Acceleration of Planning Procedure Explained
Practical preparation and explanation of laws to accelerate planning and approval procedures in Germany and the EU
The numerous legislative changes in Germany and the EU in the context of the transition to climate neutrality pose new challenges for environmental and nature conservation organisations as well as for the general public. The main thrust of the legislation is to speed up planning and approval procedures. Formal and substantive environmental law has been and is being adapted at all levels in Germany and the EU. This has an enormous impact on the practice of environmental and nature conservation organisations as well as on administrative action and the interaction of the actors concerned. This project aims to strengthen environmental organisations and enable them to better respond to legislative changes and actively participate in shaping the energy transition and transformation.
Specific project objectives are
- to explain the new acceleration laws and their impact on the practice of environmental and nature conservation law,
- to develop strategies and options for action for environmental organisations in dealing with the legal changes, and
- to improve cooperation between environmental organisations and state institutions.
The main steps are
Explanatory and exchange formats
- Workshops to inform and discuss the legal changes
- Online series of explanatory videos and Q&A sessions on the acceleration laws
- Ad hoc meetings for legal experts to discuss acceleration issues
- Exchanges between environmental organisations and government departments
- Interaction with parliamentarians
Creation of materials
- Creation of a wiki and graphical representations of key acceleration laws
- Writing short reports on specific legal issues
The target group of the project recognised and non-recognised environmental organisations in Germany as well as their staff, members and volunteers. In addition, the project will engage with ministries, parliamentarians and other actors who have an influence on environmental law.
The project provides knowledge of environmental law to non-lawyers in environmental organisations. Various offline formats such as workshops will be combined with online formats such as videoconferences and explanatory videos. Innovative communication channels such as charts, graphs and a wiki will be used to facilitate understanding of the many acceleration initiatives.
In order to join forces in environmental civil society and bring environmental organisations together, events will be held to collect experiences from the federal states in order to understand differences and similarities in the implementation of acceleration laws and to disseminate best practices nationwide.