Aarhus Centres strengthen environmental democracy at annual meeting in Vienna

Aarhus Centres, long recognized as key platforms for advancing environmental democracy, transparency, and citizen participation, convened for their Annual Meeting on 30 and 31 October at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace and online. Organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the event brought together over 40 representatives of Aarhus Centres, national authorities, international organizations, and civil society.

Participants discussed the role of Aarhus Centres in supporting the implementation of the UNECE Aarhus Convention and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on access to justice in environmental matters, protection of environmental defenders, and community-based disaster risk reduction.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, emphasized that the Aarhus Centres play a vital role in promoting environmental democracy and good governance by connecting governments, civil society, and local communities.

Kimmo Laukkanen, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of the Economic and Environmental Dimension Unit of Finland’s 2025 OSCE Chairpersonship, highlighted the importance of engaging citizens, authorities, and the private sector in addressing environmental challenges, while underscoring Finland’s commitment to gender equality and inclusion of youth and persons with disabilities in OSCE activities.

Marco Keiner, Director of the Environment Division at UNECE, underlined the continued relevance of the Aarhus Convention in ensuring environmental rights and accountability.

In his keynote speech, Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, reaffirmed the need to protect individuals and groups advocating for environmental justice.

The meeting also featured a practical capacity-building session on gender mainstreaming, supporting participants in integrating gender perspectives into climate policy, project management, and the protection of environmental human rights defenders.

The 2025 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting was made possible through the contributions of Italy, Germany, and Norway to the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Strengthening Aarhus Centres in the OSCE area to promote good environmental governance and sustainable development.”