[...] Along with ecologists, economists and other social scientists began to deal with environmental problems. The former, using their own unique method of analysis, showed that the motives for environmental destruction are usually economic, and their study as well as the effort to find countermeasures for environmental protection is the responsibility of economists. Also, taking measures to protect the environment involves the use of productive means, the restriction of the use of certain resources, or abstaining from certain economic activities. All these are economic actions and economists are the ones who are most competent to assess the feasibility and feasibility of taking such measures. It should be emphasized that examining environmental problems and formulating environmental policy proposals that do not include an economic dimension would lead to unjustifiable waste of productive resources and would also be groundless.
The interest of economists in environmental issues began in the late 1960s but increased rapidly. When my book "Economics of Environmental Protection" was published in 1975, the number of economists who were attracted to environmental pollution was minimal. Lessons on the economic aspects of the environment were not yet taught at any university. All economists who published papers on the environment did not have equivalent studies. Since then, tremendous progress has been made. "Environmental Economics" courses are taught at many academic institutions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Economic measures (e.g. taxes, subsidies, etc.) are now a key element of pollution control policy. Hundreds of specially trained economists-researchers in various countries are engaged in examining the economic impacts of pollution and designing environmental policies.
This book examines the main economic aspects of the environment: the reasons why the quality of the environment has deteriorated, why the functioning of the economic system encouraged its destruction, the logic that should be used to determine the degree of pollution restriction, the various economic policies and measures that can be used to limit environmental destruction, etc. Because this book is intended not only for those who have studied economics but also for those who have little or no economic knowledge, the elements of economic theory necessary for understanding the environmental economic analysis contained in the book are described in certain chapters or appendices. Also, in order for the reader who has not studied the various physical and chemical aspects of the environment to have a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental problem, the book includes chapters and appendices dedicated to the description of the environment, the various types of pollution, etc. [...]
(from the author's preface)
