Projects (4)

Rapid growing of geospatial techniques, like spatial statistics and earth observation remote sensing technology, as well as recent advances in artificial intelligence, increased the ability in monitoring environmental processes. In the last decades, there has been a growing awareness that geospatial technology has the ability to monitor, inspect and assess the environment, producing the information needed by regulatory practitioners, supporting the investigation of eco-criminal acts and environmental laws infringement. However, competent authorities across EU need to find out how information generated using geospatial intelligence best meets the requirements for the investigation of specific eco-criminal acts in the most efficient manner, in order to be used in court.

The project aims to define criteria for the assessment of environmental damage and imminent threat of damage and build technical and procedural capacity in screening cases and determining clues and evidence of environmental damage and threat of damage under the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), caused by environmental incidents, violations, eco-criminal acts.

There is a diversity of national laws and regulations requiring operators to put in place plans and arrangements to prevent, respond to, and remediate environmental damage as a result of natural and technological incidents. Environment Protection Agencies also operate under a variety of duties and requirements to help operators prevent incidents, and to plan and execute incident and emergency response. This diversity of duties and requirements is likely to have resulted in inconsistent arrangements to prevent, and respond to, environmental incidents.

When sites go into liquidation provisions are generally not made for environmental clean-up and leave substantial environmental legacies which need subsequently to be addressed. Different solutions have been sought across Europe and include the use of insurance policies, financial provisions, and bonds. The issue of insolvency remains and even if provisions are made these are often ignored by the liquidator with the result that nothing is left for the environment as it is seen as subservient to company law. Ultimately lengthy legal battles may still result in the tax payer covering the expense – in direct contradiction of the polluter pays principle.