Rethinking the optimal level of environmental quality: justifications for strict environmental policy

Traditional environmental theory suggests that the optimal level of a pollu tion emission occurs when the marginal damage created by the emissions is e qual to the marginal cost of reducing the emissions. We argue that the bene fits from reducing pollution should be much more broadly defined to include at least three other sources of benefits. First, we develop a game-theoret ic model in which firms may under-invest in cost-saving green technologies' . Second, we demonstrate that consideration of future damages and abatement costs leads to a lower current optimal pollution level than that obtained in traditional models. Finally, we show that ecological complexity creates indirect pathways by which greater pollution increases the likelihood of ge nerating irreversible environmental damage. This broader definition of the benefits of pollution abatement yields an optimal level of pollution that m ay actually be less than the level at which conventionally-measured margina l damages are equal to marginal abatement costs. Thus, environmental policy should be stricter. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All lights reserved.