How to Enforce the Polluter-Pays Principle

The polluter-pays principle (PPP) requires that the costs of pollution be borne by those responsible for causing it. While established in the EU and OECD, it is not a customary international norm due to varying state definitions and implementation complexities. In climate law, the PPP is relevant to loss and damage and carbon pricing, though it is not explicitly mentioned in the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, or Paris Agreement. The document suggests that combining the PPP with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) could ensure that Global North entities absorb the costs of environmental harms caused in the Global South.

• The polluter-pays principle (PPP) mandates that those responsible for pollution bear the costs of managing it to protect human health and the environment, originating from economic concepts like the "Pigouvian tax" or social tax of negative externalities.
• The PPP is primarily utilized in developed countries and is not widely applied outside of European environmental law, though it has been incorporated into policies in Australia, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.
• The PPP differs from the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) in that the PPP focuses on individual economic reparations and responsibility, whereas CBDR emphasizes state responsibility and cooperation between the North and South.
• The PPP is not recognized as a customary international norm because states define and implement it differently within their internal legal systems.
• Although the PPP is not explicitly named in the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, or Paris Agreement, it is relevant to debates on loss and damage and is indirectly present in nationally determined contributions, climate finance obligations, and emission trading schemes.
• To harmonize environmental protection with sustainable development in the North-South context, the document proposes a "specification" process where the PPP is combined with CBDR, leading countries and corporations in the Global North to absorb the costs of harms caused in the Global South.

APA

Pinto-Bazurco, J. F. (2022). How to Enforce the Polluter-Pays Principle. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/still-one-earth-polluter-pays-principle.pdf

Chicago

Pinto-Bazurco, Jose Felix. How to Enforce the Polluter-Pays Principle. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/still-one-earth-polluter-pays-principle.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pinto-Bazurco |first1=Jose Felix |title=How to Enforce the Polluter-Pays Principle |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/still-one-earth-polluter-pays-principle.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pintobazurco2022how, author = {Pinto-Bazurco, Jose Felix}, title = {{How to Enforce the Polluter-Pays Principle}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/still-one-earth-polluter-pays-principle.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }