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This paper provides a ‘stocktake’ of common responsibility-sharing principles and goals in international agreements on climate change and refugees/migration to date and investigates how these principles might inform an Oceania agreement to deal with the emerging issue of South Pacific climate-induced migration. Where international agreements on climate change and refugees/migration overlap I identify a set of responsibility-sharing principles and goals and investigate their compatibility with the needs and demands of Pacific communities facing the prospect of climate-induced displacement. In this paper, I tap into ongoing political and academic debates concerning if and how we ought to differentiate states’ environmental responsibilities. I ask whose responsibility is it to address climate-induced migration? And what exactly are they responsible for? I find that international agreements on climate change and refugees/migration sufficiently overlap with the needs of Pacific communities to provide us with five common responsibility-sharing principles and goals that are potentially useful in the South Pacific climate migration context: the ability to pay principle, polluter pays principle, prevention, emissions reduction and (funding) adaptation. Notwithstanding responsibility-sharing’s negotiation difficulties, these responsibility-sharing principles have significant congruence with Pacific communities’ needs and demands, and thus provide us with a valuable starting point for an Oceania agreement on climate-induced migration that is informed first and foremost by the needs of those who may have to leave their homes.

The general rules of civil liability remain the privileged system, which manages the legal regime of civil liability of the «polluter-producer » in most legal systems so far, and despite attempts to free up to weave a particular regime which takes into account the particular nature of the damage suffered by the environment. Based on this perspective, legislations have tried to draw inspiration from the principles of defective products liability scheme, as a basic system, others have opted for the adaptation and enrichment of certain concepts of rules of tort law or contractual liability. In the light of these paths, it seemed to us necessary to question the limits of these rules and their capacity to adapt to the specificities of ecological damage, which will lead us to seek the foundations and components of the adequate civil liability regime of the «polluter-producer», able to respond to curative answers to many problems raised by the issue on many aspects.

Key to the success of archaeological projects and the provision of public benefit as a result is partnership working, whether between archaeological practices, consultants or departments within larger organisations, commercial clients or regulatory bodies. This paper presents case studies from each of these as examples of successful public benefit from development-led archaeology and outlines the move away from the 'polluter pays' principle towards a more nuanced understanding of what archaeology can provide. A Postscript refers to the Planning White Paper in the UK, which could have significant implications for how archaeology is treated within the planning system.

International audience; This paper shows possible inconsistencies in environmental law, in which regulatory impact assessment (RIA) and the polluter pays principle (PPP) coexist. While these norms can be compatible, we show that there are a number of realistic settings in which the PPP does not reach efficiency and systematically leads to regulatory failure. These systematic errors are due to the ex-ante restriction of possible actors, in combination with possible opportunistic behavior, market power issues, the existence of multiple optima and to the neglect of second-best problems in the PPP. We show that RIA, encompasses the polluter pays option and avoids these flaws.

