Four principles in marine environment protection: A comparative analysis

Precautionary Rights and Duties of States

“…120 Even the most sophisticated models render approximate predictions at best. 121 Rehearsing what has been outlined in this chapter so far, model uncertainties can have any of several causes. They could be due to lack of measurements, or accuracy thereof -epistemological uncertainty.…”

“…120 An instance of a non-governmental entity mentioning the avoidance of "serious or irreversible environmental degradation" in relation to its own endorsement of the precautionary principle is the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). 121 Besides, various academics emphasize the association between the principle and the criterion of seriousness or irreversibility that 115 US President's Council on Sustainable Development, Sustainable America: A New Consensus, 1996, as cited in Tickner et al, 2000, see pp. 3 and 23.…”

“…See Trouwborst, 2002 and the sources mentioned there, especially note 1582. 121 International Chamber of Commerce, Business Charter for Sustainable Development, Principle 10, as quoted in Backes et al, 2002, p. 79. expected harm is supposed to meet. 122 Occasionally, a threshold of 'serious and irreversible' harm can be come across, as opposed to the habitual clause with or.…”

Shale gas extraction, precaution and prevention: A conversation on regulatory responses

“…Where reasonable grounds of concern for the existence of an environmental threat can be established, but the existence of the threat is yet uncertain, the precautionary principle applies [53]. Precautionary logic means to act as soon as alarm bells are triggered, even if 'certainty' about a threat is not yet available [54].…”

From critically endangered to least concern?—A revised population trend for the Kittlitz's Murrelet in Glacier Bay, Alaska

“…The precautionary principle can be viewed as related to and evolving from the principle of prevention and a further well-established principle, the polluter-pays principle (see De Sadeleer, 2003;Dzidzornu, 1998). All these principles have as their aim environmental protection, and they can be seen as reflecting a progression in the law in the time at which it addresses environmental harm: from reactive law, addressing harms that have already happened (polluter-pays); to addressing known risks before harm occurs (prevention); to anticipating and averting unknown, uncertain threats (precaution).…”