Do Lawsuits by ENGOs Improve Environmental Quality? Results from the Field of Air Pollution Policy in Germany

It is generally assumed that in EU Member States the right of recognized environmental organizations (ENGOs) to file lawsuits under Aarhus Convention contributes not only a better enforcement law, but also an improvement quality. However, this has yet been investigated. Hence, paper examines whether 49 associations filed against air quality plans German cities between 2011 and 2019 had positive effect on by reducing NO2 emissions respective cities. Using staggered difference-in-differences regression model, we show that, average, cities’ clean have negative concentration these In fact, sued ENGOs decreased about 1.31 3.30 µg/m3 relative their counterfactual level.