The External Environmental Policy of the European Union by
This collection of essays comprehensively and systematically analyzes the various instruments and innovative approaches through which the EU is forging its external environmental policy, the legal implications of its multifaceted practice and interactions with international environmental law. It explains the legal and institutional framework for EU external action on environmental protection and sustainable development, identifying the changes introduced, and challenges posed, by the Lisbon Treaty. It explores key tools and trends in defining and implementing EU external policy across a broad range of environmental issues, as well as linkages with trade and human rights. It also assesses the reciprocal influences between the development and implementation of EU environmental law and of international environmental law.
A Guide to EU Environmental Law by
Written by two internationally respected scholars, this unique primer distills European Union environmental law and policy into a practical guide for a nonlegal audience, as well as for lawyers trained in other jurisdictions. The first part explains the basics of the European legal system, including key actors, types of laws, and regulatory instruments. The second part describes the EU's overarching legal strategies for environmental management and delves into how the EU addresses the specific environmental issues of pollution, ecosystem management, and climate change. Chapters include summaries of key concepts and discussion questions, as well as informative "spotlights" offering brief overviews of topics. With a highly accessible structure and useful illustrative features, A Guide to EU Environmental Law provides a long-overdue synthetic resource on EU environmental law for students and for anyone working in environmental policy or environmental science. This text can also be read with the authors' A Guide to US Environmental Law for a comparative look at how two important jurisdictions in the world deal with key environmental problems.
Towards a Climate-Neutral Europe by
This book explains the EU's climate policies in an accessible way, to demonstrate the step-by-step approach that has been used to develop these policies, and the ways in which they have been tested and further improved in the light of experience. The latest changes to the legislation are fully explained throughout. The chapters throughout this volume show that no single policy instrument can bring down greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge facing the EU, as for many countries that have made pledges under the Paris Agreement, is to put together a toolbox of policy instruments that is coherent, delivers emissions reductions, and is cost-effective. The book stands out by the fact it covers the EU's emissions trading system, the energy sector and other economic sectors, including their development in the context of international climate policy. This accessible book will be of great relevance to students, scholars and policy makers alike. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9789276082569, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
EU Environmental Law and the Internal Market by
For some, a protectionist policy underlies most environmental measures. Lawyers working in the area of fundamental freedoms are very accustomed to discussing all issues within a free market framework and therefore often come to market-friendly decisions. Similarly, while environmental law has taken on a renewed intensity at European level, the tendency has been to analyse the subject rather narrowly, and studies fail to address the impact of environmental law on market integration. Written by one of the foremost experts in the area, the book challenges current thought and re-assesses the rules of economic integration within an environmental framework. In so doing, it bridges the gap between environmental and trade law and provides a systematic, robust, and practically workable analytical framework of the conflicts opposing rapidly evolving environmental and climate change measures and internal market as well as competition rules. The book is divided into three parts, beginning with a systematic and in-depth analysis of the key Treaty provisions regarding environmental protection, as well as an overview of secondary environmental law. Part two addresses the compatibility of EU and national environmental protection measures with the provisions of the TFEU on the free movement of goods and services, and the freedom of establishment. Part three examines the compatibility of environmental protection measures with treaty provisions on the freedom of competition and State aids. The book also includes discussion of all major cases handed down by the Court of Justice, highlighting the real impact of the conflicts.
European Perspectives on Environmental Law and Governance by
This book provides a range of perspectives on some of the most pressing contemporary challenges in EU environmental law and governance from some of today's leading European environmental academics and practitioners. The book maintains a focus on three key cross-cutting issues, each of which is carefully analysed through the lens of governance. The first theme to be addressed is that of climate change and the problems it poses for EU governance. The second issue explored concerns the challenge of integrating environmental considerations into other policy areas, as is required by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Finally, the third theme centres on the important challenge of improving environmental enforcement within the EU, and considers issues such as the Aarhus Convention and the evolution of the Commission's work on implementation and enforcement throughout the past twenty years. Each of these three themes is situated within the broader ongoing debate about the changing nature of European environmental governance post-Lisbon and the ways in which developments in this area fits within broader trends in European governance theory and policy generally. European Perspectives on Environmental Law and Governance contains contributions from experts in the field including; Mary Robinson, Alan Boyle, Ludwig Kramer and Liam Cashman, and will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners of EU environmental law.
Europe in Green by
The book is a cornerstone in the studies aimed at introducing a new form of democracy not just at a global level, through international environmental law, but also at local one, by regional and national regulation, to manage global and local ecological problems. In the light of the results pointed out in Parola's book (Environmental democracy at Global Level. Rights and duties for a new citizenship), this second work examines environmental democracy at a local level by referring to EU law. The European Union, as the only global region with the official objective of simultaneously promoting economic development, social cohesion and environmental protection is here used as an example for analyzing how the region has found (and is still developing) a range of solutions to various environmental issues. The book sheds new light on the transformation of Europe into a Green Europe.
