> To be serious, is the precautionary principle not just risk assessment by another name?

No. If it were, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Risk assessment tries to weigh realistic risks and benefits, and move forward. The precautionary principle is based upon conservatism and the fear of the unknown.


The precautionary principle has been highly influential in legal systems all
over the world. In its strongest and most distinctive forms, the principle imposes
a burden of proof on those who create potential risks, and it requires regulation
of activities even if it cannot be shown that those activities are likely to
produce significant harms. Taken in this strong form, the precautionary principle
should be rejected, not because it leads in bad directions, but because it
leads in no direction at all. 

Sunstein, C. R. (2003). Beyond the precautionary principle. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 151(3), 1003-1058.

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