ABSTRACT
The impact of human activities on nature, and indirectly on human beings, is attested since the aftermath of the Second World War. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the amount of environmental damage occurring worldwide, on massive scales. Bhopal, Chernobyl, Fukushima, Deepwater Horizon or, more recently, the fire at the Lubrizol factory in Rouen are just a few examples. Europe is not exempt from these disasters: activists report hundreds of ongoing cases on the European Union territory, and many of the thousands of other similar situations taking place around the world are caused by European companies. The degradation of the environment and the planet causes tensions among the society and raise ethical issues. This chapter investigates whether the European Union laws are adequate to solve efficiently these cases, both in Europe and beyond.
