CCS技术应用的环境侵权责任问题研究

CCS技术通过捕获、运输和封存等技术手段,可以大规模地减少电厂及工业生产中CO2的排放量,是可以选择的减缓气候变化的有效措施.但其运行的各个阶段有可能对环境造成一定的影响,运输和储存中CO2的大量泄漏甚至会带来不可逆转的生态灾难.对CCS技术应用的环境侵权责任问题进行研究的目的是希望通过法律的调节,最大可能地降低CCS技术实施对环境的影响,以最低的社会成本实现CCS减缓气候变化的社会效用,这也是目前CCS相关法律问题中最复杂的方面.研究发现:在美国普通法中,法官需要平衡CCS减缓气候变化的公共利益以及由于CO2泄漏而遭受损失的当事人的个人利益.在中国现有法律体系内,如果CCS项目中CO2泄漏造成了环境污染,损害赔偿除去归责原则和举证责任的分配外,很多因素都充满变数、无法确定.一旦CO2泄漏事故发生,当事人通过侵权诉讼获得赔偿救济存在难度.

Study on the environmental tort liability of CCS project

CCS technology can massively reduce the CO2 emissions of power plants and during industrial productions through technical phases as capture, transportation and storage. It is an alternative and effective measure for slowing down climate change. However, all the technological phases may have some impact on environment. The CO2 leaked in the transportation and storage phases may, if in a large quantity, cause irreversible ecological disaster. The purpose of studying the environmental tort liability of CCS project is to minimize the impact of CCS on the environment through legal regulation and to slow down climate change with CCS technology with the minimum social cost, which is also the most complicated aspect in the legal questions related to CCS at present. The study found that judges need to balance the public interests brought by CCS slowing down climate change and the personal interests of the party involved damaged by the leaked CO2 under common law system of the United States. In China, if the environment is polluted by the leaked CO2 in the CCS project, there are many uncertainties in tort liability except for the doctrine of liability fixation and the distribution of burden of proof. Once an accident of CO2 leakage happened, it is still hard for the party involved to obtain compensation for damages by tort lawsuits.