Regulation, Enforcement and Governance in Environmental Law by
Laws concerning environmental protection have a long history in the UK, but the last 30 years have seen unprecedented development in both the substantive body of environmental legislation and in thinking about the underlying principles and institutional arrangements. The materials in this book demonstrate how far environmental law has come in less than a generation, focusing in particular on the major themes of regulation, institutional arrangements, and enforcement which underlie the substantive detail of the law. While acknowledging the growing importance of public international law relating to the environment, the book is largely concerned with UK and EC law, though many of the core themes have much wider relevance. Chapter 1 of the book is concerned with major issues concerning regulatory reform, while Chapter 2 considers challenges to current institutional arrangements, including the need for a specialized environmental court and tribunal, and the environmental implications of the major constitutional changes that have taken place in the UK in the last decade. Chapter 3 reflects on the shifting dynamics of environmental law, new environmental standards, new technologies, and the need to develop new notions of responsibility. Chapter 4 is a selection of reports of leading cases over the last decade, illustrating how the higher courts have grappled with the interpretation of environmental legislation and the development of legal principle. The final two chapters focus on European dimensions, such as the key principles of EC law and its enforcement through unique, but by no means perfect, mechanisms developed under the Treaty. The foreword is by Judge Carnwath who says: This book should be essential reading for anyone concerned with the development of environmental law and policy. I hope also that it will be read by the next generation of environmental lawyers. They will be facing profound environmental challenges, which will undoubtedly require fresh legal solutions. The material in this collection will stand not only as a record of remarkable achievement, but as an inspiration for innovative thinking in the future.
Evolving Practice in EU Enlargement with Case Studies in Agri-Food and Environment Law by
At a time when the European Union is continuing with its enlargement agenda, this book deals with the pre-accession and post-accession challenge of enlargement from a legal standpoint, with particular emphasis on the implications for the agri-food and env
Environmental Policy in the EU by
The European Union (EU) has a hugely important effect on the way in which environmental policies are framed, designed and implemented in many parts of the world, but especially Europe. The new edition of this leading textbook provides a state-of-the-art analysis of the EU's environmental policies. Comprising five parts, Environmental Policy in the EU covers the rapidly changing context in which EU environmental policies are made, the key actors who interact to co-produce them and the most salient dynamics of policy making, ranging from agenda setting and decision making, through to implementation and evaluation. Written by leading international experts, individual chapters examine how the EU is responding to a multitude of different challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, energy insecurity, and water and air pollution. They tease out the different ways in which the EU's policies on these topics co-evolve with national and international environmental policies. In this systematically updated fourth edition, a wider array of learning features are employed to ensure that readers fully understand how EU environmental policies have developed over the last 50 years and how they are currently adapting to the rapidly evolving challenges of the twenty-first century, including the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying environmental policy and politics, climate change, environmental law and EU politics more broadly. The Open Access versions of chapters 19 and 20, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429402333, have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Europeanization of Environmental Policies and Their Limitations by
This book offers a window into the mechanisms that drive events when countries with poor track records in environmental protection and low administrative capacity, join an organisation with ambitious environmental regulatory regimes, which include some of the highest environmental protections standards in the world. This book examines the institutional building capacity in Romania after two decades of the development of the EU's environmental policy on elaboration, transposition, implementation, monitoring and institutional building. The book examines how Romania has fared as one of the least environmentally friendly EU member states, and poses the following questions. What are the limits of Europeanisation in the area of public policies? What is the reason why, despite the overwhelming public interest in environmental issues, and widespread agreement that urgent action to protect the environment and prevent catastrophic climate change are paramount, the pace of achieving the goals is remains slow. Why do policies fail? This book brings together several case studies focusing on the evolution of environmental policies in Romania over the last twenty years, with a special focus on the post-accession period (2007 onwards). The book provides an analysis of policies, where progress is less than satisfactory, and examines why this is the case.
The Transformation of the European Union by
The EU has undergone a deep transformation in the last 25 years. The goals adopted by the EU at the international level in climate negotiations have led to the internal adoption of goals by the EU member states. The book examines the changes experienced by the European Union that have gone on in parallel to its leadership in climate negotiations since 1992 and analyses whether combating climate change has contributed to the transformation of European policies.The book takes an in-depth look at the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions reduction goals adopted by European states, the leadership of the EU in climate negotiations, the creation of the Energy Union, the commitment to a model of sustainable development, the promotion of a circular economy and the enhancement of cities, as relevant actors in the reduction of emissions and boosting of sound environmental practices.
