In the paper one elaborates the role of economic instruments in the politics of environmental protection and sustainable development. Key elements are pointed out as well as the frameworks for two basic approaches to the uses of economic instruments: commanding - controlled approach (CAC) and market -based instruments (MBI) -an approach based on market mechanisms. The review is given of the experiences in the implementation of economic instruments in the countries of EC, OECD and our local experiences in Republic of Serbia.U ovom radu se elaborira uloga ekonomskih instrumenata u politici ekološke zaštite i održivog razvoja. Ključni elementi su istaknuti u okviru dva osnovna prilaza korišćenja ekonomskih instrumenata: komandovanje - kontrolni pristup i tržišno orjentisani instrumenti- tržišno orjentisan pristup. Rad je zasnovan na iskustvu u primeni ekonomskih instrumenata u zemljama Evropske zajednice i OECD i iskustva na lokalnom nivou u Srbiji