Despite the fact that “heavy skies” (gravioris caeli) have been identified and legally classified as a serious concern since ancient times, air pollution still leads to millions of avoidable deaths and significantly impacts the climate. Today more than ever, the protection of people and a biophysical interconnected environment is the subject of a global discussion on the right to breathe clean air (RBCA) in international, interregional and national law. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global normative concept through SDG 3.9 target the reduction of air pollution, related deaths, diseases and the effects on climate change as a global health risk. But what is the exact status of the RBCA and who can claim access to justice from it? This paper attempts to classify RBCA as an exertable right in the realm of public law in a pan-European context and to shed light on the possibilities of its implementation and enforcement, also in connection with climate justice. To this end, its origins as philosophical thought or private right in Greek and Roman antiquity are first revealed and then connected in a doctrinal approach with the structures and legal bases of contemporary German law, which has contributed significantly to the emergence of the EU environmental legal framework. As a qualitative framing, the SDGs serve as an all-encompassing policy and target of the EU, whose agenda with SDG 16.3 also includes access to justice. The actual scope and enforceability of “clean air for all” is therefore determined not only by legislative but also through judicial review in the EU multi-level system. Additionally, international law forms an interpretive context of the RBCA. The Paris Climate Agreement and the Aarhus Convention as well as the “polluter pays principle” and the “common but differentiated responsibilities principle” will be examined for their effects on the granting and linking of rights. The paper also focusses on the connection of environmental and climate change claims with human rights obligations since this is a recurring assessment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and forms part of its rich jurisprudence. The results of the analysis show a varied picture. An independent human right to breathe clean air does not exist internationally or under European law to date. However, within the EU and in domestic German law, a right to clean air is attached to obligations under public and property law. This opens up a legal spectrum which not always leads to a comprehensive state liability. It is even more difficult for individuals or non-governmental organisations to gain access to justice under such legal framework. This is prevented in particular due to a lack of legal standing (locus standi) or further procedural requirements. Also substantially, the linking of fundamental rights to this very technical, environmental entitlement, both at European and national level, is associated with difficulties in its enforcement. Besides, effective enforcement regularly take unsatisfactorily lengthy periods of time to bring about change in the polluter’s behaviour and yet more time to bring about a real, effective and visible change to the situation, i.e. air pollution and its disease-inducing effects. The classification of RBCA as a right in the diverse context of the EU makes it possible to identify difficulties that may provide learnings for universal application, particularly with regard to the derivation and enforceability of the right. The paper also illustrates the status of the SDGs, which provide potential solutions, but ultimately have little more than a supportive function in this area, despite their multiple linkages in policy and legal instruments. Overall, the analysis reveals the weakness in the enforcement of an RBCA on the international, European and national levels.

Emissions from shipping are a significant driver of human-induced climate change. International action to date has not succeeded in setting those emissions on a sustainable trajectory. The International Maritime Organization has committed to implementing an effective, international approach to tackle international shipping’s contribution to climate change. This paper considers international law principles, exploring whether and how these principles may provide a basis for the IMO to address those contributions. The polluter pays principle, which counsels that whoever produces pollution should cover the costs their pollution imposes on others, is a doctrine of international law that offers strong support for the IMO to adopt a market-based mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other principles of international law provide that any market-based mechanism the IMO adopts should be consistent with international climate agreements, responsive to the different contributions that nations and companies have made to the climate problem, built on the best available science while resolving any uncertainties in favor of less risk to the environment, and respectful of universally-recognized rights—both individual and national—to equity, life, and fair treatment.

The environment is faced with the problem of pollution. The activities of man in a quest to be technologically advanced and industrialised has led to an unsustainable exploitation of the resources of the environment. Efforts have been made to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity. Various environmental principles have been adopted to protect and maintain a clean environment and to conserve the animal and plant species threatened with extinction. This research work seeks to examine the concept of the polluter-pays principle in environmental enforcement. It considers the different lines of arguments in this area and provides a basis for how effective the implementation and regulation of the polluter-pays principle is in Nigeria. This work further provides a justification for the regulation of environmental pollution by the government. It also focuses on the concept and value of biodiversity. It examines the existing regulatory regime for environmental pollution, focusing on select laws and agencies handling environmental pollution and their enforcement mechanism in Nigeria. The research work concludes with recommendations to correct the problems identified and proffers solutions to ensure that the polluter directly bears the cost for remediating the harm caused to the environment. Thus, fostering the protection of the environment in conserving biodiversity and achieving environmental sustainability as a pillar of sustainable development in the Nigerian environment.

