In 2014, the People's Republic of China (PRC) strengthened local government responsibilities for environmental protection by amending the Environmental Protection Law and strengthening its associated performance management system. Considering the limitations and inefficiencies of the PRC's...

There were 53 ELD occurrences in Latvia up to the end of 2021. Compared with other Member States, the level of enforcement of national ELD legislation is moderate to good.1 This is due in large part to the implementation and enforcement of national ELD legislation for all land, water and...

There were six ELD occurrences in Ireland from the time that the ELD was transposed into Irish law on 1 April 2009 until 30 September 2021. Three of these occurrences involved an imminent threat of environmental damage, of which two were for biodiversity damage and one was for water damage....

Environmental legislation, when implemented and enforced, will deliver improvements for environmental health, human health, and society and the economy more broadly. Where relevant legislation is not implemented as planned and targets are not met, such benefits are foregone. This study has...

Hungary reported 573 ELD occurrences to the European Commission in the period between 30 April 2007 and 30 April 2013, the highest number of ELD occurrences reported by any Member State. The Country Report for Hungary stated that the number of ELD occurrences since that time is not publicly...

There were four ELD occurrences of environmental damage and no ELD occurrences of an imminent threat of environmental damage in Belgium between the time that the ELD was transposed into the law of the Flemish and Walloon Regions (30 April 2007), the Brussels-Capital Region (14 November 2008),...

There were two ELD occurrences in Cyprus up to November 2021. One occurrence involved damage to protected species and natural habitats. The other occurrence involved an imminent threat of environmental damage (threat to human health and the environment (air, soil and waters)).

The application of national ELD legislation is low in Bulgaria. The reason is that since April 2008 when the ELD was transposed into Bulgarian law and November 2021, there had been two environmental damage occurrences under the ELD (both in 2020) and six occurrences of an imminent threat of...

There was a total of 171 ELD occurrences in Italy between 2006 when Italy transposed the ELD and 31 December 2018. Twenty-two were environmental damage occurrences, up to 146 were imminent threat occurrences and three were both environmental damage and imminent threat occurrences. Competent...

Beyond human health, high levels of environmental noise can also harm biodiversity, highlighting the need for additional actions to provide better protection to ecosystems. The report shows that at least 29% of the area protected under Natura 2000 in Europe experience noise levels that could be...

Liability for preventing and remediating environmental damage in Germany is mostly enforced by national liability legislation for preventing and remediating land/soil, water, and biodiversity damage, and environmental permitting and planning legislation. Competent authorities tend to enforce...

Enforcement of national ELD legislation in Finland is low. Between 2013 and November 2021 there had only been one ELD occurrence involving water damage, one ELD occurrence involving an imminent threat of water damage, and two potential ELD occurrences (one involving water damage and biodiversity...

There were 32 potential ELD occurrences from the time that the ELD was transposed into Estonian law in December 2007 and 2019. Of these, 14 occurrences involved an imminent threat of, or actual, damage to water, six involved an imminent threat of, or actual, damage to land, and 21 involved an...

By the end of 2018, there had been 146 ELD occurrences in Greece, of which 29 involved an imminent threat of, or actual, damage to biodiversity, 61 involved water damage, and 69 involved land/soil damage. The number of ELD occurrences since that time is not available. Greece does not have...

Between 1 August 2008, when the ELD was transposed into Portuguese law, and the end of 2020, there were 21 ELD occurrences involving an imminent threat of environmental damage in Portugal; seven involved damage to land, 13 involved damage to land and water, and one involved damage to water....

There were five ELD occurrences in Sweden between 1 August 2007 (when the ELD was transposed into Swedish law) and 30 April 2013. The number of ELD occurrences in Sweden since that time cannot be verified. The Environmental Protection Agency is collecting data to contribute to a new report that...

Czechia has national legislation for preventing and remediating damage to land/soil, waters and nature. Competent authorities tend to implement national environmental liability legislation, including environmental permitting legislation, instead of national ELD legislation. As of November 2021,...

