ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: David A Röttgen, Andrea Farì, Francesco Fonderico and Ermanno Fonderico, Ambientalex Studio Legale
Italian legislation does not expressly regulate the liability regime applicable in cases of contamination determined by multiple causal contributions. In the case of multiple causal contributions to con- tamination, in application of the “polluter pays” prin- ciple, remedial burdens are placed on operators in an amount corresponding to their contribution to the event. The need to allocate environmental costs on the basis of the actual consistency of the causal link and the consequent exclusion of a “generic” attribution of responsibility has also been confirmed by Italian case law. However, national jurisprudence has also held that, when the actions of multiple parties have generated unitary environmental pollution and it is not possible to assign specific clean-up actions to individual par- ties, the obligation of environmental reclamation con- Firstly, the discipline on compensation for environ- mental damage – actionable with MASE – can be invoked. Other entities (eg, territorial public bodies, environ- mental agencies, etc) may also take action under civil law to obtain compensation for the damage suffered by property belonging to the community, provided that it does not fall under the notion of environmen - tal damage understood as “public interest”, in which case compensatory protection can only be enforced by the State. Under certain conditions established by law, it is pos- sible to invoke the non-contractual liability of the pre- vious owner or operator who caused the contamina- tion. In the event of an asset deal, the purchaser may bring an action under the provisions of civil law. 12.5 Investigating Environmental Accidents Upon the occurrence of an event (including an acci- dent) that has the potential to contaminate a site, the stitutes a joint and several obligation. 12.4 Proceedings Against Polluters
polluter is obliged to perform a preliminary investiga- tion in the area. The results of such environmental investigation, which will influence subsequent actions, must be reported to the authorities. The Code sets attention values (Contamination Threshold Concentrations, or CSCs), the exceeding of which does not automatically determine the legal qualification of the site as contaminated but only oblig- es the carrying-out of a site-characterisation as well as a site-specific risk analysis. Only the latter makes it possible to determine the Threshold Risk Concentra- tions (CSRs), and only if the CSRs are exceeded will a site legally qualified as a contaminated site have the consequent obligation of remediation. Under national law, persons who are not responsi- ble for the contamination are not obliged to carry out investigations. However, they are entitled to carry out investigations and/or remediation operations on their own initiative in order to avoid financial liability and to establish a situation of legal uncertainty regarding any future criminal or compensation liability. Further- more, some local building regulations may require the execution of investigations where a building permit is sought. 13. Climate Change and Emissions Trading 13.1 Key Policies, Principles and Laws As part of the EU, Italy implements the main topics regulated by EU Directives. Concrete measures to combat climate change include the implementation of EU regulations on the Emis- sions Trading System (ETS) and the “Effort Sharing” Directive applying to non-ETS sectors (eg, transport, agriculture, etc). The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) sets out the guidelines to be followed and the objectives to be achieved in the field of energy and environmental protection, for the period 2021–2030.
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