8 - An Environmental Competition Statute

Summary

THE PREVIOUS PART OF THIS BOOK HAS BEEN CONCERNED primarily with conserving our environmental legacy. Environmental law, however, must function not only as a force for conservation of the good but also as the generator of a better future. Next-generation environmental law embraces both preservation and dynamic and constructive change. Thus, the next generation of environmental law must figure out how to generate the sorts of changes that will create a better environmental future.

The next generation of environmental law should use economic incentives to creatively stimulate innovation in environmental technology. This chapter proposes an Environmental Competition Statute as a means of stimulating movement toward a more sustainable future. Such a statute would authorize those who achieve low emissions to collect the cost of achieving low emissions plus a premium from competitors with higher emissions.

This chapter briefly explains the value of using this mechanism. It then canvasses the problems with the first and second generation of environmental law that an Environmental Competition Statute can help us overcome. A detailed description of an Environmental Competition Statute follows. The chapter then turns to possible objections to the scheme not addressed in the previous material. It closes with a brief conclusion.

Value of an Environmental Competition Statute

We have achieved a number of advances in material welfare because entrepreneurs seek to get rich by developing and introducing innovations. Examples include the cellular phone, the personal computer, and various uses of the Internet.