Digital for Planet will be represented at the 13th International Conference on Environmental Management, Engineering, Planning and Economics (CEMEPE 2026), taking place in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 12 to 16 July 2026. The conference is jointly organised with LIFE–FROSTDEFEND and SECOTOX and brings together leading experts working at the intersection of environmental science, policy, and innovation.
Digital for Planet’s Policy and Sustainability Expert, Dr. Anna Aseeva, will attend the conference on behalf of Digital for Planet and the ENFORCE project.
ENFORCE Special Session at CEMEPE 2026
As part of the conference programme, ENFORCE will host a dedicated special session focused on advancing environmental compliance and enforcement through data, technology, and citizen engagement. This session will provide a platform for ENFORCE partners to present their latest findings and engage in dialogue with the wider scientific and policy community.
The session will explore key themes including:
- Environmental compliance
- Citizen science
- Earth Observation
- Community engagement
- Innovative technologies supporting compliance and enforcement
By bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, the session aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange and highlight practical approaches to improving environmental governance.
Dr. Anna Aseeva’s Contribution
Anna will present her work titled: “The Judicialisation of Climate Change: a Case-based Study of the Evolving Direct Participation of Citizens and Stakeholders”
Her work examines the ongoing transformation of environmental compliance systems in Europe, which are increasingly shifting from passive regulatory observation to more participatory and evidence-driven frameworks.
The study highlights the growing role of citizen science and community-based monitoring in environmental governance. These practices not only expand the scope of participation but also contribute to what is increasingly recognised as epistemological justice, transforming local environmental observations into structured and actionable datasets.
At the same time, the research identifies persistent challenges in the current system, including:
- Enforcement gaps linked to limited institutional capacity
- Data unreliability
- Restricted legal admissibility of citizen evidence
- Lack of real-time, high-granularity data
- Limited integration between case law and citizen science datasets
Despite heightened policy ambitions under the European Green Deal and the revised Environmental Crime Directive (2024/1203), these barriers continue to constrain effective enforcement.
Anna’s intervention will focus on a central question: what tools and mechanisms are needed to transition toward a fully integrated, evidence-based environmental governance system where citizens are recognised as active contributors rather than informal observers?
Using a case-based approach, the presentation will outline current developments and future directions for building a robust, legally integrated ecosystem for environmental compliance.
Strengthening Collaboration for Environmental Impact
The conference offers an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration with international partners and contribute to ongoing discussions on the future of environmental enforcement in a rapidly evolving technological and regulatory landscape.
