氣候變遷法中污染者付費原則及其支配地位之意義

The Polluter Pays Principle and its Ascendancy in Climate Change Law

依據有關氣候變遷的國際協定，國家負有責任減緩其溫室氣體的排放。吾人可將此稱為一種「管制的義務」。本文主張：此種一般性、基於條約推導而來的義務，可藉由另一種法律原則，即：污染者必須付費原則，就「如何」管制的問題，予以補充。對國家與個人來說，此種義務透管制以阻止溫室氣體的排放，正如同任何的管制手段一樣，必然伴隨一定的成本。但是，此種一般性的管制義務，針對責任對象與其要件，通常並未包含任何指引。因此，這正是污染者付費原則得以發揮功能之處。而該原則在法律上的實例化，也表明其係一有關正義的原則。它要求污染者：包括國家與個人，均須付費。因為假使國家與個人都可無限制地取用共有的大氣資源，這是不公平的。然而，作為一種有關正義的原則，污染者付費原則本身必須公正地予以執行。換言之，如果可能導致其他或更重大的不公平問題，則並非所有的污染者都應該不加區別地、或不給予某種支援，而被要求付費或負擔相同的額度。是故，污染者付費原則作為一種指引，促成國家如何本於一般性的義務以進行管制，應基於如上所述的主張和闡述予以執行。

Under the international agreements on climate change, states have a responsibility to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions. We may refer to this as an “obligation to regulate”. This article argues that the general, treaty-derived obligation to regulate is supplemented by a separate legal principle on how to regulate: the principle that the polluter must pay. The obligation to arrest greenhouse gas emissions through regulation necessarily comes at a cost to states and individuals, as any regulation does. The general obligation to regulate does not contain any guidance on who should bear the costs of regulation and under which circumstances. This is where the polluter pays principle comes in. In its legal instantiation, it is a principle of justice. It requires polluters, both states and individuals, to pay, because it is not fair that they assume unlimited access to the atmospheric commons. Yet, as a principle of justice, the polluter pays principle must itself be implemented fairly. Not every polluter should be made to pay, or pay the same amount, indiscriminately, or without support, if that would cause another, even greater, unfairness. Thus the polluter pays principle serves as a guide to how the general obligation of states to regulate is to be implemented.