Environmental Governance in Europe

Contents
International Political Economy
Environmental Governance
European Union
European integration
Economic principles
European environmental policy
EU: Decision making
EU: Environmental principles

Contents
Forms of governance
Actors
Examples of legislation
Restrictions
Summary
Global environmental governance

Definition of international political economy
„Interaction of the market and powerful actors“
Such as:
States
Multinational corporations
International civil society
International organisations / regimes

Motivating forces for international economic efforts
Division of labour
Comparative advantage (David Ricardo)
General conditions:
Free market system
Private ownership
No trade restrictions

Globalization
“Process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture”

Economic globalization
Interchange of products, capital, corporations and manpower
New dimensions
Global tendence, high speed
Result
Interdependence, also in the field of the environment

Global Governance
“The attempt to solve world wide problems through political compliance in the understanding that there is no World Government.”
Actors
Nation States
Transnational Corporations
International Regimes
International Civil Society

Environmental Governance
Definitions:
The whole range of rules, practices and institutions related to the management of the environment in its different forms,
such as:
Conservation
Protection
Land use
Exploration of natural resources

Global environmental governance
“The sum of organizations, policy instruments, financing mechanisms, rules procedures and norms that regulate the process of global environmental protection.”

Key principles
Embedding the environment in all levels of decision-making and action
Conceptualizing cities and communities, economic and political life as a subset of the environment
Emphasizing the connection of people to the ecosystems in which they live

Environmental pecularities
Complex (natural) contexts
The problem of future goods
The problem of collective goods
The problem of uncertainty
The problem of growth
The problem of extinction / irretrievability

Global public goods
= goods that are not diminished when they are shared
Everyone benefits from a breathable atmosphere, stable climate and stable biodiversity.
Public goods are non-rivalrous!
? no one can be excluded
But:
Those goods must not be destroyed by one person, group or state.

Environmental governance issues
Soil deterioration
Climate change
Biodiversity
Water
Ozon layer
Transgenre organisms
Nuclear risk

EU: Theories of European integration
Historical need
Federalism
Neo-functionalism
Intergovernmentalism
Marxism Theory

Economic data of the EU

Climate change
~ Environment and climate: The 3 x 20-decisions of 2007
~ The EU wants till 2020
~ Rise the rate of renewable energy consumption by 20%.
~ Save 20% on energy
~ Cut green house-gas-emissions by 20%

~ The European Single Market: the four freedoms
~ freedom
~ free movement of goods
~ free movement of services
~ free movement of capital
~ free movement of (workers) people

European Union
Economic principles:
To create an internal market (single market)
The four freedoms
Free movement of: (1) goods, (2) capital,
(3) services and (4) people
Exemptions
Restrictions on trade can be allowed in favor to protect human health and the life of humans, animals and plants.

Development of an European Environmental Policy
No provisions in the “Roman Treaties”
Need for action: Environmental polution
Different national environmental standards could be barriers to common trade
? Environmental policy as a joint goal
? Economical motivation
But: Every member state could veto environmental legislation (= unanimity vote)
? lowest common denominator

Development of an European environmental policy
1987: “Single European Act” as a legal bases
= Official European Environmental Policy
? Decision making:
Majority vote in the EU-Council
Minor role of the European Parliament

EU: Legislation (Treaty of Amsterdam)
Council: qualitative majority
= majority of member states + 62% of population
European Parliament: co-decision making
= veto position
Exemptions to joint decisions:
taxes, zoning, water-resources, energy politics

EU: Forms of Environmental legislation
Decrees = legislation which is mandatory for member states
Directives = member states have some discretion in implementing regulations

EU: Main environmental principles
Principle of prevention
Polluter pays principle
Action at source
Policy integration
Ecological modernization
Sustainability

EU: How to implement environmental regulations
Setting standards
Allowances (command and control)
Certifications (emission-trade)
Taxation
Criminal law

Economical-ecological dillemata
Market failure:
Environmental pollution is an externality
= parties engaged in a trade do not bear
the full cost or can display some of the
costs on third parties
Environmental protection and economic competitiveness
Financial burden passed on to some plants (industries)
(German air pollution laws of 1983)

The issue of waste management
Waste as an economic good
? can be sold / deposed where the costs are low
Basel-Convention = ban on hazardous waste imports
Principle: polluter pays
Principle: to keep waste transport at a minimum

European Union
How to implement environmental regulation:
Soft governance:
High level of information
Environmental education
Action programs
Loans and financial aid
Participation of civil society

EU: Live + -Program
The EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental and native conservation projects throughout the EU and candidate states
Since 1992:
3.954 projects with 3.1 Billion € aid

EU: How to enforce environmental standards
Commission can file a law suit to the European Court
Directives as direct applicable law in case of non legislation
Law suits from effected citizens

EU: Main actors
European Commission
European Parliament
Council of (environmental) Ministers
European Court
European Environmental Agency
Others

EU: Action Programs = goals
First: 1973-1976
reduce – repair – prevent (policy of high chimneys)
Second: 1977-1981
Prevention
Improvement
Third: 1982-1986
Action of source
Integration into other policies

Fourth: 1987-1992
concentration of third program
Fifth: 1993-2000
Cooperation
Information
Transparency
Sixth: 2001-2010
Action in international argumentations
Economical instruments
Controlling

EU: Examples of environmental policy measures
Vehicle Emissions (1970)
Bathing Water (1976)
Titanium Dioxide Emissions (1978)
Environmental Impact Assessment (1985)
Control of Emissions from large stationary sources

EU: Examples of environmental policy measures
Genetically Modified Organisms (1990)
Urban Waste Water (1991)
Packaging Waste (1994)
Protection of the Ozon Layer (1994)
Air Quality (1996)

EU: Restrictions towards a effective European env. policy
Cross-section character of environmental policy
Influence of pressure groups
Different degrees of the environmental status within the member states
Predominance of economic topics
Multi-Lever-Governance
Different degrees of economic standards within the member states

Summary
High standard of environmental protection ? “acquis communitaire”
Single Market: no room for “eco-dumping”
Financial aid to new member states
Front runner thesis
Pressure on international decision-making
But:
Bargaining and in many cases: “lowest common denominator” in environmental protection