Environmental Law 2025 Comparisons

In Denmark, environmental matters are regulated by multiple national acts, numerous statutory orders and a range of policies. As an EU member state, Denmark also follows EU environmental law – both directly applicable regulations and directives implemented in Danish legislation – together with EU’s environmental principles. The purpose of the Danish framework is to protect the environment, conserve nature and support sustainable development, including human living conditions and the conservation of wildlife and vegetation. The main environmental acts include the following.

• The Danish Nature Protection Act (Naturbeskyttelsesloven), which sets conservation rules for flora, fauna, habitats, landscapes and secures public access rights to support outdoor recreation.
• The Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven), which sets the core framework for preventing and regulating pollution (air, water, soil, subsoil, noise+ and vibration). It also addresses resource use and waste, including rules promoting cleaner technology and recycling.
• The Danish Planning Act (Planloven), which is the framework for spatial planning and future land use. Authorities must balance public and private interests, protect valuable urban and rural environments (including the open coastline), and ensure public participation in planning processes.

Beyond the above-mentioned environmental statutes and EU legislation, other important acts include the following.

• The Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven), which sets rules for preventing, identifying and remediating soil contamination, including mapping, remediation orders and land-use controls.
• The Danish Coastal Protection Act (Kystbeskyttelsesloven), which governs rules to protecting the Danish coastline, including measures against flooding and erosion.
• The Danish Environmental Objectives Act (Miljømålsloven), which establishes the planning and protection framework for Natura 2000 sites, implementing the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.
• The Danish Environmental Assessment Act (Miljøvurderingsloven), which implements the EIA and SEA directive and the UNECE Espoo Convention and the SEA Protocol, setting rules on screening and environmental impact assessment for projects, plans and programmes.
• The Danish Environment Information Act (Miljøoplysningsloven), which implements the EU Directive on public access to environmental information and the Aarhus Convention, ensuring the right to access to environmental information and appeal/judicial review.
• The Danish Water Basin Management Planning Act (Vandplanlægningsloven), which transposes the EU Water Framework Directive. Provides river-basin management plans and measures aimed at achieving good status for surface waters and groundwater, including marine areas within Danish jurisdiction.
• The Danish Raw Materials Act (Råstofloven), which governs permitting and conditions for extraction of sand, gravel and other aggregates on land and at sea.
• The Danish Watercourse Act (Vandløbsloven), which regulates classification, maintenance and alteration of watercourses, drainage and flood-protection works and permits for physical interventions, allocating responsibilities between landowners and authorities while safeguarding flow capacity and ecological interests.
• The Danish Water Supply Act (Vandforsyningsloven), which governs abstraction and protection of groundwater and drinking water, including permits, protection zones, quality standards and monitoring, as well as supply obligations and regulation of public water utilities.

This list is not exhaustive. Danish environmental regulation relies on numerous acts, statutory orders, circulars, plans and administrative decisions.

Environmental administration in Denmark is shared between the state and the municipalities (and, in some instances, the Regions of Denmark).

At the state level, several agencies exercise environmental competences within their remit.

• The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen), which focuses on regulating air, water, waste, soil and chemicals.
• The Danish Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen), which manages planning, licensing and EIA/SEA within its remit (eg, offshore wind, grids and major energy infrastructure).
• The Danish Nature Agency (Naturstyrelsen), which manages state forests and other state nature areas, implements Natura 2000 on state land and undertakes nature restoration.
• The Agency for Planning and Rural Development (Plan- og Landdistriktsstyrelsen), which sets national interests in spatial planning, issues planning guidance and co-ordinates state input to municipal spatial planning.
• The Agency for Green Transition and Aquatic Environment (Styrelsen for Grøn Arealomlægning og Vandmiljø), which administers green land-use and water-environment schemes and makes select decisions in watercourse/water-environment matters.

Environmental inspections are generally carried out by the permitting/approval authority, which also takes enforcement action where needed (orders or prohibitions). In Danish law, municipalities have the primary supervisory role, though certain responsibilities rest with state agencies and the Regions of Denmark.

In Denmark, most appeals regarding environmental and planning issues and decisions can be lodged with the Danish Environment and Food Board of Appeal (Miljø- og Fødevareklagenævnet) and to the Danish Town and Country Planning Board of Appeal (Planklagenævnet). The decisions of the Boards of Appeal can be appealed to the courts.

