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The Natural Environment White Paper represents the most important conservation policy shift in the United Kingdom (UK) in twenty years. It formalises the ecosystem approach within national policy objectives and emphasises the economic value of ecosystem services. By analysing the use of various evidence sources, the involvement of science entrepreneurs, and the development of policy narratives, our goal was to understand factors that influenced adoption of an ecosystem service framework in the UK. We interviewed 48 policy actors and found that centrally-sponsored synthesis reports with entrepreneurial authors provided the most influential expert-based knowledge in the development of the White Paper . More recently published reports had greater influence, yet the window of opportunity for scientific evidence having policy impact was greater in the problem-setting stages of policy development. The interaction between teams preparing syntheses and expert entrepreneurs helped influence the construction of strategic policy narratives. Those narratives increased the impact of scientific evidence by communicating and framing key policy-salient messages, and brokering between broad ecosystem-based and environmental economics narratives. The combination of ecological and economics evidence was particularly salient in the UK case due to the context of continued biodiversity loss and the acceptability of valuation narratives within central government. Our findings suggest that evidence impact varies at different stages of the policy process, and that this is driven by the interplay of contextual factors like policy timing, personal influence, and the competition between different sets of actors and narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and environmental justice across generations is a fundamental attribute of sustainable development. In this article, which is also a call for papers for a future theme in Public Money & Management (PMM), we develop our case for further research on how governments and public service organizations seek to address sustainable development in their decision-making processes. We believe that accounting for social and environmental aspects is an underdeveloped area of research and practice that is worthy of further critical enquiry. We therefore call on researchers and practitioners to submit their research to a themed issue of PMM on managing and accounting for sustainable development in public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the literature on state capacity in financialized political economies by studying the market-based investment setting for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a £4.2 billion sewer, built underneath central London to prevent raw sewage from spilling into the River Thames. Most analyses conclude that financial statecraft undermines state capacities, as it empowers finance and exposes states to uncontrollable risks. This article moves beyond these accounts by arguing that public policy officials engage with finance instrumentally, taking on risks to solve the governing challenges they face. It demonstrates that state action can build islands of state capacity with financial statecraft in fragmented policy environments. Based on expert interviews and documentary analysis, the article traces how the UK's Ministry of the Environment experimented with a policy instrument and used investment capacities from different levels of government, to implement the Thames Tideway Tunnel through institutional equity investment and share risks in the privatized and financialized environmental sector. The paper concludes that under the current conjuncture, financial statecraft will play an important role in addressing the climate crisis. Therefore, further comparative research is required to explore its normative paradox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses environmental narratives in the legislative stages presented in UK white papers, the Prime Minister's speeches, and the Queen's speeches, all of which were released between 1997 and 2011, during the regimes either of New Labour (1997–2010) or of the currently governing Coalition (2010–). This research acknowledges that the link between risk perception and environmental policy is strong because environmental policy narratives either reflect or influence risk perceptions, or both. The findings of this research demonstrate that the risk of climate change has emerged as a key agenda due to combined risk perceptions on economy and environment. Subsequently, that risk has developed a connection to the risk of energy scarcity and energy facilities. Nuclear power has posed a possible resolution to the energy risk, but at the same time, it has posed another kind of risk too. Under the Coalition government, the risk of natural diversity loss emerged while the risks of climate change and energy continued. The dynamics of the negotiation among different risk perceptions would depend on the power relations among the groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to identify and gain insights into small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs) rationales (why) for engaging in sustainable social and environmental practices (SEPs) that influence social and environmental policy