Over the last four decades, triggered by the Environmental Progressive Era, policy instruments have been developed to reduce environmental pollution. Policy instruments shifted from the most traditional direct government regulation instrument to more flexible approaches of market-based incentives and voluntary programs. Direct regulation involves government standards to businesses and industries to reduce pollution. Market-based instrument generates an environmentally friendly business behavior. With the emergence of voluntary programs, businesses exceed commitment to environmental sustainability goals of the government standards. Each policy instrument has its strengths and weaknesses that limit them to be applicable to only certain environmental context. According to my point of view, an integrated approach of the three categories of environmental policy instruments, direct regulation, market-based instruments, and voluntary programs, rather than solely focusing on a single instrument will lead to an optimal approach for environmental policy implementation.
Direct regulation, also known as the command-and-control approach, is the most widespread policy instrument (Vig & Kraft, 2013). It sets technology-based or performance-based standards, and defines explicit directives for firms regarding pollution control levels. Command-and-control regulatory approach imposes a uniform standard to a broad category of nation-wide polluting sources. Standards are set solely based on the
In my opinion, all pollution standards should be tightened but over a period of time. I agree totally that pollution is out of hand at the current time, however it is a problem that has built up for many years and can’t be solved all at once. I feel that it is somewhat unfair to those companies who depend on their current status. By implementing procedures and regulations that are to occur over a period of time, it allows many companies to adjust gradually. I also feel that this policy of carbon trading should be eliminated. Although it does generate income for industries that currently comply, it allows many others to evade responsibility. I also feel that such things as public transportation and carpooling should be stressed. It provides an alternative that will drastically
The regulatory measures target the emissions from industries as well as the products resulting from certain industries. The agency establishes certain regulations that seek to standardize the emissions in terms of quantity and if companies are found
The issue of carbon emissions is an important one not only from an environmental perspective but also an economic one. While reducing carbon emissions is an important one for the health of human beings as well as that of the environment, the larger question is what type of policy strategy is best for both reducing such emissions which might have an impact on efforts to mitigate the effects of pollution on climate change. While ther are options to consider which does not rely on economics-- technological or output standards achieved by command and control regulations--they are often fraught with political resistance by industry because they do not allow industry to make any choices or play a role in solving the problem of
The world of 2015 is centralized on industrialization, and advancements that improve the manner in which a product can be produced to turn the greatest profit. While many of these improvements in speed and quantity benefits society, we cannot turn a blind eye to some of the heavy costs that are associated with this type of mass production. To address some of the issues, like pollution, governments create laws to regulate the amount of negative externalities to its citizens. In the United States, there are multiple federal agencies charged with creating the specific standards and regulations that states and large companies must adhere to. One agency in particular, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), implements and enforces some of these standards “to protect human health and the environment”(US Environmental, 2015).
A cap-and-trade program sets a maximum level of pollution, and distributes emission permits among firms that produce emissions (Carbon Tax, 2013). The purpose of which is regulation of specific emissions by stationary and mobile sources, and setting a specific level which all emitters are re-quired to meet. Cap-and-trade possibly has less of a direct economic component to it than the other alternatives to reducing emissions described due to the ability to trade permits versus the expendi-ture of resources improving technology, with some arguing it is to the detriment of the environment. As stated in the article found in Reclaiming the Environmental Agenda, by Ashford, N. et al., 2008, “being a market-based instrument, ‘the cap-and-trade option suggests that at least this form of MBI may be more environmentally effective than the usual command-and-control alternatives, in addition to being more economically efficient.” (Ashford, N. and Caldart, C., 2008, p. 908).
