These papers offer a fresh perspective on the evolving tool-box of environmental policy, such as eco-taxes, tradable permits, voluntary agreements and eco-labels.
As Thomas Sterner points out, the economic 'toolkit' for dealing with environmental problems has become formidable. It includes taxes, charges, permits, deposit-refund systems, labeling, and other information disclosure mechanisms. Though not all these devices are widely used, empirical application has started within some sectors, and we are beginning to see the first systematic efforts at an advanced policy design that takes due account of market-based incentives. Sterner‘s book encourages more widespread and careful use of economic policy instruments. Intended primarily for application in developing and transitional countries, the book compares the accumulated experiences of the use of economic policy instruments in the U.S. and Europe, as well as in select rich and poor countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Ambitious in scope, the book discusses the design of instruments that can be employed in a wide range of contexts, including transportation, industrial pollution, water pricing, waste, fisheries, forests, and agriculture. Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management is deeply rooted in economics but also informed by perspectives drawn from political, legal, ecological, and psychological research. Sterner notes that, in addition to meeting requirements for efficiency, the selection and design of policy instruments must satisfy criteria involving equity and political acceptability. He is careful to distinguish between the well-designed plans of policymakers and the resulting behavior of society. A copublication of Resources for the Future, the World Bank, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Emerging to the forefront of sustainable production and consumption are a promising and rapidly evolving concept known as Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS). They encompass the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economic aspects and consequently they can be considered as a tool, which makes sustainable development visible. Currently, they are becoming a significant element in international trade and in the promotion of sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of globalised markets and supply chains. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the current VSS concepts: from their nature and functioning, to the future outlook for their development. It places VSS in the broader context of global development issues and challenges, including development policy and international sustainability commitments, progress towards achieving ‘green economy’ and meeting climate protection targets. The volume contains also a representative selection of case studies which demonstrate their wide range of application in different sectors of the economy.
Sustainability and Corporate Governance is the first extensive and targeted guide for directors and their legal advisors on creating a governance framework for corporations that integrates all the recognized principles of sustainability now being discussed in boardrooms all over the world. The book provides a step-by-step approach on integrating sustainability principles into the activities of the board of directors including detailed guidance on legal, regulatory and business aspects of organizing and operating board committees and designing the sustainability management unit. Essential topics covered include: • Elements of an effective framework for implementation of sustainability governance, including required policies, procedures and committee charters • Organization of the governing board to effectively address sustainability issues and implement sustainability strategies • Best practices and processes to engage company stakeholders Corporate board members and attorneys will appreciate the book’s practical forms and checklists, complete coverage of all facets of sustainability governance, summaries of relevant international and national guidelines and instruments, and a curated list of samples and case studies from companies all around the world.
Aerospace Law and Policy Series Space resource activities—better known as “space mining”—is the next step in humankind’s utilization of outer space. Previous space activities have belatedly caused us to realize that fragile environments do not end with Earth’s atmosphere. Today, the most striking problem is the agglomeration and increasing generation of nonfunctional space objects (space debris) in orbit. Tomorrow, with the development of new space activities, unanticipated environmental problems will arise beyond Earth orbit. This book seeks to anticipate the inevitable legal framework that will need to be put in place and, in particular, considers the necessity to create legal standards to support the environmental sustainability of space resource activities. To that end, the book assesses the efficiency of existing space law in addressing environmental threats and reflects on the potential contribution international environmental law can offer. The array of applicable mechanisms considered includes a detailed examination of the following: what kind of environmental problems may arise from space resource activities; which norms of international law are relevant in addressing these threats within the framework of sustainability; the United Nations Space Treaties; domestic space legislations that directly address space resource activities or that are particularly significant from an environmental perspective; and soft law, especially instruments and guidelines from international organizations acting in the space sector, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Contrary to a common idea, space resources—such as the ones found in situ on celestial bodies—are limited and need to be managed rationally. It is indubitable that activities beyond Earth orbit will have an impact on the surrounding environment, raising a host of potential issues, which go beyond the question of debris, such as contamination and the risk of overexploitation. Ultimately, this book drafts the roadmap for the environmentally sustainable exploitation of space resources from a legal standpoint and proposes a sustainability framework articulated around a set of standards. Concerned lawyers and policymakers worldwide will greatly appreciate the book’s set of objective standards and concrete measures. This practical approach, which includes the comprehensive review of instruments governing space activities, will lead them to navigate with assurance the different normative levels of legal action for astro-environmentalism.