Modern society mitigates and transfers risks in a variety of ways, which range from catastrophe prevention and insurance solutions through to injustices of a minor and inconspicuous nature. We illustrate that the measures taken depend on the uncertainty about the risks in question, and involve three trade-offs: innovation vs. risk avoidance; liability vs. collective risk sharing; and equity vs. practicable claims settlement. We study two highly instructive examples: nuclear liability and the measures taken in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

This chapter will introduce the origin of micropollutants in the water cycle and their impact on the environment and humans. Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can remove these newly emerging contaminants to a limited extent, and this chapter will show the possibilities and limitations of current and future technologies (adsorption by activated carbon, advanced oxidation, and reverse osmosis). The chapter will present a case study of the broad overview of the research into this topic in Europe, and more specifically in the Netherlands, how the precautionary principle is applied, and how good quality WWTP effluent is obtained. This is very important, especially if the surface water is used as a source of drinking water. Local, social, economic, and environmental parameters determine which technologies are combined. Pilot-scale studies show the possibilities of advanced treatment methods, and how a zero-discharge concept can be realized. Finally, a small subsection will be dedicated to discussing the polluter pays principle; how a holistic approach to micropollutants throughout the lifecycle is required, not only focusing on end-of-pipe (WWTP) solutions.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:24:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-07-01 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia The inadequate management of soils and the absence of conservation practices favor the degradation of pastures and can trigger adverse environmental alterations and damage under the terms of Brazilian Federal Law no. 6.938/1981. Based on this premise, this study aimed to estimate soil losses caused by water erosion in pasture areas using the brightness index (BI) from the annual series of Landsat 8 images in different geological formations. A specifically prepared Google Earth Engine (GEE) script automatically extracted the BI from the images. The study occurred in the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Uberaba River basin (Minas Gerais, Brazil). To accomplish the goal, 180 digital 500-wide random buffers were selected from 3 geologic types (60 points per type), and then analyzed for zonal statistics of USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) soil loss and BI in a Geographic Information System. The regression models BI versus USLE soil loss allowed estimating BI soil losses over the pastures of EPA. The model fittings were remarkable. The validation of soil loss maps in the EPA occurred in pasture phytophysiognomies through the probing of penetration resistance in 37 randomly selected locations. The results were satisfactory, mostly those based on the BI. The BI losses increased for greater resistances. Amplified losses also occurred in regions exposed to environmental land use conflicts (actual uses that deviate from land capability or natural use). Overall, the BI approach proved efficient to accurately track soil losses and pasture degradation over large areas, with the advantage of standing on a single parameter easily accessed through remote sensed data. From an environmental standpoint, this is an important result, because the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of degraded pastures is paramount to implement mitigation measures following the “polluter pays principle”, even more in Brazil where the areas occupied by degraded pastures are enormous. Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro Institute of Technological and Exact Sciences (ICTE) Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro Uberaba Campus Geoprocessing Laboratory Coordenadoria Regional das Promotorias de Justiça do Meio Ambiente das Bacias dos Rios Paranaíba e Baixo Rio Grande, Rua Coronel Antônio Rios, 951 Center for Research and Agro-environmental and Biological Technologies University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Ap. 1013 Center of Chemistry of Vila Real University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Ap. 1013 POLUS—Grupo de Política de Uso do Solo Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n POLUS—Grupo de Política de Uso do Solo Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: UID/00616/2020 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: UID/04033/2020