Several areas of Danish environmental administration involve co-operation and/or split competence between state agencies, the Regions of Denmark and municipalities. Examples of this include matters regarding the following.

• Water environment – the state sets river-basin management objectives and national standards, while municipalities act as watercourse authorities and issue permits. Cross-municipal streams and rivers are handled jointly.
• Spatial planning – the national planning authority defines state interests, while municipalities adopt municipal plans and local plans during which relevant sectoral agencies are consulted if affected.
• Coastal protection – municipalities must co-ordinate with neighbouring municipalities when permitting coastal protection. Under certain circumstances, permitting lies with the state on the territorial sea (eg, non‑coastal‑protection installations, reclamation, dredging).

An example of a co-ordination mechanism is the one-stop-shop procedure used in environmental assessments – EIA and SEA – where a single competent authority acts as the main point of contact, co-ordinates consultation of affected authorities and consolidates permit conditions to avoid duplication and conflicting requirements.

Where a project or plan/programme may cause significant effects outside Denmark, transboundary co-operation is conducted under the Espoo Convention. The competent authority provides early notice, shares the assessment documents, invites comments within agreed deadlines and takes those comments into account before adopting the final decision or plan.

In Denmark, protection of the environment rests on a combination of EU and national regulatory frameworks. Danish environmental law relies on acts and statutory orders, supplemented by circulars, plans and administrative decisions. Some of the main acts for environmental protection of air, fresh and sea water, soil, flora and fauna, natural habitats and landscapes are listed below.

• The Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven), which sets the core framework for preventing and regulating pollution (air, water, soil, subsoil, noise, and vibration). It also addresses resource use and waste, including rules promoting cleaner technology and recycling.
• The Danish Nature Protection Act (Naturbeskyttelsesloven), which sets conservation rules for flora, fauna, habitats, landscapes, and secures public access rights to support outdoor recreation. Additional regulation appears in statutory orders, including statutory orders (habitatbekendtgørelsen and planhabitatbekendtgørelsen), which partly implement the EU Habitats and Birds Directives.
• The Danish Hunting and Game Management Act (Jagt og vildtforvaltningsloven), which together with the Statutory Order on Conservation of Certain Animal and Plant Species and Injured Game (artsfredningsbekendtgørelse), partly implement the EU Habitats and Birds Directives.
• The Danish Planning Act (Planloven), which is the framework for spatial planning and future land use. Authorities must balance public and private interests, protect valuable urban and rural environments (including the open coastline), and ensure public participation in planning processes.
• The Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven), which sets rules for preventing, identifying and remediating soil contamination, including mapping, remediation orders, and land-use controls.
• The Danish Coastal Protection Act (Kystbeskyttelsesloven), which governs rules to protecting the Danish coastline, including measures against flooding and erosion.
• The Danish Environmental Objectives Act (Miljømålsloven), which establishes the planning and protection framework for Natura 2000 sites, implementing the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.
• The Danish Environmental Assessment Act (Miljøvurderingsloven), which implements the EIA and SEA directive and the UNECE Espoo Convention and the SEA Protocol, setting rules on screening and environmental impact assessment for projects, plans and programmes.
• The Danish Environment Information Act (Miljøoplysningsloven), which implements the EU Directive on public access to environmental information and the Aarhus Convention, ensuring the right to access to environmental information and appeal/judicial review.
• The Danish Water Basin Management Planning Act (Vandplanlægningsloven), which transposes the EU Water Framework Directive, provides river-basin management plans and measures aimed at achieving good status for surface waters and groundwater, including marine areas within Danish jurisdiction.
• The Danish Raw Materials Act (Råstofloven), which governs permitting and conditions for extraction of sand, gravel and other aggregates on land and at sea.
• The Danish Watercourse Act (Vandløbsloven), which regulates classification, maintenance and alteration of watercourses, drainage and flood-protection works, and permits for physical interventions, allocating responsibilities between landowners and authorities while safeguarding flow capacity and ecological interests.
• The Danish Water Supply Act (Vandforsyningsloven), which governs abstraction and protection of groundwater and drinking water, including permits, protection zones, quality standards and monitoring, as well as supply obligations and regulation of public water utilities.
• The Danish Marine Strategy Act (Havstrategiloven), which implements the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which sets good-status objectives, monitoring programmes and measures for Danish marine waters.
• The Danish Marine Spatial Planning Act (Havplanloven), which implements the MSP Directive, allocating sea uses via the national marine plan and co-ordinates with other marine activities.
• The Danish Marine Environment Protection Act (Havmiljøloven), which implements MARPOL/related instruments, regulating prevention of pollution from ships and handling of ship-borne waste.

