Workshop Liability and Compensation for PFAS Pollution in the EU

PFAS (“forever chemicals”) raise complex questions for environmental regulation, liability, and compensation. Their persistence, bioaccumulation, and long latency challenge existing legal frameworks and call for critical reflection on how responsibility, deterrence, and remediation can be ensured.

This half-day workshop brings together expert scholars to explore the legal and policy challenges of liability and compensation for PFAS pollution in the European Union. Contributions will examine the EU regulatory framework, liability regimes, the role of courts, alternative compensation mechanisms, and future directions.

Participation is open to academics, practitioners, policymakers, and PhD researchers with an interest in environmental liability, regulation, and PFAS-related harm.

Programme

13:30 – 13:45    Welcome & Introduction

13:45 – 14:15    The Rule of Exception: on the PFAS regulatory labyrinth – Lieselot Bisschop and Alessandra Arcuri (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

14:15 – 14:45    Facing Eternity: Damage in the Age of Forever Chemicals – Albert Ruda (University of Girona)

14:45 – 15:15    PFAS before the Courts: ensuring accountability in the face of scientific and causal complexity - Josephine van Zeben (European University Institute)

15:15 – 15:45    Coffee Break

15:45 – 16:15    PFAS pollution in the EU: a comparative multilevel assessment of case law developments - Stephanie Nitsch (University of Vienna) 

16:15 – 16:45    The Role of Private Insurance in Governing Forever Chemicals (PFAS) Risks: A Law and Economics Perspective - Michael Faure (Maastricht University) and Qihao He (China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing)

16:45 – 17:15    PFAS Liability and Litigation in a Deregulatory Europe – Elbert de Jong (Utrecht University)

17:15 – 17:30    General Discussion & Closing

17:30 – 18:30    Closing Reception