Better understanding environmental policies

One of the most critical components of the "sustainable development and human behavior discussion" is that of collective action. How do we generate large-scale changes in human behavior to address environmental issues? What are our tools, and who do we seek for leadership? What is the role of government in these issues? Over this semester, I have come to better understand some of the political instruments that exist to address environmental problems, and the possible applications of these tools. These questions become particularly important in the midst of an increasingly complicated economic situation and administration change.

Most environmental policies can be categorized as market-based or command and control.

Market-based policies use monetary programs as incentives or disincentives to change behavior or emission levels. Examples of these include pollution charges, environmental subsidies, deposits and refunds, and pollution permit trading systems. Market-based instruments can be very cost efficient for governing bodies, and can usually be implemented in a relative short period of time, making them optimal short-term policy solutions. They maintain some degree of consumer freedom, thought the primary criticism of market-based instruments is that they present disproportionate burdens on citizens of lower socio-economic brackets. 

Command and control (CAC) policies are rules or standards that are determined by governments and enforced usually by some sort of fine or punishment. However, other forms of command and control instruments can take the shape of research and development, or investment in systems or infrastructure. With CAC instruments, government is involved with nearly every aspect of the policy design, implementation and monitoring. While this might seem like an optimum strategy to enforce behavior change, it can place too much power or responsibility in the hands of governing bodies. 

For both of these policy types is it crucial to evaluate and redesign on a regular basis. Below is a list of common criteria that can be used to evaluate environmental policies:

• Equity/fairness - does the policy discriminate against certain groups?
• Government knowledge of optimal standards
• Cost effectiveness - what are the transaction costs, including start-up costs?
• Measurability - how do we asses whether the policies are working or not
• Political feasibility - how appropriate or reasonable are the proposed policies?