Overview

Discussions between climate sceptics and adherents of the man-made global warming paradigm often end in a stalemate. Invariably the latter will then invoke the precautionary principle to press their case. Is this a legitimate argument? We don t think so. As we will argue, the precautionary principle can often be very harmful. Its application may result in wasteful expenditures and impediments to economic progress, not only in the case of putative man-made global warming but also in a wider framework.

Better safe than sorry. This is the crux of the precautionary principle. The application of the principle manifests itself everywhere. There are crash barriers along the highway and handrails along the staircase. But the ladder of the traditional window cleaner does not have a handrail. And the same is true for the ladders in sluices, which may give rise to hair-raising spectacles of a passing skipper using the ladder to take out his St. Bernard dog. We do take part in traffic, although it may cost human lives. We finance the fire brigade via our taxes, but not every house has a sprinkler installation. And at the apogee of the Cold War, there were even people who did not possess a nuclear free shelter in their backyard.

In other words, a risk-free world is unthinkable and there are limits to the application of the precautionary principle. We believe that some risks are too small to warrant additional expenditure. If we would spend more on them, then we will have to...