Is the UK roll-out of ‘Smart’ Meters illegal?

Stop Smart Meters -

Article 7 of the UN Aarhus Convention requires full and effective public participation on all environmental issues and demands that citizens are given the right to participate in the process and achieve justice on environmental matters.  As of 2 April 2013, there were 46 Parties to the Convention.  This takes in most of Western Europe and many of the former Eastern European former Soviet bloc nations.

Considering that the UK and Ireland are two of the signatories to this convention, is the roll-out of ‘Smart’ Meters – with no consultation or input from the public – a violation of Article 7 and, therefore, illegal?

Exclusive: UN ruling puts future of wind farms in Britain in jeopardy

Tribunal warns that the Government acted illegally by denying public participation Margareta Pagano, the Independent Tuesday 27 August 2013

Plans for future wind farms in Britain could be in jeopardy after a United Nations legal tribunal ruled that the UK Government acted illegally by denying the public decision-making powers over their approval and the “necessary information” over their benefits or adverse effects.The new ruling, agreed by a United Nations committee in Geneva, calls into question the legal validity of any further planning consent for all future wind farm developments based on current policy, both onshore and offshore. The United Nations Economic Commission Europe has declared that the UK flouted Article 7 of the Aarhus Convention, which requires full and effective public participation on all environmental issues and demands that citizens are given the right to participate in the process.

The UNECE committee has also recommended that the UK must in the future submit all plans and programmes similar in nature to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan to public participation, as required by Article 7.The controversial decision will come as a blow for the Coalition’s wind power policy, which is already coming under attack from campaigners who want developments stopped because of medical evidence showing that the noise from turbines is having a serious impact on public health as well as damaging the environment.

Legal experts confirm the UNECE decision is a “game changer” for future wind turbine developments in the UK. David Hart, QC, an environmental lawyer, said: “This ruling means that consents and permissions for further wind farm developments in Scotland and the UK are liable to challenge on the grounds that the necessary policy preliminaries have not been complied with, and that, in effect, the public has been denied the chance to consider and contribute to the NREAP.”

Read More: stopsmartmeters.org.uk