This book describes and examines three EU legal frameworks (EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law) that may affect the extent to which consumers purchase more sustainably. In doing so, this book goes beyond a rationalist understanding of the interpretation and application of EU law. Rational approaches have severely impacted the interpretation and application of EU law. Practice shows, however, that the implications of using a noncritical application of rationalist approaches in the interpretation and application of EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law to sustainability labels may have an inhibiting effect on sustainable consumption. The book offers remedies to overcome this inhibitive effect by critically applying insights from cognitive science and behavioral economics in the legal interpretation and application of EU law.
This book covers the cross-disciplinary areas between management issues and engineering issues relevant to implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to the ISO 14000 series standards. It summarises the requirements set by ISO14001 and considers the management and engineering policies needed to satisfy these requirements and achieve ISO 14001 certification. Unique approach by integrating environmental management and engineering considerations Avoids overuse of complicated technical jargon Detailed coverage of measurement and calibration standards to meet ISO14001 Provides example of EMS documentation and records manual Detailed coverage and control of air, water, noise, vibration pollution and waste management
Environmental Regulations and Standard Setting is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Environmental regulation and the setting of environmental standards is concerned with command-and-control standards and regulations to control most of the pollutants generated by anthropogenic activities impacting on the three main environmental compartments: air, water, and land (including waste). Methods of regulatory control are described along with all major associated issues, including criteria for standard setting, enforcement of standards, public participation, and the deficiencies of conventional standards and regulations in securing the sustainability of earth's natural environmental capital. The Theme is organized into four different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: The first topic, the need for environmental regulation and standards, problems encountered in setting standards, and the major deficiencies of environmental standards vis-à-vis environmental sustainability are discussed in this topic. The succeeding two topics are Environmental Quality Standards; Source-Oriented Control of Pollution; The fourth topic, the two prevailing types of standards are discussed — ecologically-based standards whose main purpose is to limit the degradation caused to ecosystems by anthropogenic activities, and health-based standards which focus on minimizing the adverse environmental impacts on human health. This volume is aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.
A key area of public policy in the last twenty years is the question of how, and how much, to protect vthe environment. At the heart of this has been the heated debate over the nature of the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability. Is environemental sustainability economic growth or `green growth', a contradiction in terms? Avoiding the confusion that often surrounds these issues, Ekins provides rigorous expositions of the concept of sustainability, integrated environmental and economic accounting, the Environmental Kuznets Curve, the economics of climate change and environmental taxation. Individual chapters are organised as self-contained, state-of-the-art expositions of the core issues of environmental economics, with extensive cross-referencing from one chapter to another, in order to guide the student or policy-maker through these complex problems. Paul Ekins breaks new ground in defining the conditions of compatibility between economic growth and environmental sustainability, and provides measures and criteria by which the environmental sustainability of economic growth, as it occurs in the real world, may be judged. It is argued that `green growth' is not only theoretically possible but economically achievable and the authors show what environmental and economic policies are required to achieve this. Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability will be welcolmed by students of and researchers in environmental economics and environmental studies, as well as all interested policy-makers.
To preserve the environment with the lowest possible cost to the social sector means that private costs should be aligned with social costs. Many governments in the Latin American and Caribbean Region are doing this now using market-based instruments (MBIs). This publication investigates the use of MBIs in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) context. The investigation covers a sample of eleven countries in the region and a cross-section of environmental issues in an urban setting.