Anti-oil and gas exploration association, PALP, has made a formal complaint to the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention.
This body verifies the conformity of EU State procedures with various international Directives and Conventions that all member states must follow.
"This complaint is based on a number of cases in which the right to information and genuine public participation in decision-making processes have been completely obstructed or ignored,” in the concession contracts for oil and gas exploration.
According to the PALP, "there are many situations mentioned, the last of which is the lack of transparency and the farce of the public consultation process promoted by the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA)," which covered the assessment of submissions during the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure for the Santola concession area off Aljezur.
PALP is determined to continue to insist that the government defends the public interest and the rights of Portugal’s citizens and that it revokes all the oil and gas exploration and extraction concessions granted to various energy companies.
The Aarhus Convention, “empowers people with the right easily to access information, participate effectively in decision-making in environmental matters and to seek justice if their rights were violated. They protect every person’s right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being.”
