ABSTRACT

Liability is a consequence of the breach of a legal obligation; it results in an obligation to provide reparation. Activities that can give rise to environmental liability include pollution of air, land, and water; violations of the law of war; release of genetically modified organisms; and actions causing climate change. International treaties, customary international law, and domestic law are the sources of obligations such as the preventive action principle. An operator or its insurer may be liable, in particular under treaties such as the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage. Environmental liability was arguably first adjudicated in the Trail Smelter Arbitration awards for air pollution damage to fruit trees in the US from a Canadian smelter. Climate change liability claims present causation problems and would strain the legal system because the activities that cause climate change are so pervasive in modern life.