Distribution As the Organising Principle of Environmental Regulation

Abstract

In this essay I argue that distributional concerns constitute the heart of environmental regulation; they are not restricted to pre-policy values or post-policy effects that need to dealt with. On the contrary, they characterise the selection of particular environmental policies, and their properties. Different interests, preferences and values with respect to a policy instrument can be made commensurable using the language of distribution. The centrality of distribution as an organising principle may be elusive on account of it being too vaguely construed or too narrowly defined. This necessitates the articulation of a taxonomy of distributional concerns. To this end, it is suggested that the distribution of benefits and burdens, distribution of responsibility, distribution of membership and distribution of capabilities could be useful categories to develop and assess environmental regulation. I then apply this framework to an unsuspecting candidate, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS).

Keywords: Environment, Environmental Regulation, Environmental Law, Climate Policy, Emissions Trading, Distribution, Justice, Efficiency, Regulatory Theory

JEL Classification: K32, K20, Q5