Gathered under the term “economic instruments” – or market-base instruments -, mechanisms for ecological compensation and payments for environmental services have established themselves as the essential tool for the biodiversity and ecosystem protection policies. Built around a plurality of principles (polluter pays principle, beneficiary pays principle, etc.) and concepts (ecosystem services, natural capital, etc.) largely influenced by economical approaches of biodiversity and ecosystems, these two instruments characterize the oncoming of a new take on environmental policies. The study reveals the plurality of judicial links that unite ecological compensation and payments for environmental services. Sometimes close together, sometimes distinguishable, these mechanisms are, in fine, both sides of a same coin. The use of payments for environmental services, as ecological compensation, appears however as a preoccupying orientation, likely to deflect this instrument from its purpose. In spite of their theoretical virtues, the efficiency of ecological compensation mechanisms and payments for environmental services for the protection of biodiversity turns out to be questionable, justifying a reinforcement and more consistency in their legal framework., Regroupés sous le vocable d’« instruments économiques » – ou instruments de marché (market-based instrument) –, les mécanismes de compensation écologique et de paiements pour services environnementaux se sont imposés comme des instruments incontournables des politiques de protection de la biodiversité et des écosystèmes. Articulés autour d’une pluralité de principes (principe pollueur-payeur, principe bénéficiaire-payeur, etc.) et de concepts (services écosystémiques, capital naturel, etc.) largement influencés par les approches économiques de la biodiversité et des écosystèmes, ces deux instruments caractérisent l’émergence d’une nouvelle approche des politiques environnementales. L’étude révèle la pluralité des liens juridiques qui unissent la compensation écologique et les paiements pour services environnementaux. Tantôt rapprochés, tantôt distingués, ces mécanismes s’imposent, in fine, comme les deux faces d’une même pièce. L’utilisation des paiements pour services environnementaux, à des fins de compensation écologique, apparaît toutefois comme une orientation préoccupante de nature à détourner cet instrument de son objet. En dépit de leurs vertus théoriques, l’efficacité des mécanismes de compensation écologique et de paiements pour services environnementaux pour la protection de la biodiversité se révèle discutable, justifiant un renforcement et une mise en cohérence de leur cadre juridique.

The main secondary legal source of environmental liability in the European Union is the Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage. Even though it was modified several times since then, it still remains the basic norm in the environmental field by establishing the regulatory frames by means of the polluter pays principle and the principle of prevention. The present study makes an overview of recent and potential further legislative steps in Hungary with regards to its implementation.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines the Polluter Pay Principle (PPP) as that which ensures the environment is remedied close to or its original state following an action or inaction that results in the pollution of the environment. It provides for compensation of those affected by the impact of the pollution. The principle includes prevention of pollution, measures for control, the cost for clean-up and the liability. PPP is thus, an environmental principle which has developed over the years and has increasingly been accepted especially in the oil and gas industry. In the recent past, in an out-of-court settlement, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) agreed to pay Bodo community in the Niger Delta, the sum of £55 million for two major oil spills that resulted in environmental degradation and loss of livelihood. This paper investigates, in the light of the principles of International Environmental Law, the effectiveness of PPP in the liability settlement by SPDC to the Bodo community. Through an analytical approach, this paper compared the settlement to the liabibility settlement mechanism as outlined by the Civl Liability Convention which entered into force in 2003. It discovered that the settlement catered not just for the compensation of the community but also for the remedition of the environment based on international standards. This study is relevant; highlighting the need for oil companies to take all necessary precautions to ensure the environment is protected during their operation. This is important for attainment of the sustainable development goals.

International audience; No one would dispute that agricultural systems and food diets are not sustainable from an environmental and health point of view, and that increasing their sustainability must be a major objective of farm and food policies. Simultaneously, climatic, environmental, and health shocks are likely to increase in the coming years. This note defends the idea of an additional double benefit of public policies, aiming at favoring environmentally friendly food systems and healthy diets through two channels: by reducing the risks of developing shocks and by limiting their negative impacts on populations when they occur. As a result, public policies should address, simultaneously and consistently, supply and demand issues. This is illustrated in the case of the European Union.Supply measures should favor the agro-ecological transition of agricultural systems through a more rigorous application of the polluter pays principle, implying notably the taxation of the main determinants of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (cattle heads and nitrogen fertilizers) andbiodiversity loss (mineral fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and antibiotic treatments). This would send the right signals to farmers and would legitimize an extended use of the provider gets principle, allowing the remuneration of positive externalities. Demand measures should favor the adoption of healthier and environmentally friendly food diets by changing consumer behaviors through dietary recommendations, information campaigns, nutritional labeling, and fiscal instruments.

