EQUITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY

It is now conventional wisdom that traditional patterns of economic growth must be changed to reduce the strain on the global environmental system and ensure that development is sustainable. Clearly sustainable development raises the issue of intergenerational equity; current consumptive use of environmental resources must be curbed to allow the needs of future generations to be met. However, policies designed to promote sustainable development or improve environmental quality cannot be divorced from questions about the present day distribution of wealth and welfare. It is argued that the apparent consensus between Governments over the need to implement global, precautionary and sustainable environmental policies is an illusion. There is in reality little agreement over desirable management strategies and still less over who should pay the costs of any required policy shift.