Comparative study on the implementation of the industrial emissions directive

Summary:

This research project examines how the proposal to adapt the burden of proof for compensation claims under the Industrial Emissions Directive could be implemented into the domestic law of EU Member States.

Under the present framework, victims of violations of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) are, in the majority of cases, without an effective means of claiming compensation as they are unable to satisfy the procedural rules on the burden of proof that are generally applicable in Member States. More specifically, they struggle to provide sufficient evidence that the emissions in question have caused their damage.

Consequently, in April 2022, the EU Commission published its proposal for a revised IED, which contains a novel provision (Article 79a(4)) that aims to adapt the burden of proof to benefit the victims of pollution by large-scale industrial activities. Under the proposed amendments, where a claimant is able to provide 'sufficiently robust evidence' that a violation of the IED has caused, or significantly contributed to, damage to their health, there will be a rebuttable presumption that the defendant is liable.

While provisions that adapt the burden of proof are not entirely novel in EU legislation, this would be a first under the EU environmental law framework.

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