About

Nature knows no borders. The Manual for Environmental Justice aims to connect communities, researchers, and organisations across the island of Ireland.
Campaign
Communities are rising up against environmental and social injustice

What is Environmental Justice?

“Environmental Justice” is the intersection of social justice and environmentalism – in other words, the protection of both people and the planet. Environmental Justice ensures the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.  

Check out how environmental justice relates to housing and health here – and see more information in our resource directory. 

Why is the Manual for Environmental Justice an all-island toolkit?

There are no borders in nature. What happens in the environment of one jurisdiction unavoidably impacts the other. However, the two jurisdictions which exist on the island of Ireland have developed (with some exceptions) almost completely segregated environmental governance structures, legal and policy frameworks, and implementation processes. This has led to a divergence in environmental standards and climate policy.  

This toolkit is a step towards greater connectivity, collaboration, and shared solutions to environmental justice issues across the island of Ireland. It has been developed by Community Law and Mediation's Centre for Environmental Justice and Environmental Justice Network Ireland working in collaboration. The project has been funded by Community Foundation Ireland/Community Foundation Northern Ireland's all-island fund.

About Us 

Community Law and Mediation’s Centre for Environmental Justice 

Community Law & Mediation (“CLM”) is an independent community law centre which provides free legal advice, advocacy, mediation and education services. CLM was established in Coolock in 1975 and opened a second law centre in Limerick in 2012. Today, it assists more than 4,000 people annually. In 2021, CLM established the Centre for Environmental Justice which works to ensure climate change and other environmental harms do not disproportionately affect those who have contributed least to the problem. We also work to ensure that the State’s response to environmental issues addresses inequality and protects the rights of present and future generations. 

Environmental Justice Network Ireland 

The Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI) is a community of practice connecting interdisciplinary academic researchers, NGOs, regulatory staff, environmental lawyers, representatives from industry and government with community activists and the ‘barefoot lawyers and planners’ who have emerged over the last decade on the island of Ireland in response to serious environmental governance failures. EJNI’s aim is to support communities and individuals that are engaged in both promoting environmental justice and challenging environmental injustice through enhancing knowledge about complex environmental and legal issues that exist on the island of Ireland.  

Disclaimer

Through this website, Community Law & Mediation (‘CLM’) and Environmental Justice Network Ireland (‘EJNI’) provide a platform whereby issues in respect of environmental law and environmental justice can be discussed and information in respect of both topics can be shared. In addition to CLM and/or EJNI, third parties may access and publish information and/or documentation on this website.

CLM and/or EJNI take no responsibility for any reliance placed upon information published by CLM and/or EJNI and/or by any other third party, and recommend that you seek legal or professional advice before doing so. To the extent permitted by law, CLM and EJNI, and their respective servants or agents, assume and accept no responsibility for, and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy and/or comprehensiveness, and/or timeliness and/or otherwise of the information provided and/or published on this website, and do not accept any liability whatsoever in respect of, or arising from, any errors or omissions or any reliance on, or use of, such information.

CLM and/or EJNI do not monitor content on this website. In the event that information published on this website by a third party or third parties is defamatory of and/or effects any legal wrong on another person or persons, to the extent permitted by law, CLM and EJNI, and their respective servants or agents, assume and accept no responsibility for same and do not endorse same. The purpose of this website is to facilitate third parties to engage in discussion around environmental law and environmental justice, and CLM and EJNI request all third parties that publish information and/or material on this site to limit their contributions to those two areas and refrain from making comments that are and/or could reasonably be understood as being defamatory of any individual, individuals, and/or third party entity. In the event that information which is defamatory of an individual, individuals and/or a third party entity is published on this website, CLM and/or EJNI reserve their rights to seek an indemnity and contribution from the third party responsible for publishing the said information, should same be necessary, and/or to seek a legal remedy against that third party.

This website and/or documents published on it may refer to and/or provide links to external platforms or sites over which CLM and/or EJNI have no control and accept no responsibility. Any references and/or links on this website to external platforms and/or websites are provided for information purposes only, and they should not be taken as an endorsement of the contents of those external websites or third party organisations responsible for managing and/or operating same. To the extent permitted by law, CLM and/or EJNI do not endorse, sponsor, recommend or otherwise accept any responsibility for third party websites or content published thereon. In particular, CLM and/or EJNI do not accept liability arising out of any allegation that any third party owned content whether published on this or any other website, infringes the intellectual property rights of any person and/or entity and/or they accept no responsibility for same.

By using this website, you agree that the publication by you, and/or the use of information obtained or downloaded from or through this website, is at your sole discretion and risk.