Governments worldwide have adopted the ‘polluter pays’ principle, making polluters liable for all costs associated with cleaning up pollution they have caused. This principle was introduced in the Rio Declaration and is found in Principle 16. Governments also reward environmentally conscious consumers and tax those who aren’t, such as California’s “Clean Car Discount Program.”
Pollution is a global concern that has become a problem in nearly every government around the world. While everyone living on the planet, and those yet to be born, pays the price for pollution in a metaphorical sense, governments have had to develop laws that address who will pay for pollution in real dollars. Many governments have adopted the ‘polluter pays’ principle when addressing the cost of pollution. The concept behind the polluter pays principle is that the person, or entity, responsible for an act of pollution or its consequences should be liable for the costs associated with the pollution.
The problem of pollution is relatively new in terms of government policy and legislation. Until the 20th century, industries regularly polluted the air, oceans, and groundwater with very little government intervention or legal repercussions. With the social awareness of the 1920s and 1960s in America also came an awareness of the fragility of the planet we live on, something many scientists and environmentalists have been trying to point out for some time. As a result of growing awareness of the negative effects of human interaction with the environment, governments around the world began enacting laws aimed at preventing pollution, many of which were guided by the polluter pays principle.
Basically, the polluter pays principle makes the polluter, usually a company or organization, legally liable for all costs associated with cleaning up the pollution they have caused. In addition, they are also responsible for any consequential costs resulting from the pollution. For example, in the United States, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly referred to as the Superfund, is a federal law that requires the responsible party to clean up hazardous waste sites.
Internationally, the polluter pays principle was a guiding principle mentioned in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, commonly abbreviated to the Rio Declaration. The Rio Declaration was introduced at the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992. Among the 27 principles set out in the Rio Declaration, the “polluter pays” principle is found in Principle 16.
On a more individual level, many governments have instituted practices that reward environmentally conscious consumers and tax those who aren’t. This practice has earned the name of “refund”. California, for example, introduced a law in 2008 known as the “Clean Car Discount Program,” which imposes a fee on the purchase of high-carbon vehicles. Then use those funds to provide a discount to consumers who buy green vehicles.
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