and sustainability changes. Specifically, we depart from the predominately quantitative‐orientated SEPs literature by conducting in‐depth interviews and analysis of owners and managers of SMEs in the United Kingdom within a legitimacy theoretical framework. Our findings from a comprehensive number of interviewees show that SMEs employ a complex mix of both symbolic and substantive SEPs with the aim of enhancing the legitimacy and sustainability of their operations. The results emphasise the strengths of social engagement, reputation and image, environmental embeddedness, industry differentiation and education facilitators. In particular, the paper shows that legitimating strategies can have a dual purpose of being symbolic in nature but also inferring a substantive legitimacy claim. Evidence of SMEs maintaining their legitimacy position stretches further via either a moral and/or a pragmatic standpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we provide an overview of the UK environmental regulatory framework for subnational policy and planning in devolved English urban areas based on a systematic coding of key legislation and policies against a matrix of sustainability att ributes relevant for human health. Our findings suggest that while elements of sustainability at different scales are addressed to varying degrees, we need to move beyond the 'three-legged stool' of sustainability to assess linked environmental and societal health impacts. Assessing policy using a multi-faceted lens of sustainability such as the one we propose can help to uncover health-development dependencies and the incentives and governance required to enhance these at different scales (planetary, regional, neighbourhood and building). We propose a coordinative role for spatial planning to integrate responses to socio-environmental health priorities for sustainable development and make recommendations for dynamic decisionmaking on environmental and human health impacts in urban development sett ings. Doing so can help promote just (equitable) transitions, decoupled from a pervasive ecological modernization discourse that frames the political economy of planning at both the national and local levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural and environmental policies are being fundamentally reviewed and redesigned in the UK following its exit from the European Union. The UK government and the Devolved Administrations recognise that current land use is not sustainable and that there is now an unprecedented opportunity to define a better land strategy that responds fully to the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable development. This paper presents evidence from three pathways (current trends, sustainable medium ambition, and sustainable high ambition) to mid-century that were co-created with UK policymakers. The pathways were applied to a national integrated food and land-use model (the FABLE calculator) to explore potential synergies and trade-offs between achieving multiple sustainability targets under limited land availability and constraints to balance food supply and demand at national and global levels. Results show that under the Current Trends pathway all unprotected open natural land would be converted to urban, agriculture and afforested land, with the consequence that from 2030 onwards tree planting targets could not be met. In contrast, the two sustainable pathways illustrate how dietary change, agricultural productivity improvements and waste reduction can free up land for nature recovery and carbon sequestration. This enables a transition to a sustainable food and land-use system that provides a net carbon sink with up to 44% of land able to support biodiversity conservation. We highlight key trade-offs and synergies, which are important to consider for designing and implementing emerging national policies. These include the strong dependence of climate, food and biodiversity targets on dietary shifts, sustainable improvements in agricultural productivity, improved land-use design for protecting and restoring nature, and rapid reductions in food loss and waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to look at how Corporate Social Responsibility affects financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: The information used comes from a database of 97 companies that spans the years 2012 through 2020 (873 observations). Multiple regressions is the statistical instrument, and management quality is employed as a control variable. A principal component analysis revealed that EFP is one-dimensional, whereas CSR has three dimensions: ERL (Economic-Legal Responsibility), ERR (Environmental Responsibility), and EPR (Environmental Policy Responsibility) (Ethical-Philanthropic Responsibility). The study demonstrates and evaluates CSR's favorable impact on EFP. Findings: According to the research results, the established evaluation model is used to comprehensively explore the effects of CSR on company performance. The experimental results show that in the 4 models selected, the CSR variable has a positive impact (0.084; 0.076; 0.055 and 0.29 respectively). However, it is statistically significant at the a < 0.01 level in the first two models only. In contrast, in models 5 and 6, the effect of CSR is not significant. In models 1 and 5 the capital