This list is not exhaustive. Danish environmental protection relies on numerous acts, statutory orders, circulars, plans and administrative decisions.

Consequences for breaching Danish environmental protections depend on the statute, the nature and gravity of the breach and culpability. In practice, the supervising authority (most often the municipality, though in some regimes a region or a state agency) applies a graduated toolbox: a formal warning, orders and prohibitions (including stop-work and restoration requirements), coercive fines to secure compliance and – where relevant – amendment, suspension or revocation of permits. If the responsible party fails to comply by the deadline, the authority may carry out the ordered measure itself and recover the costs; immediate action without a prior order is reserved for acute danger to health or the environment. Serious or intentional breaches are referred for prosecution, typically resulting in fines (including corporate liability) and, in aggravated cases, imprisonment.

The competent regulatory, permitting and supervisory authorities in Denmark may investigate environmental incidents and require information from operators and other parties. They may issue enforcement orders or prohibitions, including stop-work, cessation or restoration orders, and may impose recurring coercive fines to compel compliance.

Authorities may also amend, suspend or revoke permits in cases of non-compliance. If the responsible party fails to comply within the prescribed deadline, the authority may execute the ordered measures itself and recover the costs. Immediate action without prior notice or order may be taken in situations involving imminent danger to human health or the environment.

Serious or intentional breaches can be referred for criminal prosecution, which can result in fines (including corporate liability) and, in aggravated cases, imprisonment.

Denmark uses several permit and approval regimes depending on the activity. For example, a permit is required for certain industrial activities, intensive livestock holdings and certain agricultural expansions, discharges to surface water/groundwater, significant air emissions, waste treatment, landfills, incineration and hazardous-substance handling, water abstraction, dewatering and certain groundwater activities.

The operator applies to the competent authority (municipality/state agency/Regions of Denmark) with a project description, which may include expected emissions and monitoring, and a BAT demonstration. Where triggered, the process is co-ordinated with EIA/appropriate assessment under separate legislation. The authority consults as required, then issues a reasoned decision, which may include conditions (eg, emission limits, monitoring/reporting, accident preparedness, etc).

Decisions to grant environmental permits can be appealed to a higher administrative authority and to the courts. In Denmark most appeals regarding environmental and planning issues and decisions can be lodged with the Danish Environment and Food Board of Appeal (Miljø- og Fødevareklagenævnet) and to the Danish Town and Country Planning Board of Appeal (Planklagenævnet). The decisions of the Boards of Appeal can be appealed to the courts.

Denmark’s regulators apply a preventive, risk-based and proportionate approach across all environmental approvals and permits. Supervision is planned against environmental risk, accident potential and compliance history, with desk review of monitoring data complementing site inspections. Policy is generally standards- and BAT-driven: permits are conditioned to best available techniques, environmental quality objectives and water/nature plans, and reviewed and tightened when required.

See 4.1 Investigative and Access Powers for enforcement.

Permits are given to a specific entity for the purpose of operating one or more specific activities or one or more specific installations at one particular geographical location.

A permit can be transferred to a successor operator for the same site and scope. A change of ownership must be registered with the authorities, to identify the party responsible for complying with the terms of the permit, BAT and other relevant legislation.

Breaching an environmental approval/permit in Denmark can trigger administrative, civil and criminal consequences.

See more in 4.1 Investigative and Access Powers.

The operator (the person/entity running or controlling the activity) is the primary addressee of duties to notify, prevent imminent threats and remediate actual damages. The responsible party must bear the associated costs. Strict liability applies to listed higher-risk activities, while other harms require fault-based liability. For certain product-related harms (eg, pesticides, biocides, etc), liability can shift from the producer, importer or seller.

Authorities may issue restoration or risk-reducing orders under the Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven), including abatement orders and tolerance orders that compel the property holder to allow investigation and cleanup. Severe breaches can result in criminal liability with fines and, in aggravated cases, imprisonment. In parallel, parties may be held civilly liable, including for reasonable costs of preventive measures and cleanup.

