PowerPoint Presentation - Dr. Craig ZumBrunnen Co-Director Program on the Environment & Professor Department of Geography University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 craigzb@u.washington.edu

Pollution & Resource Use Rights

•Advantages:

–based on fixed known limits of rights

–generate tax revenues

–inflation & economic growth would automatically raise prices

•Disadvantages:

–requires extensive “objective” scientific input to determine the “fixed upper limits” of rights

–maximum pollution right, may be severely compromised by political processes

–requires extensive monitoring and enforcement to ensure

•non-purchasers do not pollute, degrade, and waste resources

•purchasers do not exceed their purchased “rights”