Green tape © TM

I am writing this to lay claim to having coined the term “green tape” to mean the web of regulations that embody the principle of economic restraint. Notably this would include all regulations based on the notions of sustainability as well as the precautionary principle.

I first used the term in print in today’s Guardian article (see my last post) although others have occasionally used it in the past to refer to environmental legislation. It is meant in contrast to the term “red tape” which generally refers to the sheer number of pointless regulations.

When I have time – which is unlikely to be for a while – I would like to do an article spelling out the damaging effects of green tape in practice.