Page 75 - Economia Azul - versão: inglês

impose on society by the pollution they to achieve the objectives of improving envi- services provided in the marine environ- Policy Instruments for the Environment
produce or offsetting the benefits gener- ronmental quality through the selection of ment has been growing over the years, (PINE), 57 countries have implemented
ated by certain actions (MANKIW, 2017; the technology to be adopted and the mo- having been focused on the so-called “cul- 209 economic instruments relevant to
MUELLER, 2007). ment of its implementation (PERMAN et al., tural” services (especially recreational val- the oceans, of which 188 are currently in
Under the economic optimum, instru- 1996; THOMAS; CALLAN, 2010). ue) and provision and, to a lesser extent, force (OECD, 2020). The most common-
ments are characterized as economic when In this chapter, different types of anal- regulation – mainly considering the direct ly used instrument is taxes, representing
they affect the calculation of costs and ysis and economic instruments will be ad- use value. Ways to improve this instru- just over half of the ocean-relevant instru-
benefits of activities, influencing the deci- dressed, as well as financial mechanisms, ment include the execution of high qual- ments in the PINE database, followed by
sion-making process, in the sense of produc- which can be applied to the different eco- ity, comparable studies with an accurate fees and charges. Taxes relevant to ocean
ing improvements in environmental quality nomic activities that occur in the ocean. In description of the scenarios; expansion of sustainability generated at least $4 billion
(SANTOS, 2014). Compared to regulatory this way, we seek to support countries in valuation beyond coastal environments, in 2018, with taxes on ocean-related pol-
mechanisms (command-and-control), eco- creating incentives that generate revenue in view of the industry’s tendency to ex- lution, transport and energy generating
nomic instruments have in their favor the for the conservation and sustainable use of pand into deep areas; increasing valuation the most revenue.
flexibility allowed to polluting agents, that the ocean, favoring the continuity of these of regulation and support ecosystem ser-
is, they seek to assure them the freedom activities, guaranteeing the environmental vices; and improving the determination of 2.1. Taxes, fees and charges
to economically choose the best alternative quality of the marine environment. option value and non-use value.
OCDE (2017) highlights that a broad set Once monetary values are assigned to
2. Economic instruments applied to the Blue Economy
of policy instruments is needed to effectively assets made available by marine and coast-
The marine environment is an asset that services due to environmental impacts address pressures on the ocean and ensure al ecosystems, it is possible to establish, for
provides a variety of goods and services to caused by ocean industries must be mea- that the ocean, seas and marine resources example, charges for their use and/or even-
production and consumption processes, sured and eventually compensated. are conserved and managed sustainably. tual loss due to economic activities that
which include the raw materials needed for Environmental valuation consists of a set It highlights, in this context, some types result in negative impacts on the environ-
production and other ecosystem services of methods used to assign value to an envi- of economic policy instruments available, ment. Taxes/fees/charges are charges levied
that enable these activities to be carried ronmental good or service that does not yet among them: taxes, fees and charges (for on companies as a way of internalizing the
out. Thus, ocean-based industries use raw have a market value (CASTRO; NOGUEIRA, example, entrance fees to maritime parks); negative externalities generated by the pro-
materials from marine ecosystems (such as 2019). Ecosystem assets, goods and ser- right-based management systems, also duction process.
oil, natural gas, fisheries resources) and re- vices can present different groups of eco- known as tradable permit systems (e.g. in- These types of charges can be applied
turn waste and tailings from the production nomic values, which are represented by the dividually transferable quotas for fisheries); directly to companies that emit greenhouse
process (e.g. ship effluents, solid waste) to Total Economic Value, and is composed of subsidies to promote biodiversity and the re- gases (GHG) and thus reduce the effects
the environment, which can cause envi- the value attributed to different types of form of environmentally harmful subsidies; of climate change on the marine environ-
ronmental degradation that can harm eco- use of a given environment (OECD, 2019). payments for environmental services (PES); ment; taxes on plastic products have been
nomic activities that depend on the ocean The strategy of valuing goods and services biodiversity offsets; penalties for non-com- recommended as a way of discouraging
(such as tourism) and society as a whole from the marine environment offers sub- pliance; fines for damages (e.g. an oil spill); their consumption and favoring the reduc-
(PEREIRA, 2020). sidies in decision-making in relation to ac- and taxes on single-use plastics (e.g. plastic tion of marine litter, given that plastic is the
Ecosystem services provided by the tions that impact the marine environment, bags). Table 1 summarizes the main charac- main component of this waste; in addition,
ocean are fundamental to maintaining the bringing clarity in relation to the cost-bene- teristics of each of these instruments. fees can also be charged within the tour-
quality of life of living beings and guaran- fit regarding the eventual loss or protection In this chapter, we will focus on ana- ism industry as a way to raise funds for the
tee the livelihood of different communities of these habitats. lyzing the most relevant and most used conservation of natural attributes that are
along the coast. Therefore, their use and According to Torres and Hanley (2016), instruments. It is worth noting, howev- attractive to tourists (HILMI et al., 2019;
possible reduction in the provision of these the environmental valuation of ecosystem er, that, based on data from the OECD OOSTERHUIS et al., 2014).

72 BLUE ECONOMIY Economic and Financial Instruments 73