Study on ELD effectiveness, scope and exceptions reference : final report

The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) requires operators whose activities cause an imminent threat of, or actual, environmental damage, to prevent or remediate the damage. There are three categories of environmental damage; land, water, and protected species and natural haibitats damage, each with a "significance threshold". Strict liability is imposed for all environmental damage caused by activities listed in Annex III; fault-based liability is imposed for non-Annex III activities, but only for biodiversity damage. The ELD has resulted in a complex patchwork of liability laws across the EU with various degrees of stringency due, among other things, to optional provisions in the ELD. This study analyses six key issues: the extent to which strict liability should be applied; the categorisation of environmental damage; the significance thresholds for land and water damage; the optional defences; the exclusion for marine and nuclear Conventions and, potentially, other international instruments. The study focuses on the simplification, streamlining and harmonisation of the complexities of the ELD, taking into account the mandatory criteria for Commission evaluations (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, EU-added value, and coherence). Based on the analysis, the study suggests options that the European Commission may wish to consider as a priority in a possible future revision of the ELD.