Germany'S Environmental Policy: Financial And Economic Aspects

The proposed paper considers certain aspects of Germany's environmental policy since 1975. Special attention is paid to the main tendencies in the dynamic of state and manufacturing industries environmental expenditure and investments as well as to the structure of environmental protection financing. The main sources of funds for environmental protection are dwelled upon. We argue that the issue of environmental expenditures level is closely linked with the more effective use of the financial recourses. Our study further analyses the problem of the application of economic instruments in environmental policy. We focus attention on the possibility of using the price mechanism and some financial and economic tools to carry out environmental objectives. We dwell at length on the specific features and results of the use of environmental taxes and charges, of deposit and return systems and of subsidies for environmental protection activities. We come to the conclusion that an effective environmental policy does not merely require a constant increase of funding. It is likewise intimately linked with changes in economic incentives to induce ecologically conscious behavioural patterns.