Two Conceptions of Irreversible Environmental Harm

29 Pages Posted: 15 May 2008

See all articles by Cass R. Sunstein

Cass R. Sunstein

Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Date Written: May 2008

Abstract

The concept of "irreversibility" plays a large role in the theory and practice of environmental protection. Indeed, the concept is explicit in some statements of the Precautionary Principle. But the idea of irreversibility remains poorly defined. Because time is linear, any loss is, in a sense, irreversible. On one approach, drawn from environmental economics, irreversibility might be understood as a reference to the value associated with taking precautionary steps that maintain flexibility for an uncertain future ("option value"). On another approach, drawn from environmental ethics, irreversibility might be understood to refer to the qualitatively distinctive nature of certain environmental harms - a point that raises a claim about incommensurability. The two conceptions fit different problems. For example, the idea of option value best fits the problem of climate change; the idea of qualitatively distinctive harms best fits the problem of extinction of endangered species. These ideas can be applied to a wide assortment of environmental problems.

Keywords: environmental protection, precautionary principle, environmental economics

Suggested Citation

Sunstein, Cass R., Two Conceptions of Irreversible Environmental Harm (May 2008). U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 407, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 218, Reg-Markets Center Working Paper No. 08-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1133164 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1133164

Cass R. Sunstein (Contact Author)

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Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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