Incentivos econômicos para controlar a poluição

Abstract

United States, France, Germany and other countries utilize economic mechanismes and incentives in the implementation of their pollution control policies There are, at least three economic reasons for the utilization of such mechanismes. These reasons are the following: • some environmental resources are public goods, so in general terms polluters don't have interest to make investments in environmental control; • the price system fails to internalize the costs of pollution damages. So their costs remain externai to the prices, and them these costs are shared by the society; • air, water and in some way the soil don't have ownners. So everybody can use them and in individual terms nobody is concemed with the damages that is causing. This is known as tM tragtdy of tlie commons. Another reasons for the utilization of such mechanismes are the boundaries of possibilities of the pollution control tradicional way. So the reasons above can induce polluters to try to postpone the investments in pollution control. ln order to give more efficiency to pollution control policies, some countries mix economic mechanismes and pollution control traditional way. These mechanisme are the following: tax system, benefits to the polluters and market mechanismes. The utilization of such mechanismes changes the rule of the State on its task of pollution control.