The past twenty-five years have seen a significant evolution in environmental policy, with new environmental legislation and substantive amendments to earlier laws, significant advances in environmental science, and changes in the treatment of science (and scientific uncertainty) by the courts. This book offers a detailed discussion of the important issues in environmental law, policy, and economics, tracing their development over the past few decades through an examination of environmental law cases and commentaries by leading scholars. The authors focus on pollution, addressing both pollution control and prevention, but also emphasize the evaluation, design, and use of the law to stimulate technical change and industrial transformation, arguing that there is a need to address broader issues of sustainable development. Environmental Law, Policy, and Economics,which grew out of courses taught by the authors at MIT, treats the traditional topics covered in most classes in environmental law and policy, including common law and administrative law concepts and the primary federal legislation. But it goes beyond these to address topics not often found in a single volume: the information-based obligations of industry, enforcement of environmental law, market-based and voluntary alternatives to traditional regulation, risk assessment, environmental economics, and technological innovation and diffusion. Countering arguments found in other texts that government should play a reduced role in environmental protection, this book argues that clear, stringent legal requirements--coupled with flexible means for meeting them--and meaningful stakeholder participation are necessary for bringing about environmental improvements and technologicial transformations.

This anthology discusses important issues surrounding environmental law and economics and provides an in-depth analysis of its use in legislation, regulation and legal adjudication from a neoclassical and behavioural law and economics perspective. Environmental issues raise a vast range of legal questions: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially as it relates to present exploitation of scarce resources? Or is it necessary for the state to intervene? Regulatory instruments are available to create and maintain a more sustainable society: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, etc. If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur sustainable consumption and production in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impact on economic development? Since the related problems are often caused by scarcity of resources, economic analysis of law can offer remarkable insights for their resolution. Part I underlines the foundations of environmental law and economics. Part II analyses the effectiveness of economic instruments and regulations in environmental law. Part III is dedicated to the problems of climate change. Finally, Part IV focuses on tort and criminal law. The twenty-one chapters in this volume deliver insights into the multifaceted debate surrounding the use of economic instruments in environmental regulation in Europe.

A detailed overview of the law-and-economics methodology developed and employed by environmental lawyers and policymakers.

. . . their collection together here represents a valuable addition to the library of those who are concerned with studying, teaching analysing, practicing, or making, environmental law as well as students and practitioners of environmental economics. David Hadley, The Economic Journal The exploration of the basic economics of externalities and the basic common law doctrines and institutions for dealing with externalities constitute a "first generation" of economic analysis of environmental law. The present book of essays illustrates the "second generation" of economic analysis of environmental law. The fundamental economic issues, and the common law, are no longer the focus. The lessons of the "first generation" have been absorbed and transcended. The focus has shifted to the level of application, which is the level at which the economist and the lawyer-economist can best hope to influence policy. We are making progress and the essays in this volume will do much to assure that progress continues. From the foreword by Richard A. Posner, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and University of Chicago Law School, US One of the most exciting and productive areas of research in environmental policy is resulting from the integration of the traditionally separate fields of environmental economics and law and economics. This book brings together the top researchers engaged in this enterprise to share the useful insights that are emerging. Both in terms of the scope of coverage and the depth of analysis this is an absolutely first-rate book. Tom Tietenberg, Colby College, Maine, US This outstanding book focuses on how economics can contribute to the design, implementation and appraisal of legal systems that create the right incentives for environmental protection. The sixteen original and specially commissioned contributions written by some of the leading names in their field span many of the important areas of contemporary interest and employ case study material combined with theoretical, empirical and experimental research. The book addresses many topical issues including: the fundamental notions of property rights and social norms; the design and implementation of civil liability regimes; the use of criminal law as an instrument of environmental policy; the role that citizen suits, self-monitoring and self-enforcement could and should play in the implementation of law; the international harmonisation of environmental law; and the treatment of environmental damages in courts. Cutting-edge economic technique is motivated by, and articulates with, real and pressing policy debates. The contributors refer to a range of legal cases and policy decisions, and draw out a host of policy implications and prescriptions for settings as diverse as Superfund reform in the US and the harmonisation of landfill regulations in the European Union. By combining incisive overviews of the latest thinking and results, complemented by original analysis, The Law and Economics of the Environment will appeal to researchers and students of the environment, law and economics, policy practitioners and those with an interest in knowing what constitutes good environmental law.

