The aim of this paper is to explore the main features of the new regime for packaging waste management established in France in 1992. A description of the institutional organisation is provided. Then, the paper analyses how the packaging tax implemented in France may allow the optimal...

This paper contains two main parts. The first develops the issues of the European acid policy, and sets out the general background of the related regulatory regime. It also gives an overview of the theoretical and actual features of emissions trading mechanisms. It then considers the potential...

The three proposals examined here were specifically conceived to address the two major constraints by which the institutional context of the EU and UNECE SO2 requirements have been interpreted: national emission ceilings and deposition constraints for geographical zones. What can be the future...

Integrating scientific inputs into the regulatory process is generally attributed to experts. But, environmental issues are often characterised by an all-pervasive uncertainty and scientific and social controversies which make the experts' task difficult. This paper presents the concept of...

Economic instruments for environmental policies could reach their full potential of efficiency in economies in which all commodities are exchanged on competitive markets and agents are maximising operators, ready for catching any market opportunity and sensitive to price signals. This ideal...

There are two questions to be considered: a) to which extent the type of framing which may be appropriate for scientific explorations of some issues can also be relevant in a decisionmaking context, in which achieving an agreement among stakeholders is the key problem? b) what is the practical...

Le propos de cet article est d'envisager les effets possibles du principe de précaution sur les règles du commerce international. En prenant en compte une interrogation sur la place légitime à reconnaître aux préférences collectives dans les accords sur le commerce, l'ambiguïté des...

Les méthodes classiques d'évaluation des ressources environnementales et des impacts sur l'environnement font implicitement l'hypothèse que la détermination des bonnes valeurs est la question clé pour la décision publique. Le processus de décision est alors compris comme l'application...

Sur la base d'une relecture d'événements nationaux (la Charte de l'environnement en France) et internationaux (la guerre préventive des Etats-Unis en l'Irak) des années 2002-2003, ce papier rappelle la confusion entretenue entre principe de précaution et règle d'abstention. Il montre...

Cet article confronte les interprétations proposées pour le principe de précaution qui viennent de deux horizons différents : les théories économiques du risque qui s'inscrivent dans un cadre bayésien et les repères heuristiques de la doctrine validée par les institutions européennes...