Au-delà du principe de précaution

Abstract

My central claim here is conceptual. The real problem with the Precautionary Principle, at least in its strongest forms, is that it is incoherent; it purports to give guidance, but it fails to do so, because it condemns the very steps that it requires. The regulation that the principle requires always gives rise to risks of its own – and hence the principle bans what it simultaneously mandates. I therefore aim to challenge the Precautionary Principle not because it leads in bad directions, but because read for all that it is worth, it leads in no direction at all. The principle threatens to be paralyzing, forbidding regulation, inaction, and every step in between. Protection of the environment and nature often makes sense, but the Precautionary Principle is not a helpful way of identifying when, and how much, protection of nature makes sense.