structure variable has a negative effect (0.035 and 0.15) and is statistically significant at an a < 0.01 level. In models 2 and 6, the variables operationalizing the capital structure, namely DLT/TP and FP/TP, are both insignificant. The first variable has a negative effect in both models 2 and 6. And it is significant at the a < 0.01 level. Practical implications: The paper has guiding significance for the overall development of benefits, and also provides the scientific method for evaluating the effect of corporate social responsibility on financial performance. Originality/value: This study contributes modestly to the field of empirical research dealing with the CSR in Unied Kingdom firms. Indeed, the results of econometric tests confirm the theories theories reinforcing the impact of CSR on the financial performance of the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Drawing on the notions of subjective knowledge (what someone thinks he/she knows about a topic) and receptivity (someone's ability, inclination, and willingness to take in information, ideas, impressions or suggestions), we extend the knowledge‐attitudes‐practice (KAP) model within an environmental sustainability policy (ESP) context: the UK's single‐use bag charge policy, specifically. Based on a cross‐sectional survey with 568 British participants, we illustrate the key role of objective knowledge for ESP compliance/behavioural intentions, whilst subjective knowledge is key for ESP information receptivity. The need for different marketing tactics to promote 'policy products' for sustainable success is illustrated by identifying three distinct segments: the Knowledgeable and Compliant (first to comply, need to maintain information receptivity); the Unknowledgeable But Compliant (need to reduce subjective knowledge); and the Unknowledgeable, Non‐compliant, but Receptive (need objective information the most). Contributing to current and future ESP making, this paper provides multiple avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse analysis has been widely applied to the study of environmental communication, highlighting how language is used to reflect and affect our attitudes towards the natural world. The potential of discourse analysis to 'reveal' the values that people attribute to nature has recently been recognized in the context of environmental debates. This paper takes a new cross-disciplinary approach to the analysis of evaluation, combining a discourse approach (specifically Appraisal analysis) and insights from environmental philosophy and environmental policy to address the following main questions: (1) Which values of nature may be embedded in discourse about nature? (2) To what extent are these values represented in people's narratives about trees and woodland in the U.K.? (3) What are the implications of the findings for the critical analysis of evaluative discourse? (4) What are the implications of the findings for environmental organizations? The analysis is applied to a sample of 514 woodland narratives collected by the U.K. charitable environmental organization Woodland Trust in 2016. The study highlights new critical perspectives that may be gained from the analysis of evaluative discourse and the importance of considering and fostering people's affective relationship with the natural world in building a strong basis for environmental action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The science on the effects of global climate change and air pollution on morbidity and mortality is clear and debate now centres around the scale and precise contributions of particular pollutants. Sufficient data existed in recent decades to support the adoption of precautionary public health policies relating to fossil fuels including shale exploration. Yet air quality and related public health impacts linked to ethical and environmental justice elements are often marginalized or missing in planning and associated decision making. Industry and government policies and practices, laws and planning regulations lagged well behind the science in the United Kingdom. This paper explores the reasons for this and what shaped some of those policies. Why did shale gas policies in England fail to fully address public health priorities and neglect ethical and environmental justice concerns. To answer this question, an interdisciplinary analysis is needed informed by a theoretical framework of how air pollution and climate change are largely discounted in the complex realpolitik of policy and regulation for shale gas development in England. Sources, including official government, regulatory and planning documents, as well as industry and scientific publications are examined and benchmarked against the science and ethical and environmental justice criteria. Further, our typology illustrates how the process works drawing on an analysis of official policy documents and statements on planning and regulatory oversight of shale exploration in England, and material from industry and their consultants relating to proposed shale oil and gas development. Currently the oil, gas and chemical industries in England continue to dominate and influence energy and feedstock-related policy making to the detriment of ethical and environmental justice decision making with significant consequences for public health.

