Right to environmental information in the context of digitalization

Abstract

The article examines the legal significance of environmental information in a digital society and examines its characteristics such as reliability. It is this quality of information about the state of the environment that is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It is noted that reliable information about the state of the environment is information that is at the same time genuine (objective, undistorted, accurate), and sufficient (not excessive, but not fragmentary and not selective), and relevant (timely), unbiasedly collected and analyzed by a competent subject. The definition of the term “information on the state of the environment (environmental information)” included in the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” in 2021 is also analyzed. It is concluded that the legal definition of the term in question does not allow distinguishing environmental information from all other information. The right to environmental information is analyzed in relation to the modern system of information support for state environmental management. The necessity of establishing a regime of transparency of information on the state of the environment is substantiated. It is proposed to develop and implement an information mechanism in the field of environmental protection — a system of information measures of influence (interrelated legal means that mediate the processes of collection, accumulation, analysis, storage, provision and use of reliable environmental information) on people’s behavior in order to ensure environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, environmental safety of humans and other objects.

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