The energy sector and the future of EC environmental liability law. The need for eclecticism

A 1993 Green Paper of the European Commission proposed that industries in all member countries should be held strictly liable for environmental damage which they cause. Adoption would represent an enormous change in environmental liability law in the UK where, in most contexts, a polluter is deemed liable only if he fails to exercise 'due care' in the conduct of his operations. All parts of the energy sector in Europe will be significantly affected by the adoption of the Commission's proposals. In this note the author argues that the regulatory problems posed by different environmental hazards are extremely varied and that economic principles do not support wholesale revision of liability law. A hazard by hazard approach to policy making would be more appropriate.