| European Commission publishes legislative response to Gulf of Mexico oil spill |
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27 October 2011 The European Commission has published proposals for new laws aimed at preventing an oil spill in EU waters. A review of EU law on oil rig safety following the Gulf of Mexico disaster revealed that there was no Europe-wide system to ensure the safe operation of rigs or to cope with the fallout from a large-scale accident. Today’s proposals show how the Commission intends to fill these gaps. Environmental law organisation ClientEarth produced a legislative briefing in September 2010 outlining proposals for more rigorous regulation of offshore oil drilling. Susie Wilks, environmental lawyer at ClientEarth, said: “We suspect that heavy industry pressure has played a significant role in the development of these proposals as the most ambitious safety and environmental standards promised in the Commission’s earlier statements are missing here. “There are improvements in transparency and sharing of information on oil company safety records, plus a welcome extension of the Liability Directive to cover damage to marine waters. But, there is no mention of an EU level safety inspectorate and, crucially, no requirement for companies to demonstrate in advance of drilling that they have the money to pay their liabilities if something does go wrong. Frankly, without this, there is no meaningful guarantee that polluting companies will pay for the damage they cause. “Recently we’ve seen New Zealand’s worst oil spill in decades, Shell’s evasive response to its North Sea pipeline leak, and BP awarded rights to drill in deep waters off the Shetland Islands. It’s madness to allow such legal ambiguity when regulating a high risk industry like oil.” ENDS Contacts: Susie Wilks, environmental lawyer at ClientEarth t +32 (0)2 808 43 22; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Gill Erskine, communications officer, t. + 44 (0) 203 030 5951; m. + 44 (0)7841 918 770; e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Notes to editors ClientEarth is an environmental law organisation working in the public interest. Based in Europe and operating globally, we address issues including deforestation, energy efficiency, biodiversity protection, and the transparency and enforcement of environmental law. www.clientearth.org |
