Environmental Economics

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not only about pollution and nature. The law, the economy and cross-cutting strategies must be incorporated when a new environmental initiative is born in Denmark or the EU.

Only by looking at the environment from many angles do we achieve sustainable results, which increase protection of humans, the environment and nature. The Danish EPA has "put a price on the environment" since 2000. 

The costs of taking action or doing nothing

What is the cost for society in terms of illness and falling house prices from traffic noise? What are the costs of abating noise nuisance, e.g. by installing noise screens? What is less noise in the garden worth to people? What are the costs if we refrain from taking action?

It is particularly difficult to put a price on the pros and cons of environmental efforts because, as a rule, environmental benefits are not traded goods. You do not pay for them directly, and therefore they do not have an actual or specific price. Environmental economics are also a tool to illustrate how we can meet environmental targets most cost-effectively. The environmental economists in the Danish EPA record the financial consequences of environmental initiatives for society so that, in this way, politicians will have an improved basis for decision-making.

Go to an overview of selected reports on environmental economics.