| FNI PROJECTS
Environmental Policy Integration and Multi-Level
The integration of environmental issues
into other policy areas (environmental policy integration - EPI) has been
widely recognised as a key for sustainable development (SD). It has also been
the biggest challenge facing the environmental community, requiring not only a
new approach to policy-making but also changes in policies and their
implementation. However, the cross-cutting nature of EPI has not easily fit
with traditional hierarchical governance based on (nation-) state authority,
sectoral differentiation, and 'command and control' type instruments. It is
therefore not surprising that measures to promote EPI frequently have also
relied on new modes of governance, such as voluntary, procedural, information,
learning and market-based instruments.
Efforts to achieve and improve
EPI have been made at local/regional, national, European and global levels of
governance, and within the private sector. Measures at different levels may
affect each other, thereby improving or weakening EPI and SD. Indeed, the
interlinkages between these different modes of governance and layers have
emerged as a central challenge in the area of EPI. There has been a rapidly
growing body of literature analysing and discussing different EPI approaches
and measures. This EU Concerted Action aimed to structure these findings and to
identify avenues for future research by focusing on two main themes:
First, is it possible to identify modes of governance which
are typically used to promote EPI at particular levels, eg. local/regional,
national, EU, global? If so, which governance modes are typically used at which
levels? And which are most effective or show most promise?
Second, how do EPI measures at the different levels affect
each other and how could governance be improved to increase synergies and
minimise negative interaction effects across the levels?
discussing findings which are relevant for these themes should ultimately
facilitate progress in improving the implementation of EPI in the EU
multi-level governance system.
External project homepage:
project leader: Jørgen Wettestad
Between EU Carbon Trading and the International Climate Regime: Synergies and
Learning'. International Environmental Agreements, Vol 9, No 4,
2009, pp. 393-408.
Wettestad, Jørgen, Interaction between EU
Carbon Trading and International Institutions: Synergies or
Disruptions?. EPIGOV Paper No 34. Berlin, Ecologic, 2008, 33 p.
European Union (6th Framework