Orders under the Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven) primarily target the polluter(s), but may bind later operators or later purchasers who knew or ought to have known of an issued or pre-notified order.

Depending on the circumstances, a contaminated property may be viewed between private parties as suffering from a defect. In such cases, the owner can file a lawsuit against the previous owner to be compensated if the property value is diminished as a result of the contamination. The new owner carries the burden of proof.

Administrative/Regulatory Liability

Liability is operator-based and triggered by environmental damage or an imminent threat thereof – eg, significant harm to protected species/habitats or contamination of water, soil, etc. Once triggered, the operator must notify, take preventive/remedial measures and bear the associated costs. Key defence/relief grounds (which shift or limit cost liability rather than the duty to act) include compliance with binding official instructions, third-party acts despite appropriate safeguards and – under certain circumstances – permitted emissions/events without negligence. Remedies are proportionate: authorities select primary, complementary and compensatory measures, and may stop further action where residual risk is negligible or costs are clearly disproportionate to environmental gain.

Civil Law/Codes and Tortious Liability

Civil liability follows general fault-based principles: the claimant must show culpa, causation, loss and foreseeability. Standard tort limits apply – duties to mitigate loss, contributory fault reductions, remoteness/foreseeability controls and limitation periods. Alongside culpa, Danish law recognises statutory strict (objective) civil liability for defined environmentally hazardous activities. In these cases, fault is not required, but causation and loss must still be proven. Multiple polluters can face apportionment or joint responsibility depending on circumstances.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the core Danish statutes that govern corporate/entity liability for environmental harm and breaches.

• The Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven), which serves as the framework for orders, enforcement and offences.
• The Danish Environmental Damage Act (Miljøskadeloven), which contains legal provisions for the person (typical a legal person) responsible for pollution to be held liable for the damages and costs associated with remediation.
• The Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven), which sets rules for preventing, identifying and remediating soil contamination, including mapping, remediation orders and land-use controls.
• The Danish Marine Environment Protection Act (Havmiljøloven), which implements MARPOL/related instruments, regulating prevention of pollution from ships and handling of ship-borne waste and liability.
• The Danish Environmental Damage Compensation Act (Miljøskadeerstatningsloven), which establishes statutory strict (objective) liability for certain polluting activities, supplementing general tort rules.
• Danish Criminal Code (Straffeloven), which provides the general framework for corporate criminal liability, enabling fines against companies for environmental offences committed in business operations.

In Denmark, environmental taxation is used as a key policy tool to reduce emissions and promote more sustainable energy use. The central instrument is the CO₂ tax, which applies to fuels and heating. Companies operating in sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) face special rules, including partial exemptions and the possibility of refunds. Recent reforms, effective from 2025, strengthen the CO₂ regime and introduce new rules for carbon capture and storage (CCS), where the CO₂ tax can be refunded if emissions are permanently stored. This tax interacts closely with Denmark’s broader energy tax system, which covers fuels and electricity and distinguishes between process use and heating, with certain refunds available for industrial processes.

Alongside this, Denmark levies a NOx tax on nitrogen oxides emitted from combustion processes. Businesses that measure actual emissions pay according to the measured quantity, while others are taxed based on fuel consumption. Refunds can be granted when emission reductions are documented. There is also a sulphur tax linked to the sulphur content of fuels, with possibilities for reimbursement where sulphur is captured or bound during the process.

Waste management and water use are also taxed. Waste incineration plants are subject to both energy and CO₂ taxes under detailed measurement and reporting frameworks. The state wastewater tax applies to discharges into water bodies, calculated on the basis of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic content, although there are exemptions for certain types of discharges such as rainwater in separate sewer systems.

Finally, under Denmark’s ongoing green tax reform, which phases in between 2025 and 2030, a new emissions tax will gradually increase the price on CO₂ equivalents across sectors, aligning with Denmark’s climate targets. This means that while the classic CO₂, NOx, sulphur and wastewater taxes remain in place, the system is being expanded and sharpened to drive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with EU climate policy.

