Case law on public access to environmental information continues to consolidate in favour of transparency and public participation. In its judgment No. 1537 of 3 November 2025, the TAR Piedmont ruled that data on the emissions of an industrial facility fall within the definition of environmental information under Legislative Decree No. 195/2005. Therefore, public authorities cannot deny access to such data by invoking privacy or trade secret protections, except in cases where the request is manifestly unreasonable or overly generic.
Similarly, in judgment No. 853/2025, the TAR Marche upheld a claim by an environmental association seeking access to documents concerning odorous emissions, recognising that odour pollution constitutes a form of atmospheric pollution relevant for the purposes of access rights. The court ordered the regional authority to disclose the requested data within thirty days.
These rulings strengthen the trend towards a broad interpretation of environmental access rights, consistent with the principles of the Aarhus Convention, reaffirming the role of environmental information as a key instrument for transparency, public oversight and environmental protection.
