The module evaluates the potential for different forms of energy generation to impact upon the environment and considers how law might regulate the operational activity of energy facilities. It will review the capacity as such enterprises to pollute including the possibility of transboundary pollution. It will review and appraise regulatory mechanisms designed to control the over-exploitation of environmental resources and to safeguard against harmful emissions to environmental media. The subject matter of this module may include: Regulation within environmental media (soil, air, and water) and controls over the use of such media including as a receiving medium for pollution; planning and permitting; waste generation and waste management; liability for and clean-up of pollution; information, participation and access to justice; the role of criminal and civil law in addressing pollution; and nature conservation.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Critically appraise the capacity of infrastructure projects to cause harm to the environment and to human health;
Analyse and assess the potential mechanisms for pollution control and the role of law in ensuring that these work in an effective manner;
Evaluate responsibility for pollution deploying case theory to establish liability;
Identify and contrast the problems of pollution arising in different environmental media and compare regulatory responses.
