DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Flemming Elbæk, Helle Ina Elmer, Mads Lund and August Reinhold, HaugaardBraad
Civil Law/Codes and Tortious Liability Civil liability follows general fault-based principles: the claimant must show culpa, causation, loss and foreseeability. Standard tort limits apply – duties to mitigate loss, contributory fault reductions, remote- ness/foreseeability controls and limitation periods. Alongside culpa, Danish law recognises statutory strict (objective) civil liability for defined environmen- tally hazardous activities. In these cases, fault is not required, but causation and loss must still be proven. Multiple polluters can face apportionment or joint liability depending on circumstances. 6. Corporate Liability 6.1 Liability for Environmental Damage or Breaches of Environmental Law The following is a non-exhaustive list of the core Dan- ish statutes that govern corporate/entity liability for environmental harm and breaches. • The Danish Environmental Protection Act ( Miljøbeskyttelsesloven ), which serves as the framework for orders, enforcement and offences. • The Danish Environmental Damage Act ( Miljøskadeloven ), which contains legal provisions for the party responsible for pollution to be held liable for the damage and costs associated with remediation. • The Danish Contaminated Soil Act ( Jordforurening- sloven ), which sets rules for preventing, identifying and remediating soil contamination, including map- ping, remediation orders and land-use controls. • The Danish Marine Environment Protection Act ( Havmiljøloven ), which implements MARPOL/relat- ed instruments, regulating prevention of pollution from ships and handling of ship-borne waste and liability. • The Danish Environmental Damage Compensation Act ( Miljøskadeerstatningsloven ), which establishes statutory strict (objective) liability for certain pollut- ing activities, supplementing general tort rules. • The Danish Criminal Code ( Straffeloven ), which provides the general framework for corporate criminal liability, enabling fines against companies for environmental offences committed in business operations.
Corporate entities are generally subject to the same rules as private individuals (see 5.1 Key Types of Liability ). 6.2 Environmental Taxes In Denmark, environmental taxation is used as a key policy tool to reduce emissions and promote more sustainable energy use. The central instrument is the CO₂ tax, which applies to fuels and heating. Compa- nies operating in sectors covered by the EU Emis- sions Trading System (ETS) face special rules, includ- ing partial exemptions and the possibility of refunds. Recent reforms, effective from 2025, strengthen the CO₂ regime and introduce new rules for carbon cap- ture and storage (CCS), where the CO₂ tax can be refunded if emissions are permanently stored. This tax interacts closely with Denmark’s broader energy tax system, which covers fuels and electricity and distin- guishes between process use and heating, with cer- tain refunds available for industrial processes. Alongside this, Denmark levies a NOx tax on nitrogen oxides emitted from combustion processes. Busi- nesses that measure actual emissions pay accord- ing to the measured quantity, while others are taxed based on fuel consumption. Refunds can be granted when emission reductions are documented. There is also a sulphur tax linked to the sulphur content of fuels, with possibilities for reimbursement where sul- phur is captured or bound during the process. Waste management and water use are also taxed. Waste incineration plants are subject to both ener- gy and CO₂ taxes under detailed measurement and reporting frameworks. The state wastewater tax applies to discharges into water bodies, calculated on the basis of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic con- tent, although there are exemptions for certain types of discharges such as rainwater in separate sewer systems. Finally, under Denmark’s ongoing green tax reform, which phases in between 2025 and 2030, a new emissions tax will gradually increase the price of CO₂ equivalents across sectors, aligning with Denmark’s climate targets. This means that while the classic CO₂, NOx, sulphur and wastewater taxes remain in place, the system is being expanded and sharpened to drive
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