle bycatch. With @seashepherdfrance.bsky.social and Défensedes Milieux Aquatiques, we are taking legal action so that: - Govts have plans to reduce this threat - Data is collected - Laws are enforced

Looking to use your skills for people and planet? If you’re interested in working at ClientEarth, you can now explore current opportunities on our new recruitment platform: jobs.clientearth.org We’re always keen to hear from people who want to take their career to the next level of impact!