The Precautionary Principle states that “where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation” (UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio 1992). See the resulting United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and the UNFCCC’s Climate Change information sheet 18
https://unfccc.int/cop3/fccc/climate/fact18.htm
https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf
Please base your discussion board for this module on the following questions:
How do you respond to the above discussion in view of the Precautionary Principle (PP)?
What are the positive effects of applying the Precautionary Principle in policy and legislative responses to climate change? What are the negative effects?
What is the current thinking that works alongside the PP to ensure local communities are preparing for the future?
Sample Solution