Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

In its 21st report, Setting Environmental Standards, published today, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution calls for a new approach to deciding environmental policies. The key feature of this new approach is that, as well as drawing on rigorous and dispassionate analysis, there must be a greater sensitivity to people's values.

Speaking at Westminster this morning, the Chairman of the Royal Commission, Sir Tom Blundell, said:

"For environmental policies to be successful, people must have confidence in the way they are being protected against risks. That is best achieved if they are involved at every stage. Controversies over the last few years in this and related fields show clearly that governments, industry, the public and scientists all need a much better understanding of the relationship between policies, science and values."

The report emphasises that protecting the environment has become much more complex. Increasingly, the task is to prevent damage which may be global in scale and occur some way into the future. Moreover, the commitment to sustainable development means that pursuing material well-being and enhancing social equity have to be reconciled with protection of the environment.

The study was led by Sir John Houghton, who stepped down as Chairman at the end of June. Explaining the Royal Commission's approach, Sir John said:

"There must be a more robust basis for setting environmental standards. This must recognise that scientific assessments, and analyses of technology, economics and risk, must inform policy decisions, but cannot pre-empt them. Setting a standard or target is not only a scientific or technical matter, but a practical judgement which has to be made in the light of all the relevant factors. People's values must be taken into account from the earliest stages of defining the problem and framing the questions that need to be addressed."

The report emphasises that bodies which set standards must ensure their procedures are transparent and open at every stage. They must also leave an "audit trail" recording what factors have been taken into account in setting a standard.

The Royal Commission believes that people's environmental and social values are the outcome of informed reflection and debate. Present procedures for public consultation and participation do not allow such values to be articulated. More effective and systematic procedures are needed so that people's values can evolve under the challenge of scientific assessments, other relevant information, and competing priorities.

Environmental policies and standards which apply in the UK are now determined predominantly on a European scale, despite pressure for decisions to be returned to national level. International conventions relating to the environment have also grown in importance. In general, the Commission's conclusions apply just as much when standards are set at European or international level. Although that will often continue to happen, the Royal Commission concludes that, to facilitate taking people's values into account, environmental standards should be set at the most local level at which it is sensible and effective to do so.

The Royal Commission still sees an important role for direct regulation of the traditional kind, in which polluting activities are prohibited by law or can be conducted only under conditions specified in a permit. In future however this will be only one element in a broader approach to dealing with environmental problems, which will also include green taxes and charges, and voluntary action both by companies and by individuals.

This approach, based on partnership rather than confrontation, makes transparency and openness even more crucial. Ways must be found to maintain accountability and improve public trust. That is likely to involve setting new forms of environmental standard, for example for green claims made about products, for environmental reporting by companies, and as clear published targets set by governments for environmental quality.

The Royal Commission hopes its report will make a significant contribution to developing this new style of policy, which it sees as appropriate in facing the environmental challenges of the new millennium.
Key conclusions from the 21st Report (approximately 3 pages)

Full conclusions (Chapter 9) of the 21st Report (approximately 12 pages)

Additional Information

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution is an independent standing body, established in 1970. Its terms of reference are to advise on matters, both national and international, concerning the pollution of the environment; the adequacy of research in this field; and the future possibilities of danger to the environment. The Chairman and Members are appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and serve part time.

Setting Environmental Standards, published on 7 October 1998, is the Royal Commission's 21st Report. It has been laid before Parliament and is available from the Stationery Office (Cm 4053, ISBN 0 10 140532 4), price £21.40.

The report adopts a wide definition of "environmental standard" as covering, not only numerical and legally enforceable limits, but standards which are not mandatory but contained in guidelines; codes of practice or sets of criteria for deciding individual cases; and standards, not set by governments, which carry authority for other reasons, especially the scientific eminence or market power of those who set them.

The report contains 85 conclusions. The Royal Commission emphasises that, at this stage of the debate, its aim has been to point the direction in which it believes policies for protection of the environment should evolve, not to make specific recommendations for action by particular bodies.

Contact

Further information about the Royal Commission and about this report is on the Royal Commission's web site at http://www.rcep.org.uk

Decisions about environmental policies must be based on the scientific evidence and an analysis of technological options, but they must also take into account risks and costs, and be informed by values (chapter 8, introduction).

Better ways need to be developed for articulating people's values and taking them into account from the earliest stage in what have been hitherto relatively technocratic procedures (8.37).

The presentation to decision-makers of the results of analyses should clearly state the assumptions and limitations of each analysis. It will usually be necessary to offer several options and their implications, so far as these can be gauged (8.11).

Any body involved in setting standards should, in all its pronouncements, draw an explicit distinction between scientific statements and recommendations it wishes to make after considering a scientific assessment in conjunction with other factors; and should identify clearly what those other factors are (8.57).

Bodies setting environmental standards must operate in an open and transparent way (8.63).

When environmental policies or standards are adopted, it should always be made clear in an explicit statement whether they are designed to protect the natural environment, human health, or both, and the degree and nature of protection they are intended to afford (2.50).

In a scientific assessment of an environmental issue there are bound to be limitations and uncertainties associated with the data at each stage. Standard setting and other decision-making procedures should recognise that (2.66). The requirement for sound science as the basis for environmental policy is not a requirement for absolute knowledge or certainty and should not be interpreted as such (2.73).

To prevent development of new understanding being restricted by established regulatory procedures, vested interests or small closed communities of experts, publicly funded programmes of environmental research should include provision for independent investigation and inquiry (2.86).

To ensure that the full ranges of options and repercussions are considered, assessments of technological options carried out as inputs to decisions on environmental policies or standards should be on a life cycle basis (3.46).

The aim of assessments of technological options should be seen as widening the range of options considered, including those that involve technology forcing or commercialisation forcing (3.50).

Broadly based assessments of options on a life cycle basis must not be allowed to become an excuse for avoiding or delaying significant improvements available at particular stages in the cycle (3.53).

The limitations and uncertainties in any estimates of risk must always be made clear in ways which are meaningful to people without particular specialist knowledge (4.52).

Whatever action is taken in the name of precaution (from use of worst-case scenarios and safety factors in assessments through to application of the precautionary principle in decision making) should be transparent and subject to review in the light of development of understanding. Relevant data should be collected and reviewed on a continuous basis; and if a standard has been set, it should be revised up or down as necessary (4.48).

Environmental standards should be set for the smallest area for which it is sensible and effective to do so (6.31).

Where a standard is set at European or international level, it should be set in a form that allows as much discretion about the methods of implementing it as is feasible without undermining its effectiveness (6.33).

Use of a combination of direct regulation, economic instruments and self-regulation (6.93) is the best way to further general adoption of clean technology, whilst not putting at risk compliance with numerical standards set to protect humans and the natural environment against specific hazards (6.100).

Traditional forms of consultation, while they have provided useful insights, are not an adequate method of articulating values (7.20). A more rigorous and wide-ranging exploration of people's values requires discussion and debate to allow a range of viewpoints and perspectives to be considered, and individual values developed (7.23).

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, in consultation with other government Departments, should:

a. consider how new methods such as citizens' juries or consensus conferences should be incorporated into the procedures for considering environmental issues and setting environmental standards, including the framing of questions to be addressed in analysis and communicating the results of scientific assessments in a comprehensible form;

b. collate the experience gained, and draw up a code of practice for use of the new methods, designed both to maximise their effectiveness and preserve their integrity.

Some bodies may require additional resources for this purpose (7.47).

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