Environmental policy

Environmental policy comprises principles, laws, and actions that governments and institutions use to protect the environment and manage human impacts on it.

Environmental regulation: Government rules that limit or prescribe activities affecting environmental quality. Regulations translate policy goals into enforceable requirements for polluters.
Climate policy: Public measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change. Climate change is a major target of contemporary environmental policy.
Conservation movement: A social and political movement to protect natural resources, landscapes, and wildlife. Its campaigns helped place conservation on government agendas.
Command-and-control regulation: Regulation that specifies required technologies, practices, or limits rather than relying chiefly on market incentives. It contrasts with flexible instruments such as emissions trading and pollution taxes.
Environmental impact assessment: A process for predicting and evaluating the environmental effects of proposed projects or policies. Impact assessment brings likely consequences into decisions before projects proceed.
Air pollution control: Measures that prevent, reduce, or regulate contaminants in the atmosphere. Air-quality rules show how policy can protect public health from pollution.
Silent Spring: Rachel Carson’s 1962 book documenting ecological harms associated with pesticide use. The book intensified public pressure for pesticide controls and environmental institutions.
Voluntary environmental agreement: A nonbinding commitment by organizations to improve environmental performance, often negotiated with public authorities. Voluntary commitments rely on cooperation rather than enforceable legal duties.
Emissions trading: A system that caps emissions and allows regulated sources to trade permits. Trading uses a market to meet a policy-set emissions limit.
Water pollution: The contamination of water bodies by substances or energy that harm ecosystems or human use. Water pollution prompts standards, permits, and cleanup requirements.

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