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Abstract:
What motivates this study is the unfortunate development that companies account more for their environmental costs than individuals whose environmental costs are even higher. Therefore, the paper argues that individuals should also account for their environmental costs just as companies are statutorily required to do since individual activities alone are responsible for over 60 per cent of the globe's greenhouse gas emissions and up to 80 per cent of the world's water use. The position of this paper is therefore, contrary to the views held in some quarters that individuals are not supposed to be made liable for their environmental costs which to them consist of external costs. Pieces of evidence from the secondary data collected from textbooks, journals and the internet were used to debunk the claims of these critics and give support to our own position. The study revealed the following: Individuals incur external costs just as companies do and even more; individuals don't need to depend on government or be financially buoyant before they can account for their environmental costs; ability of individuals to escape from paying external costs does not make government solely responsible for environmental costs; individual responsibility for environmental costs is personally and environmentally beneficial and has received public support; and government sanctions and green programs prove that individuals should also account for their environmental costs. The study therefore, recommended that government sanctions, pro-environmental behaviours and green programs be used to make individuals imbibe green lifestyles that will lead to environmental sustainability.
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