There were no ELD occurrences in Austria between 30 April 2007 and 1 November 2021. Competent authorities considered various environmental damage occurrences to determine whether they were ELD occurrences but determined that they were not such occurrences. In this respect, Austria has very...

Enforcement of national ELD legislation in Spain is moderate.1 Spain had reported 42 ELD occurrences by November 2021. Nineteen occurrences involved damage to land; 17 involved. National ELD legislation is enforced for damage to biodiversity. It is not possible to determine whether competent...

There were four ELD occurrences in Romania before 30 April 2013 and two ELD occurrences between 1 May 2013 and 2017, for a total of six ELD occurrences. Five of the occurrences were environmental damage; one occurrence was an imminent threat of environmental damage. The number of ELD occurrences...

There were two ELD occurrences in Slovenia as of November 2021, cases concerning which were still ongoing as of that date. Twenty-two cases concerning potential ELD occurrences were still open. Of the remaining 20 open cases, the competent authority had issued a final decision in two of them....

There were 506 ELD occurrences in Poland between 30 April 2007, when the ELD was transposed into Polish law, and 30 April 2013. Between 30 April 2007 and 5 November 2021, there were a total of 695 ELD occurrences including 46 ELD occurrences between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. The above...

No environmental damage occurrences in the Netherlands have been treated as ELD occurrences even though the Commission considered that the Chemiepack occurrence at Moerdijk was an ELD occurrence. In its report to the Commission under then article 18(1) of the ELD, the Netherlands agreed that the...

There were two ELD occurrences in Slovakia as of November 2021; one occurrence involved environmental damage and the other occurrence involved an imminent threat of environmental damage. Competent authorities tend to implement national legislation for preventing and remediating damage to land/soil,...

As of November 2021, there were no ELD occurrences in Malta.1 Malta noted in its report to the Commission for ELD occurrences up to 30 April 2013 pursuant to then article 18(1) of the ELD that it had applied parts of the ELD to two cases 'to make operators shoulder responsibility for possible...

There have been four ELD occurrences in Luxembourg. Two occurrences occurred between 2013 and 2017. One occurrence involved damage to water; the other involved damage to protected species and natural habitats. In July 2019 and March 2020, there were two further ELD occurrences, both involving...

There were seven ELD occurrences in Lithuania between 12 April 2005 (when Lithuania transposed the ELD into national law) and November 2021. Three ELD occurrences occurred before 30 April 2013; three occurred between 1 May 2013 and 2017. There were no occurrences of an imminent threat of...

Environmental legislation, when implemented and enforced, will deliver improvements for environmental health, human health, and society and the economy more broadly. Where relevant legislation is not implemented as planned and targets are not met, such benefits are foregone. This study has...

This essay introduces the concept of environmental crime in its multiple forms and highlights the ways both the crimes themselves and related legislations compound existing vulnerabilities and generate new ones within communities, most often in the so-called Global South. Importantly, the essay...

Wildlife trafficking and other commodities associated with environmental crimes traded across the borders of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) carry direct or indirect risks for biological threats. Outbreaks associated with these threats can have devasting implications for human populations as...

This original research delves into the public's awareness of environmental crimes related to pollution and illegal waste operations in Brescia, Italy. It investigates residents' perceptions of the seriousness of environmental crimes occurring in their proximity. Brescia is an ideal location for...

Based on a research in progress, the 'micro-geopolitics of organised crime' (MGPOC) framework examines how and why organised crime groups (OCGs) around the globe develop illicit economies associated to natural resources. The foundational premise underlying the MGPOC is that OCGs vie for...

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) require large companies to provide comprehensive information on their environmental performance, policies, targets and actions. At the same time, many of the affected companies are...

This paper investigates the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in advancing environmental justice through monitoring and enforcement efforts mandated by the Clean Air Act. Our analysis relies on a comprehensive dataset encompassing auditing information from all environmentally...