There are no specific incentives or exemptions in Danish legislation that directly reward “good environmental citizenship” as such. The framework is instead designed around compliance and enforcement. However, certain environmental tax mechanisms – for example rebates on CO₂, energy or NOx taxes where companies adopt cleaner processes, capture and store CO₂, or enter into energy-efficiency agreements – can to some extent be considered incentives. Conversely, non-compliance with environmental approvals or laws leads to administrative sanctions, fines and possible criminal liability, which function as penalties for “bad citizenship.”

In general, a criminal case must start against the company that committed the violation. However, Danish corporate criminal liability rules also allow for both the subsidiary and the parent company to be prosecuted if the subsidiary’s unlawful acts are effectively the result of decisions taken by the parent company. This can happen where the parent has exercised control to such an extent that it can be regarded as having committed, or at least co-committed, the offence. In practice, this requires a factual link between the decision-making at parent level and the unlawful conduct.

Other stakeholders such as banks and shareholders are not considered “operators” and cannot be held liable for environmental breaches simply by virtue of financing or owning shares.

Denmark’s ESG framework is largely anchored in EU law, with national authorities responsible for implementation and supervision. The key pillars are the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the EU Taxonomy, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). National targets, including Denmark’s Climate Act, reinforce EU requirements with ambitious emission-reduction goals.

• Reporting – large and listed companies must include sustainability information in their management reports under CSRD/ESRS, including taxonomy indicators. Financial institutions report under SFDR.
• Monitoring – sustainability disclosures are subject to limited assurance by auditors; authorities also review annual reports and stock exchange disclosures.
• Supervision – the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) oversees CSRD compliance; the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) monitors SFDR; and the Danish Energy Agency (Energystyrelsen) administers EU ETS.
• Enforcement – tools include administrative orders and fines, sanctions and registry controls under ETS, and penalties or reprimands for deficient corporate or financial reporting.

The EU’s “stop-the-clock” directive postpones application timelines under both the CSRD and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). In practice, the next two CSRD reporting “waves” are deferred by two years, while CSDDD is delayed by one year – member states must now transpose by 26 July 2027, with company-level application starting on 26 July 2028 and then phasing in by company size.

There is no universal, stand-alone legal duty for all companies to undergo a periodic “environmental audit”. Instead, audit-like obligations arise in specific regimes. Large energy-consuming enterprises must conduct mandatory energy (and climate) audits/management in accordance with Statutory Order No 761 of 18/06/2024, which implements the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.

EU ETS-covered operators must submit annual emissions reports verified by an accredited third-party verifier before surrendering allowances.

As a rule, enforcement is initiated against the legal entity (eg, a company or institution) under corporate criminal liability. In practice, authorities often bring a concurrent criminal case against the company’s CEO (and, where relevant, other responsible officers). Personal criminal liability requires that the individual acted intentionally or with gross negligence, typically shown through unlawful instructions or material failures of oversight. Sanctions primarily comprise fines (with possible imprisonment in serious cases), alongside administrative orders to cease, remediate or prevent harm.

D&O insurance can generally cover defence costs and certain civil liabilities (but not intentional or grossly negligent acts). However, criminal fines and penalties are not insurable in Denmark.

In Denmark, environmental insurance is available on the commercial market, covering third-party bodily injury and property damage, statutory cleanup/remediation costs and defence expenses.

There is no general compulsory environmental insurance regime, but an important carve-out applies to small oil tanks: owners of tanks under 6,000 litres used primarily to heat dwellings must be covered by an oil-pollution policy, which is typically embedded in the price of delivered heating oil.

As to insurability, criminal fines and other punitive administrative penalties are uninsurable, and intentional misconduct cannot be insured. Coverage for gross negligence is generally excluded or tightly limited under policy terms.

In Denmark, financial institutions/lenders are not generally liable for a borrower’s environmental damage, because liability is grounded in the polluter-pays principle and attaches to the operator of the activity.

In practice, lenders manage liability risk through covenants, reporting obligations and insurance requirements imposed on the borrower. Moreover, the liability rests with the operator, which is rarely the financial institution or lender.

In Denmark, civil claims may be brought where pollution or other environmental harm causes personal injury, property damage or pure economic loss. Civil liability follows fault-based principles requiring culpability, causation, loss and foreseeability. In addition, Danish law provides statutory strict (objective) liability for certain environmentally hazardous activities, and multiple polluters may face joint and several liability or apportionment depending on the circumstances.

