PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” contaminate water, soil, and food, harming ecosystems and posing serious risks to human health. PFAS pollution has become a major environmental and public health crisis across Europe and globally.
While the Polluter-Pays Principle (PPP) has existed for more than 50 years, the PFAS crisis starkly illustrates how critical it remains – and how damaging its improper, or lack of, application can be. Today, the clean-up and health costs of PFAS pollution are staggering, growing, and overwhelmingly borne by citizens.
To address this crisis, CIEL, together with with the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Observatory of the Polluter-Pays principle, and ClientEarth published the report How to Apply the Polluter-Pays Principle to the PFAS Pollution Crisis. The report clarifies who should pay (polluters and contributors), for what (past, present, and future PFAS pollution), and how much (all direct and indirect costs), while highlighting the need for strong enforcement and PFAS phase-out measures.
Published on January 29, 2026