The Precautionary Principle

Foreword

What should we do if scientific uncertainty arises about an action which could have a detrimental effect on the environment? For example, should we accept the use of a specific chemical which provides products with some desired properties, even though we do not know what undesirable effects the chemical has on nature and the environment in the long term?

These questions are central to the precautionary principle.

Both in Denmark and abroad, there has been increasing focus in recent years on this principle, and in line with the increasing complexity of environmental issues, there are expectations from various sides that politicians, enterprises, and authorities allow this doubt to benefit the environment.

However, what does the principle involve specifically, and how should it be applied in our day-to-day work? This is not clear in either Denmark or other countries and therefore the Danish EPA would like a debate on the issue which can lead to a better understanding of the principle. On this basis, the Agency held a conference on 29 May 1998 which was attended by business people, researchers, green organisations, politicians, authorities, and other interested parties.

The objective of the conference was to encourage a technical debate on how we apply the precautionary principle to the environment. It is important to outline and discuss this issue, as ultimately it concerns the degree of safety which the population desires. Although the precautionary principle is included in Danish and international legislation, interpretation and administration of the concept is ambiguous. In Danish legislation, for example, wording is used such as ‘consideration must be given to the likely impact of pollution’.

The conference was built up in four blocks: an administrative perspective, a technical and economic perspective, a social perspective, and finally a panel debate. Within each perspective there were various presentations, followed by questions for the presenter. This summary and extracts follow this structure of the conference.

The conference provided no clear answers and no easy solutions; the issue is too complex for this. However, in general there was broad agreement amongst the presenters and during the debates that the precautionary principle must be regarded as a political norm for both legislation and administration, and that application of the precautionary principle demands a great deal of openness.

Although the conference did not provide clear answers, we have without doubt taken some steps closer towards clarification of the concept and work will now continue with the principle. For example it is now expected that the precautionary principle and its application will be a theme in the Government’s Environmental Policy Report which will be issued next summer, and it is our hope that the environment politicians in Parliament will be able to benefit from the discussions at the conference.