Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:03:09.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - The Right of Access to Environmental Information in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2021

Sean Whittaker
Affiliation:
University of Dundee
Get access

Summary

Chapter 5 analyses how the United States’ environmental information regime, set out in the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 (FOIA), has guaranteed the right of access to environmental information. Similar to Chapter 4, this chapter provides an overview of the FOIA regime and concludes that the US’ conceptualisation of the right is different from that of the Aarhus Convention in two key ways: first, the FOIA regime is primarily based on promoting transparency rather than protecting the environment; second, the regime has adopted an identity-driven conceptualisation that emphasises the role of information disseminators. This alternative conceptualisation does operate to guarantee the core elements of the right, challenging the substantive normativity of the Aarhus Convention. However, the US also shares, and has adopted, various procedural elements from the Aarhus Convention, evidencing the procedural normativity of the Aarhus Convention.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×