the established air quality standards to create a permit program regulating new or modified major
Environmental issues have been a part of living on earth since the beginning of time. The only issue with this however, is that resolutions have only just recently been put in place. Environmental concerns have only been discussed since the last half of the twentieth century. While some small steps were taken here and there, The European Union was the first to deliberate environmental policy in an attentive and compulsory nature. The European Union has some of the highest environmental standards to date. These standards have been evolving since the Paris Summit meeting of the European Community that took place in October 1972. The Paris Summit of 1972 was the first to introduce environmental policy on such a vast scale. One outcome of the summit was a declaration on environmental and consumer policy which gave the Environmental Commission the authority to establish the First Environmental Action Programme (EAP) to implement environmental policy. An EAP is essentially a strategic policy document which reflects the fundamental elements of contemporary environmental thinking and problem perceptions, as well as strategic policy orientation. (http://wwweeborg/publication/chapter-3pdf) It is based on a proposal from the Commission, but is now subject to a full legislative procedure leading to agreement between
Over the past couple of years, countries and companies alike have taken the steps to ensure their citizens or employees are living an economically friendly lifestyle. This can be achieved by recycling programs, motion activated lights, and producing products with sustainable materials that do no harm to the trees or atmosphere. While countries like the United States and those in Western Europe have the capabilities to achieve this with advanced technology, education, and funds, the more poor countries of Earth still have to surrender themselves to unethical solutions. It is not only businesses in these regions that make these crucial decisions, but the government as a whole. A current example is the Nicaragua Grand Canal that is deciding to
Effective economic and legal mechanism is capable of maintaining a proper measure of correlation between economy and ecology at a reasonable level with lesser amounts of direct investments. To implement this condition in the economic and legal mechanism of environmental regulation, it is required to combine three basic functions:
Up until lately, air pollution has been accomplished solely in the controlling atmosphere. Consequently, the matter offers us an outstanding illustration of how strategies creation has worked in the past years; federal determinations have helped states recognize the sources of air pollution and the influences of those discharges (Dale, 2015, chap.3 sum). The Clean Air Act remains to progress to replicate new discipline and deliver technology-based values for guidelines. Current struggles to increase the management to contain market-based, tradable documents also give us a respected intimation about the route for control. The global field has so far delivered insignificant but vital provision for state, government, and resident labors to administer
The United States is economy is based on a consumption driven model. Corporate law has more to do with lining shareholder pockets than environmental protection. Externalities have become a byproduct of doing business in the United States. Perhaps this is why economics has become an environmental issue as well as a financial one. The release of greenhouse gasses into the environment is increasing. The environmental impact of electronic goods is negatively affecting our ecosystem. From water, to farming, to the amount of trash we dispose of our consumption continues to impact our environment in negative ways; in the not so distant future the damage could become irreversible. Recycling helps a great deal, but, the only reasonable path back to a sustainable way of life must, by necessity, include less consumption.
Inherently, self-interest motivates market producers to pursue their economic goal of profit maximization even at the expense of their competitors, an illustration of prisoner’s dilemma. Businesses have used production inputs that permanently damaged common natural resources such as petroleum reserves, earth’s atmosphere and biodiversity. Other effects include global warming and depleted resources for future generations. Privatization of the common-pool goods does not guarantee that the market can avert the phenomenon. The government will have to inevitably assign specific property rights over renewable natural resources. Alternatively, the state can also adopt policies that encourage private enterprise or individuals to develop or use green energies as alternative to the traditional energy sources in the case of the Environmental Protection Agency. Lastly, the government can complement with nonprofits in implementing programs that address market failures. Nonprofits are not bounded by profit distribution thereby facilitating them to adopt missions to sustain social value and continuously pursue opportunities to innovate, learn and adapt. As an example, World Wildlife Fund has a mission of environmental conservation and implements activities to protect the global natural
What are command and control rules? The direct regulation of an industry or activity of legislation by that states what is permitted and what is illegal. Why may power plant managers find them to be onerous? The reasons they find command and control rules are onerous they cause incompetent patterns of control and force some companies to spend more per ton for control certain pollutant. Also, it slows the process of a cleaner environment and creates useless patterns of control and force. What alternative(s) to command and control rules may power plant manager’s favor? They are willing to agree to take tougher air pollution limits than EPA has recommend as long as they get assurance on deadlines and get to escape additional onerous command-and-control
Porter believe in order to be “Green and Competitive”, there needs to be rules set in the amount of pollution that is created. He suggests when businesses find new innovated ways to minimize or annul
Annex I countries are industrialized nations with large carbon emissions, such as the US, Australia, EU, and Russia. The agreement has four implementation mechanisms designed to achieve the desired reductions in emissions, but only asks that countries comply with the reductions rather than suggesting a methodology. The primary method for countries to reduce emissions is through domestic policies, traditionally taking the form of governmental controls, which each nation would be responsible for creating and enforcing. Domestic policy is “…likely to become a ‘hook’ to ensure that the industrialized countries implement the policies necessary to spur real changes towards less carbon-intensive production and consumption patterns (Depledge 11).” The domestic policy article in the Kyoto Protocol is intended to provide governments, not an international body, with direct control over domestic emissions.