The first compensation right in EU environmental law

The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) now includes a novel right (Art. 79a) for individuals to claim and obtain compensation for health damage caused by violations of national laws transposing the directive. This is the first such right in EU environmental law and is being followed by similar provisions in the Ambient Air Quality and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directives. To succeed in a claim, three elements must be proven: health damage, a violation of IED obligations by an operator or Member State, and a causal link between the two. The author argues that Member States should implement presumption rules on causation and adapted burdens of proof to ensure the right is effective in practice, as claimants often lack the information available to industrial operators.

• EU lawmakers provisionally agreed on 18 December 2023 to introduce Article 79a to the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), granting individuals a right to claim and obtain compensation for health damage caused by violations of national law transposing the IED.
• The IED compensation right is the first of its kind in EU environmental law and has initiated a trend, with compensation rights for health effects from pollution also included in provisional agreements for the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the Ambient Air Quality Directive.
• A successful compensation claim under the IED requires proof of three elements: health damage (such as cancer, strokes, or diabetes), a violation of IED obligations by a natural or legal person (such as exceeding emission limit values or insufficient inspections by Member States), and a causal link between the violation and the damage.
• Establishing a causal link is expected to be the most contentious part of future cases; the author suggests Member States use presumption rules, similar to Section 6 of the German Environmental Liability Law, or adapted burdens of proof to make the right effective.

APA

Esen, S. (2024). The first compensation right in EU environmental law. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-first-compensation-right-in-eu-environmental-law/

Chicago

Esen, Selin. The first compensation right in EU environmental law. ClientEarth, 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-first-compensation-right-in-eu-environmental-law/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Esen |first1=Selin |title=The first compensation right in EU environmental law |publisher=ClientEarth |date=7 March 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-first-compensation-right-in-eu-environmental-law/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{esen2024first, author = {Esen, Selin}, title = {{The first compensation right in EU environmental law}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-first-compensation-right-in-eu-environmental-law/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }