ClientEarth Launches Legal Campaign Against European Chemical Pollution

Environmental NGO ClientEarth is pursuing a strategic litigation campaign to force regulatory action and corporate accountability for Pfas pollution across Europe. Led by lawyer Hélène Duguy, the organization is challenging the European Union's reapproval of the pesticide glyphosate and has filed a complaint with the European Committee of Social Rights alleging that the Belgian government failed to protect its residents from contamination by forever chemicals.

In France, the organization is supporting legal actions against Arkema France and Daikin Chemical France. These companies are accused of causing widespread pollution in the St-Genis-Laval region, known as Chemical Valley, where Pfas have been detected in the air, soil, water, and human blood. The contamination is severe enough that residents have been warned against consuming local eggs and poultry.

ClientEarth aims to counter industry claims that environmental cleanup efforts threaten local employment, focusing instead on the links between these chemicals and cancer and birth defects. Hélène Duguy characterized the current situation as the creation of sacrifice zones for a toxic industry.