Abstract
Concern for the regulation of relations between man and nature cannot be only an internal affair of an individual country, especially in matters of atmospheric air and the commission of crimes in this area. Most current environmental problems have a global aspect, which means they can be solved only through international cooperation. In today's reality, the European Union is taking decisive legal and organizational steps towards combating air pollution as a crime against the environment. At the same time, the legal regulation in this area needs to be updated, and the methods of conducting investigative actions need to be generalized, coordinated and involve more experts. The aim of the article was to conduct a comparative analysis of the procedural actions of competent authorities during the pre-trial investigation of air pollution in the territory of EU Member States and identify their typical features. The leading practical methodological tools were methods of observation and comparison. The study revealed the imperfection of the procedural actions of law enforcement agencies in the EU and the low level of crime detection in this area. At the same time, the involvement of experts by law enforcement agencies at the stage of the initial inspection of the scene can help to qualitatively increase the effectiveness of the investigation. As part of the research, it was proposed for the Member States to establish independent institutions in the environmental field at the national level. The reasonability of developing a unified EU Coordination Program for pre-trial investigation of air pollution in the national and transboundary context at the interstate level is substantiated. The gradual implementation of the changes proposed by the author in the territory of the EU member states will be a vector of further research in the long run.
Highlights
Atmospheric air pollution causes about 4.2 million premature deaths annually [4]
According to the analysis of global statistical reports on environmental crimes, air pollution around the world by the following ways can be identified: 1) open incineration of hazardous waste; 2) hazardous waste can be illegally disposed of or incinerated in large quantities, for example, a warehouse fire, or in small quantities — by dumping sewage, incineration in 200-liter metal barrels or supply to household waste incinerators; 3) medical waste can be illegally stored, disposed of or incinerated in very large quantities, for example, in a warehouse, or in small quantities — by dumping in landfills, recycling or burial in rural areas [26]. This context requires an analysis of the legal background and approaches of states to the detection of criminal offenses, which further determines the direction of pre-trial investigation in different jurisdictions
It is first of all reasonable to refer to the legal regulation of the peculiarities of liability for air pollution in the territory of the European Union
Summary
Climate change and air pollution are two of the biggest problems that have a negative impact on people’s lives. There is a number of ways in which air pollution can affect the biosphere and, in particular, human health. Atmospheric pollution is associated with damage to food and water supplies, while reducing crop yields, damaging wildlife habitats, accelerating warming in the Arctic, causing irreversible climate change, increasing energy consumption, increasing the burden of morbidity and producing millions of premature deaths [2]. The COVID-19 global pandemic foregrounded the effects of air pollution. Inadequate air quality is one of the biggest and most pressing global health threats. Atmospheric air pollution causes about 4.2 million premature deaths annually [4]. Air pollution decreases immunity, while increasing human vulnerability to infectious diseases, including COVID-19 [5]
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