The government is facing ‘costly and embarrassing’ legal action for not providing affordable access to justice for individuals seeking to challenge decisions affecting the environment, lawyers have warned.

The European Commission has issued the UK with a reasoned opinion, or final warning, following its failure to act on a 2005 complaint from the Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) about the high costs of legal action in British courts.

The UK ratified the Aarhus Convention in 2005, agreeing to provide inexpensive procedures for challenging development plans that could damage the environment. It has failed to do so. Continued failure to act will see the case referred to the European Court of Justice.

Debbie Tripley, chief executive of the Environmental Law Foundation, said the opinion could have ‘costly and embarrassing legal repercussions’. She said 56 cases that should have come to court since 2005 did not proceed because of cost.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: ‘We will announce how we will respond as soon as possible.’