In the 1970s and 80s, German lawyers and lawmakers began to discuss the principle of vorsorge (foresight) – the adoption by decision-makers of precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or health hazard is uncertain, and the stakes are high. The principle was formally introduced in a 1984 German Federal Government report to the Bundestag, and its influence grew. In 1992, it was incorporated into both the UN Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Maastricht Treaty.
For years, this principle has been under attack, especially from influential right-wing think tanks close to governments in London and Washington, such as the Legatum Institute and The Heritage Foundation. The charge goes like this: the precautionary principle (PP) is anti-scientific; it implies the stifling of necessary risk-taking and, brought to its logical extreme, complete paralysis. Even greater dangers, harms and costs can be incurred by the failure to take risks. To put it more crudely, it is a perfect example of the pro-regulatory, anti-free enterprise dogma that many feel dominates thinking in Brussels.
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