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Public demand for environmental policies can only influence policies when political parties incorporate environmentalism into their platforms. The economic downturn that began in 2009 may have caused European parties to abandon their commitment to environmentalism as they focused on solutions to the economic crisis. Particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, where commitment to the environment is not as central to party competition, public environmental concerns may have been placed on the periphery of the policy agenda. Examining this issue, this study finds that political parties, especially mainstream parties, in Western Europe represented economic and environmental preferences of voters about equally as well in 2013 as they did prior to the economic crisis. However, in Central and Eastern Europe, parties tended to be less responsive to environmental preferences, presumably because economic differences dominate political divisions in newer democracies. It is concluded that environmental interests are well protected by mainstream actors in the West, though less so in Europe’s newer democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The causal processes that shape the emergence of environmental attitudes in post-Communist Europe are examined. We describe the widening gap in environmental policy orientations between West and East, and then cite two factors to explain the lower support for environmentalism in this region: first, citizens still evaluate environmental issues through a distinctive ideological lens carried over from the Communist era; and, second, they do not connect environmental issues to other (more salient) economic and political questions in a consistent way. Using the three waves of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) environmental module, these questions are explored with individual-level and multilevel models. It is concluded that the post-Communist effect is unlikely to disappear until environmental issues comprise a component of citizens’ ideological orientations and the programmes of political parties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The European Parliament (EP) has long been regarded as a positive force for environmental change in the EU, but there has been little detailed empirical scrutiny to determine whether its reputation as a green champion is deserved. Nor has there been any evaluation of the environmental impact of the increase in EP powers under co-decision. These oversights are rectified by an evaluation of the EP's amendments to environmental legislation using typologies that rank them in terms of their level of ecological commitment and importance. EP amendments proposed under three procedures of decision making are compared in order to determine whether recent increases in the EP's powers under the co-decision procedure have affected its ability and willingness to adopt ‘green’ amendments. It is clear that the EP has consistently tried to strengthen environmental legislation but there is some ambiguity as to whether co-decision has been good for the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Water Framework Directive is shaping a new conception of integrative water protection. In this article, the consequences of the Water Framework Directive in respect to national environmental policy will be discussed in referring to the notion of responsibility which is a central concept of political philosophy and theory. It will be shown that the new conception of integrative water protection entails a fundamental change in European water protection policy and also environmental policy at all. It implies that environmental policy has not only to prevent environmental damage but in particular has to warrant a good status of the environment, such that it must maintain a good status of water or even achieve it if this status does not exist. Achieving and maintaining a good status of the environment is, however, an encompassing task. Thereby, state power will eventually be overexerted. The threat of such overexertion has to be kept in mind in discussing the perspective of the so called New Environmental Governance. It will be pointed out that the New Environmental Governance is not primarily a form of some sort of democratic participation but rather designed to improve state power in environmental politics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy efficiency recently became a cornerstone of the European energy policies. A particular mechanism is emerging, namely white certificates. Such certificates attest to the energy efficiency of a product or service according to predefined baselines and targets. White certificates are currently being used in Italy, the United Kingdom and France, while the European Directive on Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services is considering them as a possible remedy to improve security of supply, energy efficiency, environmental protection, economic competitiveness and social cohesion. This article aims accordingly to analyse the potential for a European-wide white certificates scheme, having due regard to the European framework, national experiences and international trade law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers news briefs regarding environmental protection in Europe. A call for proposals regarding the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change was issued by the European Environment Agency. The Council Decision has approved the agreement on International Dolphin Conservation Programme on December 8, 2005. The Directive 2000/14/EC on the estimation of the laws regarding outdoor equipment's noise emission in the environment was modified by the European Parliament and Council on December 14, 2005.

Hormesis relates to dose /response (equivalently exposure /response or concentration /response) functions that are characterized by either a U-shaped or an inverted U-shaped pattern. Such phenomena are not unique to health effects. They pose important questions for the design and selection of policy instruments and the measurement of the benefits from intervention. Three examples help to illustrate the potential similarities between hormesis and more familiar environmental policy issues. There is growing recognition in evaluations of land use policy in the U.S. and Europe that agricultural landscape can provide amenities to residential homeowners if they do not live "too close". Odour, dust, pesticide drift and a variety of negative externalities can be experienced.

The article offers information on the developments at the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) in Europe. It highlights the creation of an Environmental Policy for the seminary which covers the curriculum, the campus management, as well as the encouragement and support of good environmental practice. It also indicates the success of the holding of the Environment Month event involving all the community in November 2002 which featured seminars on environmental issues for Applied Theology students and alternative energy sources.