About this Event
Eberhard Fees, Professor of Economics at Victoria University of Wellington, will discuss compensation and unjust enrichment for climate liability. The seminar is at 5:30PM on Tuesday 17th March, at Room 105, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington (Rutherford House, 33 Bunny St, Wellington).
Doors open at 5.30pm for drinks and nibbles. The seminar will begin at 6pm and conclude at 7pm, including time for questions. Online attendance is also available (Zoom details to be provided later).
About the speaker:
Eberhard Feess is a Professor of Economics at Victoria University of Wellington. Before moving to New Zealand in 2018, he was a Professor of Law&Economics, Environmental Economics, and Microeconomics at several Universities in Germany, most recently the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for the development of the German Environmental Liability Law which served as a role model for the European Union. He published on a regular basis in the leading journals for Law&Economics, including the Journal of Legal Studies, The Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, and the International Review of Law and Economics. He serves as an expert witness for estimating private damages for cartel offenses in Germany.
Seminar summary:
There is a growing judicial interest in holding private actors liable for greenhouse gas emissions. Since standard causation requirements cannot be met because future harms are probabilistic, dispersed, and multicausal, (legal) scholars suggest two ways to establish compensation: Reducing causation standards (see e.g. Smith vs Fonterra (NZSC 2024)) and applying the law of unjust enrichment where compensation is not based on harm but on (unjust) gains. Professor Feess will argue that individualized compensation is the most inefficient mechanism for internalizing the externalities caused by greenhouse emissions one can think of. The inefficiency result is independent of practical obstacles, and is even reinforced when compensation is based on gains instead of on losses. Professor Feess will then – admittedly speculative to some degree - go one step further and argue that the discussion about individualized compensation is counterproductive by reducing the acceptance of higher taxes or stricter overall CO2-limits in Emissions Trading Schemes.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Victoria University of Wellington, Pipitea Campus, 33 Bunny Street, Wellington, New Zealand
NZD 0.00
