Disaggregating the Precautionary Principle.

Doubts persist about the contribution of anthropgenic activity to the enhanced greenhouse effect, despite the fact there is no know precedent to the observed change in climate over the last half of the 20th century. This paper contends that the U.S. has adopted a precautionary approach to climate change, rather than apply a robust form of the precautionary principle. The U.S. government has adopted this policy because it has dobuts about the link between human activity and climate change, because of the economic cost of adopting a strong form of the precautionary principle, and because of the unequal obligations of greenhouse gas emission reductions between developing and developed countries. The paper contends that relying on mitigation, adaption, and further researchcarries the presumption that the climate system can absorb current greenhouse gas emission levels, and is itself a risky proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]