How to make environmental policy more effective

Miroslav Hájek, Ph. D.

Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic

Percentage of gross domestic product spent on environmental investment (in %)

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

% G

DP

Total Environmental Investment

Total Environmental Expenditures of Central Sources

Share of environmental investment on total investment (in %)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

%

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

Are the environmental expenditures low or high – is it a correct question?

• To minimize social costs• To make economic analysis (CBA)• To make a valuation of the environmental

benefits• Not only to find financial sources for cover

of all costs• The best way - to integrate economic

aspects in the environmental policy

Structure of the environmental policy (part only)

• Economic instruments – discussions are very often and of course very important

• Principles are often disscussed but their application is imporat in the range of the environmental policy

• Approaches and methods are not very often disscussed

Structure of the environmental policy (2)

Environmental policy Implementation of the env. policy

Principles Measures Proposal of the solutions

Projects

Approa-ches

Instru-ments

Approaches and integration of the economic aspects in the environmental

policy

• Among approaches there are a lot of possibilities how to integrate the economic aspects in the environmental policy

• It is important to integrate social aspects

• It is not only the blank headline

List of some important approaches

• Planning• Green fiscal reform• Win-win strategy• Clean production• Prices distortion removing• Reduction of the env. harmful subsidies• Green public procurement• Environmental accounting• Public awareness …

Win-win strategy

• Cleaner production (environmental accounting)

• Reduction of the env. harmful subsidies (Prices distortion removing, reduction of the public support)

• Others

Green tax reform

• One of the approaches

• It is system of instruments and measures

• It is not only green taxes

• One of the win-win (-win) strategy

Concusion

• Approaches are not very often discussed

• There are a lot of possibilities how to integrate the economic aspects in the environmental policy

• Practical use of the approaches is important