The Precautionary Principle

Abstract

The Precautionary Principle is one of those ideas which is easy for governments, industry and individuals to endorse, but which is seldom applied. As the exchange by David Goodall and Mike Calver and his colleagues in this issue indicate, at least part of the problem with implementation is the difficulty in really defining what the principle means and how its application might be monitored. My own opinion is that the precautionary principle is a little like the Ten Commandments ? an excellent idea, but something few people actually follow and which is not yet a significant factor in government and industry environmental policies.