263 In part one, I identify the core logical structure of the precautionary principle and distinguish it from the various key concepts that appear in the many different formulations of the principle. I survey these concepts and suggest a program of further conceptual analysis. In part two, I examine a particular version of the precautionary principle dubbed “the catastrophe principle” and criti...

Our aim is to defend the Precautionary Principle (PP) against main theoretical and practical criticisms that it has raised by proposing a novel conception specific formulation of principle. We first address concerns idea there being principle precaution arguing for distinctively political PP as opposed moral one. claim rationale grounded in fact contemporary societies wish avoid morally unaccep...

The Precautionary Principle has been an increasingly important principle in international treaties since the 1980s. Through varying formulations, it states that when an activity can lead to a catastrophe for human health or the environment, measures should be taken to prevent it even if the cause-and-effect relationship is not fully established scientifically. The Precautionary Principle has be...

The precautionary principle is frequently invoked in environmental law and policy, and the debate around the principle indicates that there is little agreement on what 'taking precautions' means. The purpose of the present paper is to provide an improved conceptual foundation for this debate in the form of an explication of the concept of precaution. Distinctions between precaution and two rela...

I n the 1980s, the precautionary principle migrated from its European roots to the international environmental scene. By 1992, it was ubiquitous: it appeared in the Rio Declaration, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These precedents ultimately spawned the CBD’s January 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which uses the...

precautionary principle continues to be a highly controversial topic in health and environmental policy. Despite its prominent role in key environmental treaties and European Union policy, 1 consensus on its scientific foundations and practical implications remains elusive. In our view, three common criticisms of the precautionary principle arise from misunderstandings of how precautionary poli...