Claims also arise under neighbour-law principles for unreasonable nuisance (eg, odour, noise, dust, vibration). A breach of permit conditions or statutory duties will typically support wrongfulness and may ease the claimant’s burden of proof.

Contractual routes are common in transactions: buyers, tenants or lenders may claim under warranties, indemnities, environmental covenants or collateral deeds for cleanup costs and losses.

Danish law does not operate with exemplary or punitive damages.

Group actions are possible where multiple plaintiffs have suffered similar harm from a common source (eg, pollution or contamination), provided the statutory criteria for group litigation are met.

There are a number of landmark Danish cases concerning civil environmental liability. More recent examples include the following.

• Supreme Court, 25 June 2025 (BS-63777/2024-HJR) – the court found no strict liability for a property owner after an oil supplier’s driver mistakenly filled a pipe to a removed underground tank, causing a spill. The pollution resulted from the driver’s gross negligence, not from any fault or omission by the owner. The Supreme Court acquitted the owner, clarifying the limits of the Danish Environmental Damage Compensation Act (miljøskadeerstatningsloven), reaffirming the fault-based principle.
• Supreme Court, 16 January 2018 (No 3/2017) – severe glare from black-glazed roof tiles exceeded the neighbour-law tolerance threshold, constituting an unreasonable nuisance. The Supreme Court granted an injunction requiring the homeowners to remove the glare within three months and held that the neighbour’s claim was not barred by passivity.
• Supreme Court, 17 May 2017 (No 224/2015) – a district heating plant was found strictly liable under the Danish Environmental Damage Compensation Act (miljøskadeerstatningsloven) for a wastewater utility’s additional sludge-treatment costs resulting from cadmium contamination. The plant was ordered to pay nearly DKK1.8 million in damages.

Under Danish law, indemnities and contractual risk-allocation clauses can validly transfer or apportion liability for environmental damage or breaches of law between private parties, such as in sale, lease or financing agreements. Parties may agree that one side (eg, the seller or operator) will indemnify the other for cleanup costs, third-party claims, etc.

However, such provisions operate only inter partes. Regulators retain full statutory powers to issue remediation orders or administrative enforcement against the legally responsible entity irrespective of private agreements.

Danish contract law and general principles prevent the enforcement of clauses that would effectively waive or exclude liability for intentional or grossly negligent conduct, or that would contravene mandatory environmental legislation. In practice, environmental indemnities are carefully drafted to allocate economic risk without undermining regulatory accountability.

The legal framework for contaminated land in Denmark is primarily governed by the Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven), which sets rules for preventing, identifying and remediating soil contamination, including mapping, remediation orders and land-use controls.

Regulatory authorities apply a risk-based approach to remediation, prioritising interventions where contamination poses a risk to groundwater, surface water or residential areas. If the polluter cannot be identified or is insolvent, authorities may undertake publicly funded remediation for serious pollution. The general regulatory focus is on risk reduction and containment rather than full removal of contamination, ensuring land can be safely used for its intended purpose.

In Denmark, the responsibility for clearing up contaminated land rests primarily with the polluter, who under the polluter-pays principle must undertake and finance the necessary remediation measures.

This responsibility is established in the Danish Contaminated Soil Act (Jordforureningsloven) and the Danish Environmental Damage Act (Miljøskadeloven). If the polluter cannot be identified or is insolvent, the authorities may initiate remediation under public programmes, prioritising sites that pose a risk to drinking water, human health or sensitive land uses. The landowner may be required to tolerate investigations or cleanup on their property, even if they are not personally responsible.

Responsibility may be contractually delegated – for instance, in sale or lease agreements through indemnities or warranties – but such private arrangements only have binding effect inter partes. Regulatory authorities remain entitled to issue orders against the legally responsible person regardless of contractual allocation. Thus, the cleanup obligation is governed by public law, with contractual mechanisms serving only to allocate economic risk between private parties, not to limit or exclude public enforcement powers.

Authorities may issue orders to several polluters, allocating liability proportionally to their share of the pollution. If it is not possible to determine the relative shares, the liability is divided equally between them. The authority can exclude minor contributors if their share is negligible.

Only the environmental authority has standing to issue and pursue orders for investigation and remediation under the contaminated-land regime.

Affected owners/occupiers/neighbours with a legal interest may bring tort or nuisance actions in the civil courts. These claims are separate from, and not contingent on, the authority’s enforcement.

The competent authority first secures the site and initiates fact-finding. It may issue investigatory and information orders to the (suspected) polluter to clarify source, extent and risk. If a polluter is identified, it can be ordered to investigate and clean up at its own expense, even if it no longer owns or controls the property. The current owner must tolerate the investigation and any cleanup.

The Regions of Denmark decide whether to map the site as V1 (knowledge of activities that may have caused contamination) or V2 (contamination documented by investigations), which then steers permits, soil-movement notifications and any remediation orders.

Denmark’s climate framework is anchored in international and EU obligations. Denmark is bound by EU climate targets and by the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C objective.

In Denmark, the central law relating to climate change is the Danish Climate Act (Klimaloven), under which Denmark must reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 70% by 2030 compared with 1990 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

In accordance with the Danish Climate Act (Klimaloven), Denmark will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% in 2030 compared to 1990 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

In addition, Denmark is obliged to comply with the European Union’s climate targets for 2030 and 2050, as well as the objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Asbestos is governed by the Statutory Order (BEK No 744 of 18/06/2024), which requires notification to the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet) before any asbestos removal, renovation or cleaning work. Such work must be carried out by authorised and professionally trained personnel following strict safety procedures. As a general rule, a property owner is not obliged to take action simply because asbestos is present, but if removal or remediation is necessary, it must comply with these rules.

In Denmark, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) have been banned in construction since 1977, but remain subject to regulation concerning identification, indoor air quality and waste management. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen) requires PCB-containing materials to be handled as hazardous waste and disposed of at approved facilities, in line with the general principles of prevention, worker protection and environmental safety.

The key legislation for waste management includes the following.

• The Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Packaging and Waste of Packaging Act (Emballagebekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Waste (Affaldsbekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Waste Incineration (Affaldsforbrændingsbekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Waste on Landfills (Deponeringsbekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Seveso (Risikobekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Waste Inspection (Affaldstilsynsbekendtgørelsen).
• The Danish Statutory Order on Waste Regulations, Fees and Actors, etc (Bekendtgørelse om affaldsregulativer, -gebyrer og -aktører mv).

Once waste has been transferred to a third party for treatment – whether by recycling, incineration or another disposal route – the producer is generally no longer responsible for it.

However, a producer or consignor can retain liability for waste even after handover where statutory duties continue or have been breached. Most notably, extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging assigns ongoing financial/organisational obligations for end-of-life management.

Design for Dis-/Reassembly or End-of-Life Collection

Denmark has no blanket national duty requiring all products to be designed for disassembly. However, Denmark is directly bound by the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which creates the legal framework for product-specific requirements (eg, durability, repairability/disassembly, digital product passports) that will apply when the Commission adopts delegated acts for a given product group. The EU Repair Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/1799) complements ESPR by setting repair obligations for in-scope products. Separately, sectoral regimes already impose design/collection rules for certain goods – most notably under the EU Batteries Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542), which introduces lifecycle and producer-responsibility duties.

When Producers Must Take Back/Recover/Recycle/Dispose

Producers are required to finance and organise end-of-life management where an EPR scheme applies. In Denmark, this covers electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), batteries, end-of-life vehicles and packaging. Obligations typically include registration, payment of fees, reporting and participation in approved collection and treatment schemes. Denmark is also subject to the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/904), under which producers of specified items – including tobacco products with filters/cigarettes – must contribute to litter cleanup and related collection costs.

Waste operators – such as treatment facilities – must hold the necessary environmental approvals and operate in compliance with their permit conditions. They are obliged to ensure safe handling, storage, transport and treatment of waste, proper recordkeeping and reporting to the authorities (via the Danish Waste Data System), and to prevent pollution or harm to human health and the environment. Operators must also accept inspections by municipal or state authorities and comply with instructions issued by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen) and local authorities.

Breaches of these obligations can lead to administrative enforcement (orders to comply, suspensions or withdrawal of permits), fines and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution.

Beyond permit-specific conditions, Danish law imposes general incident-notification duties. If an operator causes – or faces an imminent risk of – significant pollution, they must immediately notify the supervisory authority and take prompt measures to stop and mitigate the pollution/contamination in accordance with the Danish Environmental Protection Act (Miljøbeskyttelsesloven).

