POLLUTION CONTROL

Pollution Control

Pollution Control

Introduction

Environmental pollution is defined as any activity, by an individual or corporations, which directly affect the health and/or environment of a third party in a localized area. During the twentieth century, the increased awareness for public and environmental health has forced development and application of technology used to reduce the effects of pollution. In this regard, the government and concerned authorities have implemented many measures like imposing taxes, regulatory policies, tradeable emissions permit and many more, to limit the amount of emissions into the environment. And thus, ensure that environmental quality standards are achieved (Maystre & Spiegel, 2011, pp.n.d)

Discussion

Tax

Amongst the most important and effective economic instrument, to deal effectively with pollution are taxes. It is believed by many that environmental taxation has the ability to reform the tax system. The amount generated through environmental taxation can be used to finance notable cuts in other taxes (Mirrlees, 2011, pp 231). Tax can be defined as the per unit charge for emission. The imposition of a pollution tax will have an economic effect on pollution. The producers will find it in their interest to reduce emission to a level where marginal control costs are less than the tax. This is shown diagrammatically in figure 1 below.

Control

Cost per Unit T2

A C T1

F

B D E

0 Q2 Q1 Q(max)

Pollution levels

Figure 1. Per Unit Charge for Emissions.

Q(max) is the level at which no control for pollution is regulated. When a tax equal to T1 is imposed, pollution level falls to Q1. At this point, the producer will face a fee charge shown by the areas B+D and control costs equal to area E, which is better than paying amounts shown by area B+D+E+F if no reduction in pollution were practiced. If a higher tax is imposed, for example T2, control costs would sum up to C+D+E and the fee charged would be A+B (Harris & Roach, 2013, pp 360-362).

Regulatory Limits

Regulatory limits refer to primarily 'Command and Control (CAC) regulations, in which a government sets a limit to the amount of emission allowed. The authority decides exactly which manufacturing methods and technologies are to be used for pollution control by every producer in the nation. These methods often prove to be efficient when dealing with a large number of difficult to identify pollution sources. Yet, their usefulness is reduced when targeting immobile and identifiable ...