Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Another proposal from Hueting is the avoidance and prevention cost approach
(Hueting, 1980, 1993). Prevention costs refer to the costs of those activities which
prevent or lessen further impacts of present development. They are heavily rooted
in the concept of strong sustainability (see Sec. 2.5.4) which supports the idea that
human activities should never decrease natural capital, now or in the future, given
that it is something that is most definitely not substitutable with its manmade
counterpart. Further, they are a subset of the “environmental costs caused” that
are themselves derived from the principle of “those whose economic activity provokes
a domestic or cross-boundary damage to the environment should pay for it.” Any
imputed costs should as a consequence be deducted from the net value added (van
Dieren, 1995).
The Avoidance Cost Approach pursues a framework which prescribes the preser-
vation of ad infinitum environmental functions for future generations, i.e. an avoid-
ance of any change to the global ecological system. It leans towards intra- and
intergenerational equity and international responsibility.
The Potential Avoidance Costs meanwhile, are hypothetical expenditures that
should have been paid out if one wanted to prevent the loss of natural capital due
to some economic activity. They can be estimated by modelling alternatives and
theorising sustainable modes of economic behaviour. The hypothetical net domes-
tic product can then be obtained by deducting those costs from the net domestic
product. Undoubtedly, the cost for adopting a precautionary stance significantly
reduces the net produce of economic activity. This is however the price society has
to pay for long lasting development, even if it is something that it prefers not to be
able to afford.
For the case of subsoil assets depletion, the only way to obtain such costs is
through the estimation of replacement costs with another type of renewable natural
resource. For fossil fuels, the solution is substitution by renewable energies. For
raw mineral materials, the proposed solution is substitution with bio-materials,
graphene and systematic recycling for those that have no substitutes. However,
this solution is partially or definitely unattainable in some critical cases, such as
the irreversible depletion of phosphates for agriculture or the irrecoverable loss of
fertile soil.
For the degradation of air, water and soil by pollution meanwhile, there are many
preventative technologies already available. They range from end-of-pipe solutions
to innovative processes and product life cycle design. The problem is that any
abatement entails additional energy and material consumption which, ironically,
provokes further depletion. In fact, any cleaning process is a physical exchange
between one pollution type and another which is considered to be less harmful.
Therefore, the costs invoked in avoiding their generation should take into account
these usually unaccounted side effects. Equally important is the protection of land
use, aesthetics, ecosystems and their services. Here the same costing procedure
applies.
 
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