The assessment and evaluation of the consequences and risks of actions and technological applications is based on the current state of knowledge of the key players and institutions in a society. However, the information available is often incomplete or ambiguous. The reasons for this include the complexity of the relationships between causes and effects and the fact that the long-term consequences of new and barely researched technology applications are difficult to calculate and cannot be forseen in full. These factors contribute to the fact that the assessment and evaluation of risks of harm to humans and non-human nature are subject to significant uncertainties. The precautionary principle should therefore serve as a guiding principle for action in order to be able to adopt adequate decisions in view of these uncertainties and the responsibility towards future generations.

The precautionary principle is a philosophical or ethical principle insofar as normative considerations play a significant role, i.e. insofar as the question is posed as to how risks and uncertainties should be dealt with. The precautionary principle can also be understood as an environmental and economic principle that is sometimes also applied in security policy. Due to its anchoring at some national, European and international legal levels, it can also be identified as a legal principle: It was e.g. formulated by the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with the polluter pays principle, the cooperation principle and the burden-sharing principle as early as 1986 in the "Guidelines for Environmental Protection" (Leitlinie Umweltvorsorge). As a guiding principle of environmental protection, it is enshrined in Article 34 (1) of the 1990 German Unification Treaty, in Article 20a of the German Basic Law and in Article 191 of European Union law, and is mentioned in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development as well as in a Communication from the European Commission for the European Community in 2000.

The precautionary principle is made up of the principle of resource precaution and the principle of risk precaution. Resource precaution is the demand for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of environmental resources, while risk precaution is the demand for the management and prevention of risk situations characterised by a lack of information and evidence as well as scientific uncertainty regarding the possible consequences of a product, process or phenomenon. These consequences are associated with (as yet) unforeseeable global and possibly irreversible changes and damage to the environment. The precautionary principle is intended to prevent environmental pollution in advance and is therefore contrary to damage limitation in retrospect.

Proponents and critics are engaged in a controversial debate that encompasses social, ecological, economic and political aspects. Advocates of the precautionary principle point to the possible consequences and risks that cannot be predicted with a definite degree of certainty: Instead of waiting for a problem to happen or for proof of a risk, innovations should be postponed if there are justified concerns. The so-called trial-and-error strategy appears to be outdated, especially if the conceptual development of the precautionary principle is understood as a reaction to environmental damage and disasters that have already occurred on a large scale. Proponents of a particularly narrow or strict precautionary principle also call for precautionary approaches to be implemented as soon as there is not only an alarming hazard potential or a far-reaching risk of exposure, but also a simple lack of knowledge.

Critical voices, on the other hand, fear that a strict precautionary principle will block innovation and competitiveness. It would inhibit development as it would disregard the risk of inaction while focusing just on action.

Instead, a balance is being called for between a cautious but active approach to new technologies on the one hand and precautionary approaches on the other. According to them, technological progress not only offers economic growth, but also the opportunity to counter central social and global challenges such as the climate crisis, resource scarcity and the problem of world hunger. Critics are therefore calling for an innovative principle that complements the precautionary principle, the so called principle of responsible research innovation. This principle states that when developing laws or regulations, it must be checked whether they have a negative impact on the ability to innovate. When assessing the impact of technology applications, the focus should not only be on the risks of an application, but also on examining and weighing up the potential opportunities that this application offers that could be lost if it is not used.