China and the United States respectively adopted desulfurization electricity price and emission trading to achieved the effective sulfur dioxide emissions reduction in thermal power industry. By the methodology of cost-benefit analysis and comparative analysis with the United States, this paper analyzed the coal-fired power plants’ desulfurization cost, benefit, and social emission reduction cost of China’s desulfurization electricity price policy. The main findings are, the results of cost-benefit analysis show that China’s policy against the polluter pays principle, polluters can get benefit from this policy. Second, in terms of the cost of emission reduction, China’s cost is very high with 5.52 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 while the USA only cost 0.5-2.0 billion US dollars. Also, compared with the decreasing social cost of the United States, the China desulfurization electricity price policy leads the social SO2 reduction cost expanded and economic inefficiencies. The conclusion is, as the policy’s objective has been achieved, the desulfurization electricity price policy in China should be cancelled. The way of reducing pollutants emission in the form of price subsidies cannot be extended to other pollutants or other industries emission control.

Beginning as an afterthought in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, adaptation as an agenda has come a long way since 1992. With no ambitious mitigation, recent years have witnessed an increasing frequency of extreme climate events, including cross-border or borderless climate risks. Accordingly, the Paris Agreement frames adaptation as a global goal and global responsibility. However, financing for adaptation continues to remain extremely poor, relative to the estimated needs, even though the regime has obligatory provisions for support by developed countries. Why is this so? Why should the majority of the countries, with an insignificant contribution to causing the problem, suffer from increasing climate impacts? How can adaptation finance be enhanced at scale? As a response to these queries, the paper substantiates three claims: (1) that poor funding can be attributed to the territorial framing under the regime that conceptualizes adaptation largely as a local or national public good and, hence, the inefficacy of market mechanisms, (2) that it makes conceptual and political sense to consider adaptation as a global public good, and (3) that such a reframing should make a difference in boosting adaptation finance. In a multi-polar world with different views on adaptation finance, multilateral agencies should lead in promoting the proposed framing.

Based on a series of theoretical study of Pigou tax principle, polluter pays principle (PPP), double dividend theory, tax incidence and tax burden transfer, carbon tax excess burden, and the Laffer curve, this article determines the design of essential elements involved in carbon tax system, including the scope of carbon tax, the objects of Taxation, the tax payer, the tax link, the tax rate, and the tax preference, etc. Meanwhile, some principles are proposed when implementing strategies, that is, the principle of combination of efficiency and equity, the principle of tax rate dynamic adjustment, and the principle of tax neutrality.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/rdc.2012.9714 Trabalho recebido e avaliado pelos Conselhos Editorial e Executivo da Revista de Direito da Cidade Resumo: A Constituicao da Republica, em seu art. 225, caput , consagrou uma visao nao-fragmentaria do bem ambiental, ja reconhecida em nivel legal quando da edicao da Lei n o 6.938/1981, segundo a qual o meio ambiente seria, mais do que apenas a soma dos recursos naturais, o conjunto de condicoes, leis, influencias e interacoes que permitem a manutencao da vida. Nesse sentido, ao erigir o meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado a condicao de bem de uso comum do povo, a Carta Constitucional reconheceu-lhe o carater de patrimonio coletivo sobre o qual repousam interesses difusos fundados no proprio direito a vida, das presentes e futuras geracoes, sem, no entanto, interferir no regime de direito de propriedade incidente sobre seus elementos constituintes. Passa-se, assim, a tratar dos recursos naturais sob uma dupla dimensao, a saber, uma dimensao material, corporea e tangivel, sob a qual podem incidir regimes privatisticos ou publicisticos de propriedade (o microbem ambiental), e uma dimensao imaterial, nao sujeita a qualquer regime de apropriacao, cuja higidez deve ser mantida pelos Poderes Publicos, e tambem pela coletividade (o macrobem ambiental).A relacao entre as duas dimensoes do bem ambiental explica, assim, uma serie de obrigacoes impostas aos titulares privados de bens com relevância ecologica, e que coincidem com uma visao ambiental da funcao social da propriedade. Palavras-Chave: bem ambiental - meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado - patrimonio coletivo Abstract: The Constitution , in its article . 225 , caput , devoted a non- fragmentary view of the environmental good , now recognized as the legal level edition of Law 6.938/1981 , according to which the environment would be more than just the sum of natural resources , the set of conditions , laws , influences and interactions that allow the maintenance of life . Therefore, by erecting an ecologically balanced and the condition of common use environment, the Constitutional Charter recognized him the character of collective patrimony on which rests diffuse interests grounded in the right to life itself, for present and future generations , without, however , interfering with the property rights regime imposed on their constituents . One goes , well , treating of natural resources in two dimensions , namely a material dimension , corporeal and tangible , under which may relate privatisticos schemes or publicisticos property ( environmental microbem ) , and an immaterial dimension , not subject to any scheme of appropriation , whose soundness must be maintained by the public authorities , and also by society ( environmental macrobem .) the relationship between the two dimensions of environmental well thus explains a number of obligations for holders of private goods with ecological relevance , and meets an environmental view of the social function of property . Keywords: - ecologically balanced environment - and environmental collective heritage

