National experiences and prospects

Thesis Abstract

The use of so-called “new” environmental policy instruments such as eco-taxes, tradable permits, voluntary agreements and eco-labels has prompted widespread claims that these devices have replaced regulation. These papers offer a fresh perspective on the evolving tool-box of environmental policy. “For example, water rights originally allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis may leave no share of a river flow for ‘ecological services’ such as biodiversity conservation. Producer ‘take back’ laws on consumer products extend businesses’ responsibility for products they have sold, and a precaution-based chemicals policy can shift the burden of proof around the risk and safety of novel substances (Jordan et al. 2003). In this sense, the emergence of the environmental state coincides with a (partial) transformation of the terms on which states exercise authority, as well as the way such authority is legitimised (e.g. “