Climate Protection and Supply Chain Civil Liability

This article explores two issues raised by the EU legislative project of a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“csddd”), that of climate change and civil liability. It focuses on environmental issues – and leaves workers´ protection aside. The comparison of the various draft texts of the EU Commission of 23 February 2022, the position of the ep´s Committee on Legal Affairs of 8 November 2022, the Council´s joint statement of 1 December 2022, and the ep´s statement of 1 June 2023 reveals that climate abatement has become an important pillar, next to workers´ protection. The analysis shows how contested the instrument of civil liability in the context of climate change abatement has become. It is most likely that civil liability for the violation of climate change related due diligence obligations will become central to the final package of compromises, and once enacted it may neither be frequent, nor an important legal tool. However, for the understanding of the political momentum, it is important to understand the background of some delegations standpoints, in this case the fierce opposition of the German delegation against civil liability as a tool, and the counter arguments. The analysis also reveals some interesting novelties: Liability would, if causation could be established, extend to ecological damages. The concept of due diligence changes some basic requirements of civil liability, such as the violation of a duty, the addressee of a claim and the procedural set-up. The limitation to large firms is consistent with this concept, and does not appear non-equitable.