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Directive (EU) 2019/883 from the social interest perspective. To achieve this aim, it assesses the performance of the sewage treatment plan (Annex IV of MARPOL) in Las Palmas Port and the accomplishment of the Cost Recovery System. This involves reviewing the mandatory fees for landing the sewage in the port, the sewage treatment costs and the environmental impact of the treated effluent from the vessels (environmental benefits) and addressing technical difficulties in order to meet the normative standard required from the vessels&rsquo, sewage in the framework of Las Palmas Port. Through a cost&ndash, benefit analysis not only the current protocol for the reception and treatment of Annex IV waste in the port is assessed, but also alternative waste treatment plans (sewage routes) are discussed in terms of social interest. The results of the paper show that only when the treated sewage is reused are the costs assumed to implement the directive overtaken by the benefits gained from complying with it. Consequently, the port authorities should address their efforts in this direction, as should the policy makers, who should integrate in the international normative the collaboration of the on-board sewage treatment plants to meet the PPP (Polluter Pays Principle).

Florida’s Agricultural Privilege Tax (APT) is a unique example of the “polluter pays principle” applied to reduce nonpoint source pollution. It has been more than 20 years since the APT was enacted as a building block for restoration of the Everglades ecosystem, the most extensive environmental restoration project in the world. This article provides a historical perspective on the environmental, socio-political, and institutional factors that led to the enactment and evolution of the APT. The efficiency and equity of the tax as part of a broader program to achieve water quality goals for the Everglades are also evaluated. A key result of this evaluation is that the APT has encouraged reductions in nutrient loads from agricultural areas, but these contributions have been limited. Dramatic increases in abatement costs to treat nonpoint outflows with stormwater treatment areas have occurred, and the timeline to achieve water quality objectives has been pushed forward by decades beyond the original goal. Contrary to the polluter pays principle, political compromises that have shaped the APT since its inception have shifted an increasing share of the burden to the public to reduce the flow of nutrients into the Everglades. An inconsistent regulatory approach to reduce nonpoint sources throughout the Everglades watershed may be the most important impediment to Everglades restoration.

Hazardous waste management (HWM) deals with the safe, efficient and cost effective collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of wastes. This paper presents a profit- oriented mixed integer mathematical model for the hazardous waste location-routing problem, which incorporates the energy recovery from waste and the application of the polluter pays principle. The suggested model decides on the locations and numbers of recycling, incineration, sterilization, interim storage and disposal centers and on how to transfer various types of hazardous waste and waste residues among these centers from the perspective of environmental protection. The proposed model was implemented in a real life case study and tested on various hypothetical problem instances. In addition, an extended formulation was developed on a rolling horizon basis through the objective function of Net Present Value (NPV) to analyze the overall profitability of the entire HWM system for long-term planning and a sensitivity study was conducted on different interest rates. The results show that the model is applicable to real-life waste management systems and it can provide effective solutions for large-scale HWM problems.