The Impact of the Economic Crisis on European Environmental Policy by
The European Union (EU) has sought to establish itself as a global environmental leader but was hit by the combined effects of the economic and financial crisis from 2007-8 leading some to question whether the EU could continue to adopt ambitious environmental policy. This volume brings together leading environmental policy scholars to analyse the impacts of the crisis upon environmental policy in the EU and its member states. Authors analyse whether environmental policy has been dismantled, expanded or stayed the same. If policy has been dismantled, the kind of strategy adopted is analysed (active, symbolic, arena-shifting, or dismantling by default), and at what levels change has occurred. The Index of Policy Activity (IPA) is applied systematically across the cases, which combine quantitative with qualitative analysis. Non-European cases are also included to provide a counterpoint for comparison. The book finds that whilst the EU has not actively dismantled environmental policy, its economic policies have had negative effects upon some Member States, prompting policy dismantling. Climate and energy policies have seen some policy expansion but there are examples, most notably the UK, where there has also been active policy dismantling. The main trend is one of stasis - environmental policy in Europe is judged to have plateaued calling into question Europe's much-vaunted environmental leadership. The book contributes to scholarship on environmental policy and public administration, combining empirical and methodological insights to give an up to date perspective on the impact of crisis upon European environmental policy.
The Implementation of Environmental Policy in Ireland by
This book explores the response of Ireland's political-administrative system to the implementation of environmental directives in the cases of waste management, water reform and biodiversity. Ireland represents the implementation challenges of a small EU member state with a weak background in environmental governance, and has struggled to adapt to the complexities of enforcing environmental rules. Using a theoretical framework inspired by traditional implementation analysis and insights from the Europeanisation literature, the book traces the implementation process in three directives. The main conclusion of this study is that Ireland's implementation performance in waste management, water and nature conservation is influenced by the low issue salience of environmental policy and the need to overcome structural problems in the public administration system to give effect to EU legislation.
The European Union in International Climate Change Negotiations by
The EU has been portrayed as a leader in international climate change negotiations. Its role in the development of the climate change regime, as well as the adoption of novel policy instruments such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005, are frequently put forward as indicative of a determination to push the international climate agenda forward. However, there are numerous instances where the EU has failed to achieve its climate change objectives (e.g. the 2009 Copenhagen Conference of the Parties). It is therefore important to examine the reasons behind these failures. This book explores in detail the involvement of the EU in international climate talks from the late 1980s to the present, focusing in particular on the negotiations leading up to Copenhagen. This conference witnessed the demise of the top-down approach in climate change policy and dealt a serious blow to the EU's leadership ambitions. This book explores the extent to which negotiation theory could help with better comprehending the obstacles that prevented the EU from getting more out of the climate negotiation process. It is argued that looking at the role played by problematic strategic planning could prove highly instructive in light of the Paris Agreement. This broad historical perspective of the EU's negotiations in international climate policy is an important resource to scholars of environmental and European politics, policy, law and governance.
Fighting Environmental Crime in Europe and Beyond by
This book brings together the findings of a multi-disciplinary and international research project on environmental crime in Europe, funded by the European Union (EU). "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) was a 40-month research project that included eleven European research institutions and think tanks and was led by Ecologic Institute Berlin. EFFACE assessed the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combating it from a multidisciplinary perspective, with a focus on the EU. As part of this project, numerous instances of environmental crime within and outside of the EU were studied and are now presented in this volume. This edited collection is highly innovative in showing not only the many facets of environmental crime, but also how it should be conceptualised and the consequences. An original and rigorous study, this book will be of particular interest to policy makers and scholars of green criminology and environmental studies.
EU Environmental Policies have been invaluable to guide the EU into a more sustainable way of living. The current policies in place have a clear vision for Europe by 2050, with some of the main objectives being
The EU's environmental legislation can be divided into the following categories:
All of these legislations have been created with technical and scientific standards and aid in the protection of the environment. It is typical for the European Commission to ask member states to provide information of how they have implemented these legislations and how effective they have been as a means to enforce these legislations.
If member states have failed to implement these legislations into their governing bodies or are suspected of any environmental crime, the European Commission may take member states to the CJEU.
European Environmental Agency - The EEA is responsible for providing reliable and independent information on the environment and supporting the development of effective policies to protect the environment and promote sustainable development in Europe.
Statistics for the European Green Deal - Eurostat provides a wide range of statistics and data on various topics, including the environment, climate change, energy, and migration.
Environmental Crime - Acts that breach environmental legislation and cause significant harm or risk to the environment and human health. They include the illegal emissions or discharges into air, water or soil, the illegal trade in wildlife, illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances and the illegal shipment or dumping of waste.
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) - interprets EU law to make sure it is applied in the same way in all EU countries, and settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions.
Paris Agreement: An international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signed in 2015, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA): A process of evaluating the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects or activities, and identifying ways to mitigate or avoid negative impacts, in accordance with environmental laws and regulations.