The economic approach to environmental law and policy has become the dominant framework for analyzing pollution, resource management and many other environmental challenges throughout the world. This two-volume set presents essential articles from both the leading edge of methodological innovation in environmental law and economics and the bedrock of theory upon which all such innovations are built. The editors' extensive introduction contextualizes the selected papers, highlighting the central theoretical and empirical challenges facing future advancement of this discipline. An impressive collection that is indispensable to policymakers, scholars and those with an interest in the developments in this ever-important field.

This book explores topics in contemporary debates over environmental quality, economic growth and sustainable development.

Environmental economics can be controversial, but it is also central to some key policy issues facing governments and society today, including industrial pollution, global warming, and waste/recycling. Stephen Smith looks at how economic activity affects the environment in which we live, and how environmental policies can most effectively be used.

Written by two internationally respected authors, this unique primer distills the environmental law and policy of the United States into a practical guide for a nonlegal audience, as well as for lawyers trained in other regions. The first part of the book explains the basics of the American legal system: key actors, types of laws, and overarching legal strategies for environmental management. The second part delves into specific environmental issues (pollution, ecosystem management, and climate change) and how American law addresses each. Chapters include summaries of key concepts, discussion questions, and a glossary of terms, as well as informative "spotlights"—brief overviews of topics. With a highly accessible structure and useful illustrative features, A Guide to U.S. Environmental Law is a long-overdue synthetic reference on environmental law for students and for those who work in environmental policy or environmental science. Pairing this book with its companion, A Guide to EU Environmental Law, allows for a comparative look at how two of the most important jurisdictions in the world deal with key environmental problems.

This book offers an edited volume for all readers who wish to gain an in-depth grasp of the economic analysis of recent developments in energy law and policy in Europe and the United States. In response to waning resources and heightened environmental awareness, many countries are now seeking to redefine their energy mix. Several energy sources are available: coal and oil, natural gas, and a variety of renewables. Yet which of them are capable of addressing core energy-related concerns? Reliability, security, affordability, fairness, and sustainability all have to be taken into account. Further, once a target mix has been identified, two challenges remain for legal scholars: what role does the law play in achieving a specified energy mix, and, how can the law best fulfill that role? The essential energy concerns are just as important in defining the way we shape our energy mix as they are in defining the mix itself. An example of current challenges in energy law and policy can be seen in the pursuit by the German and Swiss governments of the so-called “Energiewende” (energy transition). These policies are intended to enable the transition from a non-sustainable use of fossil and nuclear energy to a more sustainable approach based on renewable energies. On the one hand, the goal is to achieve a decarbonization of the energy economy by reducing the use of fossil energy sources such as petroleum, carbon and natural gas. On the other, and in response to the Fukushima nuclear accident, a phase out is intended to eliminate the dangers of nuclear technologies. Achieving these goals poses tremendous challenges for the two countries’ energy policies – partly because the energy transition will not only affect energy production, but also energy consumption. From a Law and Economics perspective, a number of questions arise: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially with regard to the present exploitation of scarce resources? To what extent is it necessary for states to intervene in energy markets? Regulatory instruments are available to create and maintain more sustainable societies: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, and more. If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur the sustainable consumption and production of energy in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impacts on economic development? Do neoclassical and behavioural economics provide us with a suitable framework for predicting the market’s complex reactions to a changing energy policy? This book provides theoretical insights as well as empirical findings in order to answer these vital questions.