This analysis considers the UK Privy Council judgment in the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea case – an appeal from Trinidad and Tobago. The case is noteworthy both because it provides a relatively rare judicial consideration of one of the core environmental principles – the polluter pays principle –– and because it is an unusual example of a successful principles-based challenge brought by an environmental NGO. My analysis locates the Privy Council’s consideration of the principle within the separation of powers doctrine. I argue that, largely due to this doctrine, while the case is fascinating for its policy discussion of the polluter pays principle in relation to water pollution permit charging, it is ultimately not particularly useable as a precedent by environmental lawyers in jurisdictions beyond Trinidad and Tobago. Nevertheless, the case potentially offers some instructive lessons for the UK post-Brexit, where former EU environmental principles look set to be ‘coming home’.

This article charts the application and development of the Polluter-Pays Principle (PPP) in one sphere of international law (civil liability for accidental marine oil pollution); a liability regime, very much grounded in its own traditions, which often interacts uncomfortably with national and regional law. The article explores the application of the principle at international, regional and national levels, using the demise of the vessels ‘Erika’ and ‘Prestige’ and the case law flowing from the subsequent environmental disasters to illustrate how the principle has developed in this area of international law and how this has the potential to influence its development in other jurisdictions.

The effective implementation of environmental law has taken on greater urgency in recent times. Behind the multitude of domestic and international environmental instruments sit generally accepted principles like the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP). The PPP can be seen to advance sustainable development, at least partly, by private operators internalizing the costs of their pollution. This article analyses the application of the PPP in Chinese environmental law by focusing on a case study of Yangtze River pollution in and around the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The authors find evidence of an increasing acceptance of the PPP at the local, regional and national levels in China. At each of these levels, attempts to improve water quality in the Yangtze appear to reflect an acceptance of the PPP’s main aims.

Increasing pressures on natural resources has led to the adoption of water quality standards to protect ecological and human health. Lakes and reservoirs are particularly vulnerable to pressure on water quality owing to long residence times compared with rivers. This has raised the question of how to determine and to quantify the sources of priority chemicals (e.g. nutrients, persistent organic pollutants and metals) so that suitable measures can be taken to address failures to comply with regulatory standards. Contaminants enter lakes waters from a range of diffuse and point sources. Decision support tools and models are essential to assess the relative magnitudes of these sources and to estimate the impacts of any programmes of measures. This paper describes the development and testing of the Source Apportionment Geographical Information System (SAGIS) for future management of 763 lakes in England and Wales. The model uses readily available national data sets to estimate contributions of a number of key chemicals including nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), metals (copper, zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury and nickel) and organic chemicals (Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons) from multiple sector sources. Lake-specific sources are included (groundbait from angling and bird faeces) and hydrology associated with pumped inputs and abstraction. Validation data confirms the efficacy of the model to successfully predicted seasonal patterns of all types of contaminant concentrations under a number of hydrological scenarios. Such a tool has not been available on a national scale previously for such a wide range of chemicals and is currently being used to assist with future river basin planning.

The generation of municipal solid waste is a problem for societies aspiring to sustainability within their municipalities. Policymakers responsible for this issue apply formulas to fund solid waste management by charging taxes or fees. The formulas differ in that some link charges to the event or to the producer of the waste rather than to the environmental‘polluter pays principle’. Among the range of options for funding this service, the literature identifies “pay as you throw” (PAYT), as the method that most directly relates user charges to contributions to environmental sustainability. This study begins by exploring the types of charges in effect in 52 Spanish provincial capitals and, where applicable, the variables to which they are related. Next, it conducts a case study of the city of Madrid, whose solid waste charge, in force from 2009 to 2014, was based on property values. The case study aims to confirm the relationship—over time—between waste generated (total and per property), number of properties (place where the waste was generated) and properties' rateable value. The results reveal, first, that the most widely-used solution at local government level is the easiest to apply—namely, a flat rate per household or a step-variable flat rate covering on average 59.03% of the cost (in 2012); and, second, that Madrid's waste step-flat rate cannot be considered a PAYT system, despite it covers up to 70% of the cost (in 2012).