What is command and control approach to environmental policy?

Command and control approach in controlling pollution:

The command and control measure is one of the dominant form of environmental regulation in the world today. The essence of this particular method is that the regulator commands the specific steps that the individual polluters have to take to solve a particular pollution problem. The authority may set off an act which fixes the minimum pollution control performance of an individual polluters. 

This may required the authority to study each and every category of the polluters and fixed separately the minimum requirement of different categories them. The regulator might in some cases the specific use of particular pollution control equipment. Command and control may infect be combined with significant fines and penalties associated with non-compliance.

However, command and control regulation should not be confused with an economic or market base approach to abate pollution. There are key features that differentiate command and control approach from market base measure-

Features of Command and Control approach in controlling of pollution:

(i) Under command and control approach individual polluters do not have the liberty to choice there pollution control technique whereas under market base approach individual polluters have the liberty to choice their pollution control technique.

(ii) Command and control approach lacks a mechanism to equalize the marginal abatement cost whereas market base approach have the mechanism to equalize marginal abatement cost across individual polluters.

Advantages of Command and control approach:

(i) Whereas it's unclear how a polluter might respond to an economic incentives, Command and control gives greater certainty on how much pollution will be controlled if individual polluters positively response to the regulation.

(ii) Another advantage of Command and control approach is that the monitoring of compliance is very much simple. For example- If the authority Commands to use of a specific type of pollution control equipment, monitoring involves simply verifying if that equipment has been used.

(iii) The extent of polluting units in urban areas is very much large. So, controlling pollution through market base approach is not enough. Hence, Command and control approach can be adopted to reduce pollution in cities.

Disadvantages or limitations of Command and control approach in controlling the pollution:

(i) The administrative cost under this method is quit high. As the government requires to collect information about the available pollution control technologies as well as has to monitor each and every polluters.

(ii) A series objection labeled against Command and control approach is that under Command and control approach individual polluters do not have the liberty to choose the best technology suitable to them.

(iii) Command and control approach lacks dynamic efficiency. In other words, under this approach marginal abatement cost of individual polluters can not be equalized.

(iv) Polluters always wide there real level of commission to escape fines and penalties.