Legal Liability and Carbon Capture and Storage: A Comparative Perspective

Recognizing that addressing legal liability issues is a critical step to enable financing in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) arena, the authors of this report focus on storage, which according to them is where the most distinctive liability challenges lie. The report is intended to highlight key themes in the design of legal liability regimes for CCS and uses as case examples of three jurisdictions within the common law tradition: the State of Victoria, Australia; the Province of Alberta, Canada; and the United Kingdom. The report focuses on administrative liability, emissions trading liability, transfer of liabilities and responsibilities, financial security and commercial considerations.