This provision holds significant systemic relevance, as it represents the first explicit codification at the supranational European level of environmental protection as a fundamental right. The development of a systematic and coherent European environmental policy is based on key principles codified in Article 19141 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which form the theoretical and normative foundation of contemporary environmental law. The European environmental protection system revolves around four core principles that constitute the theoretical and practical framework of the entire legal order42. The Precautionary Principle is among the most innovative principles in European environmental law. It is based on the logic that scientific uncertainty does not justify inaction, as clarified by the European Commission in its Communication of 2 February 200043.The principle mandates precautionary measures even in the absence of full scientific certainty, adhering to the “better safe than sorry” approach. The Prevention Principle operates in a complementary manner, establishing that it is always preferable and economically more efficient to prevent environmental damage than to intervene later to remedy it. This principle is enshrined in Article 191 of the TFEU and is implemented through instruments such as environmental impact assessments and integrated pollution prevention and control44. The Polluter Pays Principle introduces a logic of distributive justice and environmental responsibility, stipulating that environmental damage should be primarily borne by those who caused it. Besides being a criterion of equity, this principle also functions as an economic deterrent by incentivizing environmentally responsible behavior through the internalization of environmental costs45. The Proximity Principle (or source-based correction principle) holds that environmental problems should be addressed at their origin rather than through 41 Art. 191 TFEU: “The Union’s policy on the environment shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay.” 42 E. Blasizza (ed.), Ambiente 2025, IPSOA Manuali HSE, Milan, 2025, pp. 33 ff. 43 European Commission, Communication from the Commission on the Precautionary Principle, COM(2000) 1 final, Brussels, 2 February 2000, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ TXT/?uri=CELEX:52000DC0001. 44 Official Journal of the European Union, Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control), L 334, 17 December 2010, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ ALL/?uri=celex:32010L0075. 45 E. Blasizza (ed.), Ambiente 2025, IPSOA HSE Manuals, Milan, 2025, pp. 39 ff. 138 GINEVRA GELSOMINI
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