This paper draws on ideas about policy innovation and adaptation to assess the extent to which 'payments for ecosystem services' (PES) can be seen as a challenge to traditionally more bureaucratic, state-centered ways of paying for the provisioning of environmental goods from agricultural landscapes through agri environmental policy (AEP). Focussing on recent experience in the United States and the UK, the paper documents the extent to which PES is now an established term of reference in AEP research and debate in both countries and postulates that this may usher in a new discourse of environmental provisioning in agriculture. The PES landscape is, however, currently highly fragmented and largely experimental, with 'PES-like' approaches being piloted in the field through partnerships between state agencies and localized private and charitable interests. State-supported AEP programs remain substantially intact, and rather than any displacement of state action, there appears to be a more gradual insertion of PES approaches and metrics into standard AEP operating procedures. This institutional stickiness is partly due to the continuing difficulty of agreeing the metrics necessary for measuring outcomes but may also be due to the politically well defended nature of traditional AEP entitlements and associated policy networks. We conclude by suggesting a need for further research to better understand these specifically political constraints and sources of resistance to PES and the ambiguous consequences for institutions, policy networks, rural communities and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing investment in river restoration, we increasingly need to justify costs by demonstrating success and wider benefits of measures. To aid practitioners, the UK River Restoration Centre has worked with experts to develop a practical monitoring guidance that links objectives to specific monitoring to demonstrate achievable outcomes. Feedback, however, via an online questionnaire highlighted the need to rationalise the guidance contents for a new growing audience, taking advantage of new developments and incorporating the evaluation of social and economic aspects of river restoration. With these potential improvements, it is hoped that practitioners will follow this guidance, improve the quality of monitoring undertaken and share evidence of success and lessons learnt. This paper outlines how this guidance has been adopted as best practice. We discuss why we need to embed this guidance into wider monitoring protocols that can feed into national and international environmental policy and targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of 1,632 U.K. firm‐year observations from 2002 to 2013, this paper investigates the impact of multidimensional corporate environmental performance (CEP) on firm risk. Considering two dimensions of CEP, namely environmental management performance (EMP) and environmental operational performance (EOP), we find that EMP serves as an effective mechanism in reducing firm risk, and such an effect is mainly driven by the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, there is no clear association between EOP and firm risk. However, our findings highlight a moderating effect of EOP on the relationship between negative EMP and firm risk. This provides new insights into the value of multidimensional CEP and suggests that the complex relationship between outcome‐ and process‐based environmental performance is important for understanding the real effects of CEP on firm risk. Our results have important implications for managerial decision‐making in strategy and risk management, as well as for policymaking in environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome of carbon disclosure, the importance of which has grown remarkably in recent years to become a strategic decision‐making issue for organisations in today's competitive environment, is a subject of lively debate but remains under‐researched in the environmental accounting literature. This study is motivated by this research gap and the growing interest in assessing the financial consequences of corporate involvement in climate change beyond regulatory compliance, as evidenced by firms' voluntary participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project. Using the resource‐based view of the firm as a theoretical framework and linking it to carbon disclosure through Carbon Disclosure Project, we conceptualise and empirically investigate the impact of adopting proactive carbon management policies and communicating them to stakeholders, focusing on the financial performance of the top FTSE350 companies between 2007 and 2015. By developing a comprehensive financial performance index and controlling for several firm characteristics, we find strong evidence that voluntary carbon disclosure is positively associated with firm financial performance. The findings in this paper provide new insights and policy implications for managers, financial stakeholders, and regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What helps or limits the use of ecosystem services ideas in practice? In this paper we develop and test a new institutionalistbased analytical scheme to explore how ecosystem services as a "new" policy idea might interact with established policy regimes, processes, and norms. The scheme is based on three different decision-making levels: micro, meso, and macro. To test the plausibility of the scheme, it is applied to the case of the UK where a specific ecosystem services framework (ESF) was prioritized as a new way of doing environmental policy after 2011. Drawing on findings from 32 elite interviews, the paper shows how dynamics at all three levels intersect with differing institutional explanations. It helps explain important factors for embedding, or restricting embedding, of the ESF in policy making. The scheme provides a useful way to link analysis of the "lived experience" of policy actors implementing the ESF with the institutional landscape they occupy, and allows for a nuanced and integrated analysis of the potential barriers faced by ecosystem services ideas generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrespective of the success of climate mitigation efforts, societies worldwide face the challenge of adapting to a changing climate. In this paper, we examine UK residents' expectations of future threats and opportunities associated with climate change impacts, along with willingness to prioritise different climate change impacts for investment. Using a national survey (n = 2007), we report on three main findings. First, UK residents tend to expect threats related to flooding and wet weather to be more likely and concerning than heat extremes or opportunities. Second, UK residents' expectations of climate change impacts do not align with expert assessments, especially showing lower estimates of heat-related threats as compared to experts. Third, willingness to allocate resources to potential climate change impacts tends to be more strongly associated with anticipated concern should they occur than climate change belief or the expected likelihood of them occurring. We discuss the implications of our findings for policies and communications about climate change adaptation in the UK and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the promotion of renewable energy in Thailand, referencing the paper "Greening the Power: Renewable Energy Development in Thailand" published in the December 2014 issue of "TDRI Quarterly Review." Topics discussed in the paper include the plans and policies of Thailand for the development of renewable energy technology and investment in renewable energy projects. The factors that drive expansion in renewable energy consumption in England are also mentioned.

