Abstract
In contemporary environmental governance and democracy, the public’s right to access environmental information held by the state is viewed as the foundation for effective decision-making. The Aarhus Convention, the chief normative framework upon which this right is implemented, envisions the public utilising accessed environmental information as a precursor for participating in, and improving the outcome of, environmental decision-making processes. Through revealing the “truth” on environmental matters, the right to environmental information helps foster the public’s identity and agency as environmental citizens: individuals who are both informed on environmental matters and are willing to engage with such matters to protect the environment for current and future generations.
However, the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is altering how both the state and the public engage with the right. This alteration may have a positive effect on the practical implementation of the right. Yet equally there is a significant risk that AI will distort how environmental information is understood and supplant the public’s agency and identity in acting as environmental citizens.
This paper examines the underexplored intersection between AI, the right to environmental information and how the public engages with the state on environmental matters. The paper begins by considering what impacts AI may have on the right to environmental information’s democratic aims and on the identity of the public as environmental citizens. The paper then concludes by considering the legality of integrating AI into the operation of the right to access environmental information under the Aarhus Convention.