Polluter pays principle

The polluter pays principle holds that those responsible for pollution should bear the costs of preventing, controlling, or remedying it. It guides environmental policy by assigning pollution costs to their sources.

Environmental tax: A tax imposed on activities or products that cause environmental harm. Taxes can make polluters pay for environmental damage by raising the cost of harmful activity.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: An intergovernmental organization that coordinates economic and public-policy cooperation among member countries. The OECD adopted the principle in 1972 as guidance for allocating pollution-control costs.
Environmental law: The body of law governing environmental protection, natural resources, and pollution. The principle is implemented through environmental statutes, regulations, and liability rules.
Precautionary principle: The principle that lack of full scientific certainty should not delay measures against serious environmental threats. It addresses when to act under uncertainty, while polluter pays addresses who bears pollution costs.
Pigouvian tax: A tax designed to make the private cost of an activity reflect its external costs. It gives the polluter pays principle a price-based form by charging for pollution costs.
OECD Guiding Principles concerning International Economic Aspects of Environmental Policies: A 1972 OECD recommendation establishing principles for integrating environmental costs into economic policy. This recommendation set out an early international formulation of the polluter pays principle.
Environmental permitting: A regulatory process that authorizes activities subject to environmental conditions and limits. Permit fees and operating conditions can require polluters to cover prevention and monitoring costs.
Common but differentiated responsibilities: A principle assigning all states environmental responsibilities while recognizing differences in capacity and contribution. It allocates duties among states, whereas polluter pays focuses costs on sources of pollution.
Emissions trading: A system in which regulated entities trade permits that authorize limited emissions. It can assign a price to emissions without requiring each polluter to pay the same fixed charge.
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: A 1992 United Nations declaration of principles for environment and development. Principle 16 connects pollution-cost allocation to national authorities and the polluter pays principle.

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