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Environmental economics

Support to sectoral policies: Environmental liability

  • Study on the Implementation Efficiency of the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) and related Financial Security issues (2009)

In view of Commission's reporting obligations under to ELD (report due before end of April 2010), a second more comprehensive study followed-up the 2008 exploratory study (see below). This study explored further certain issues on the implementation efficiency of the Directive in the EU Member States by identifying and collecting available information on ELD case studies and running questionnaires targeting the authorities in the Member States and operators potentially affected by the ELD. Furthermore, the study updated the available information about the development of the EU market and the availability of products that respond to the need for financial security as required under the Directive. Also experiences with implementation in the US have been examined. The results of this study are available at:

A workshop on "Implementation efficiency of the environmental liability directive (ELD) and related financial security issues" took place in July 2009 within the follow-up study. See further details here.

  • Financial Security in the Environmental Liability Directive (2008)

This study addressed the issue of Financial Security under the Environmental Liability Directive. According to Article 14 of the Directive, Member States have been asked to mobilise in order to promote the uptake of financial security options by the operators. The study collected information on the transposition and the implementation efforts of Liability Directive by the Member States, but also on key design elements for the national laws and provisions that the Directive allows (like exemptions, mandatory use of financial security, coverage, permitting, etc). Furthermore, the study examined the insurance products available at the time in the European market, their limitations, coverage and appropriateness for ELD requirements. The study will inform the 2010 Commission's report on the effectiveness of the Directive in terms of actual remediation of environmental damages and on the availability at reasonable costs and on conditions of insurance and other types of financial security.

A stakeholders workshop on "Financial Security in ELD" took place in June 2008. The agenda, key documents and the presentations made can be found here.

  • An Analysis of the Preventive Effect of Environmental Liability- Environmental Liability, Location and Emissions Substitution: Evidence From the Toxic Release Inventory (2001)

  • A General Analysis of the Financial Assurance Issues of Environmental Liability (2000)

  • A Market-Based Analysis of Financial Assurance Issues Associated with U.S. Natural Resource Damage Liability (2000)

  • The Potential Economic Impact of Environmental Liability. The American and European Contexts (2000)

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