The European Commission believes that the polluter pays principle (PPP), enshrined in the European treaties, is effective in improving the efficiency of environmental policies, but still remains “partially implemented” in the European Union.
An evaluation document published on Thursday 16 July highlights shortcomings in the assumption of costs linked to environmental damage and calls for stronger application on a case-by-case basis.
The polluter pays principle is intended to make those responsible for pollution bear the costs linked to its prevention and remediation, rather than the community.
The fitness check covered 76 legislative acts relating to environmental policies (8th Environmental Action Programme).
The evaluation concludes that the PPP is “generally well applied” to pollution prevention and control measures, but that there are significant gaps concerning administrative costs and, above all, environmental damage.
The Commission estimates that national environmental protection expenditure reaches around €357 billion a year in the EU. At the same time, environmental taxes account for around €320 billion annually, a level considered lower than the economic costs of environmental damage. By way of example, damage linked to industrial air pollution is estimated at between €268 billion and €428 billion a year.
The Commission also underlines the contradiction created by certain public aid measures that are harmful to the environment, notably fossil fuel subsidies, estimated at €123 billion a year.
According to the report, pricing mechanisms are particularly developed in the climate field, whereas the taking into account of biodiversity-related costs remains limited.
More details: https://aeur.eu/f/mwt (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)