Owners who discover contamination of soil on their property must likewise notify the supervisory authority.

For marine oil/chemical pollution, reporting and response obligations apply under the Danish Marine Environment Protection Act (Havmiljøloven).

In case of drinking-water contamination, authorities must inform affected consumers without delay.

Failure to make required environmental notifications or reports can trigger administrative enforcement, suspension or withdrawal of permits and fines.

Denmark is bound by the EU Directive on public access to environmental information (Directive 2003/4/EC) and the Aarhus Convention and implements it through the Danish Environmental Information Act (Miljøoplysningsloven), which supplements the Danish Access to Public Administration Files Act (Offentlighedsloven) and the Danish Public Administration Act (Forvaltningsloven). Any person may request environmental information without stating an interest. Disclosure is the rule and exceptions are construed narrowly.

The right of access covers all activities carried out by public authorities, including not only case decisions but also rule-making and factual administrative activities. It applies to state, regional and municipal authorities, as well as boards, councils, municipal communities and other bodies within the administrative branch and extends to “organs” (including private entities) that have public responsibility for or perform public functions or services related to the environment and are under public control.

In Denmark, disclosure duties are largely EU-driven. In-scope companies must prepare a sustainability statement in the annual report under the EU CSRD, using the ESRS. Separately, financial market participants disclose under SFDR.

The core “green finance” arrangements in Denmark are mostly regulated by the EU, which include:

• the EU Taxonomy (Regulation (EU) 2020/852) for classifying environmentally sustainable activities (used by issuers and investors in disclosures);
• the SFDR (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) for entity- and product-level sustainability disclosures by financial market participants;
• the EU Green Bond Standard (Regulation (EU) 2023/2631), a voluntary but binding label with taxonomy-use-of-proceeds, external review and reporting rules; and
• the EU climate benchmarks (EU CTB/PAB) under the Benchmarks Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/1011).

The monitoring and enforcing agencies in Denmark include:

• the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet), which supervises SFDR disclosures and market conduct and is the competent authority for green-label bond practices/EuGB oversight in Denmark;
• the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen), which oversees company sustainability reporting (CSRD/ESRS) and provides national guidance on EU Taxonomy KPI reporting that feeds investors’ green finance use; and
• Danmarks Nationalbank and Ministry of Finance, which handle issuance, allocation and impact reporting for sovereign green bonds.

Environmental due diligence is a well-established part of M&A, financing and property transactions in Denmark. The need and scope of such due diligence depend on the nature and environmental risk profile of the target and are therefore determined on a case-by-case basis. It is most common where a transaction involves activities with potential environmental impact – such as industrial operations, power plants, waste facilities or older industrial sites – and in real estate transactions to assess possible soil or groundwater contamination, historic use, etc.

Typically, due diligence includes both legal and technical reviews, covering environmental permits and compliance status, inspection reports, mapping of contaminated land (V1/V2), historic land use and any outstanding orders or liabilities.

Under Danish law, the caveat emptor principle applies, which means that the buyer purchases at their own risk in the absence of a warranty in the contract. A buyer of a company or property has an elaborated duty to investigate the company’s conditions, including the environmental conditions.

Conversely, the seller is obligated not to withhold or misrepresent material facts about the company/property being sold or any other information that may be of significant importance to the buyer. If violated, the seller may be held liable.

In Denmark, the environmental issues that surface in legal due diligence depend on the target’s business, assets and the transaction’s objectives, but the review consistently tests regulatory permissions, compliance and legacy risk. Counsel will verify that all required permits exist, remain valid and are complied with, identify any pending orders or investigations, and assess whether the transaction could trigger new approvals or liability exposure.

Typical focus areas and examples include:

• contamination risk – actual or potential soil/groundwater pollution, historic spills, V1/V2 mapping status and any cleanup obligations;
• permits and compliance – scope/transferability of environmental permits (eg, discharge, waste, IED), monitoring data, breaches, notices or enforcement actions;
• emissions and discharges – wastewater quality and limits, air/noise/stormwater management, hazardous-substance storage and secondary containment;
• protected areas and constraints – Natura 2000/protected sites, protected species, listed buildings, etc; and
• land and access – title, access roads, zoning and any shift to more sensitive land use (housing, childcare) on mapped sites.