Abstract: The Multiple Streams Framework is applied to investigate why material efficiency solutions are a limited part of the climate policy agenda. The case study under investigation is the UK agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emission from cars. Evidence from 14 semi‐structured interviews, document analysis and academic studies is used to develop and substantiate the arguments made. In the UK, inefficient material use is only perceived as a problem in so far as it increases in‐use vehicle emissions, which disadvantages some material efficiency solutions. The appeal of material efficiency solutions is further limited by a lack of real‐world and modelling evidence, creating uncertainty around the anticipated costs and impacts of any policy intervention. Recent political developments are unlikely to make the UK government more receptive to the problem of greenhouse gases arising from inefficient material use in the future. This is further compounded by policy lock‐in. Although a small community of policy entrepreneurs are promoting material efficiency solutions, they have disparate priorities, which impacts their effectiveness. The insights from this paper can inform future research and policy entrepreneurship to increase the likelihood of material efficiency solutions becoming a larger part of the climate policy agenda. The problem of climate change is too significant for any potential solutions to remain underexplored by policy‐makers in the UK and the rest of the world. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Policy and Governance published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the innovative approach to setting environmental flows proposed by Baxter in 1961, describes its immediate impact across both engineering and fisheries disciplines and explores the reasons why his approach was not adopted in river flow regulation and management in the UK. Yet, the basic approach was to be used world-wide by the end of the century. Several barriers constrained innovation in flow regulation in England during the 1960s: the overwhelming pollution problems; serious concerns about water shortage and food security, not least in the context of the severe 1959 drought; the influence of the 1963 Water Resources Act and the legacy of previous legislation; the limited availability of both river flow data and biological data; and the lack of awareness of human impacts on the environment. The paper also provides lessons for promoting environmental science into policy and practice to advance the implementation of environmental flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the UK has positioned itself to become a global leader in addressing climate change. Along with this positioning, there has been an increasing emphasis on the role of communities to facilitate, increase and sustain carbon reduction practices. Previous research into community-based carbon reduction projects has highlighted the difficulty of engaging the public in community initiatives and sustaining pro-environmental behaviours. The importance placed on addressing climate change necessitates an understanding of how individuals respond to, and engage with, (or even ignore) community-based carbon reduction strategies. The paper presents findings from focus groups in three urban communities and investigates individual engagements with community-based carbon reduction strategies. Focusing on the three dimensions of engagement: cognitive; affective and; behavioural, the paper discusses what people know, feel and do about addressing climate change at the community level. An “information-vacuum” is reported that leads to an “awareness-involvement gap” that inhibits sustained engagement with community projects. Drawing on these findings, the paper advances a new theoretical framework and a “what works” approach for community-based initiatives attempting to meaningfully engage the public with addressing climate change and sustainable living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental Evidence for the Future (EEF) Initiative emerged in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by the UK's decision to leave the European Union and its associated Environmental Frameworks. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), working closely with the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) and UK stakeholders, developed the initiative to identify and address crucial evidence gaps, offering a long-term vision for environmental policy and sustainability. The EEF Initiative progressed through three stages: strategic priority identification, NERC panel award selection, and the production of Systematic Maps of existing evidence. The first stage involved collaborative workshops across the UK to identify key knowledge gaps in environmental science. The subsequent prioritisation resulted in 65 challenges across 10 thematic areas. The second stage saw NERC initiating, with CEE support, an open call for research proposals emphasising the use of evidence synthesis methodology. The selection process, balancing topic importance and applicant expertise, led to funding for five projects. The final stage involved the production of Systematic Maps of existing evidence based on the CEE Guidelines and Standards, providing a structured overview of existing literature on specific topics. The EEF Initiative demonstrated effective collaboration between UKRI (NERC), an independent non-profit (CEE), academia, and government agencies, addressing critical environmental challenges through rigorous evidence synthesis methodologies. The programme enhanced understanding and utilisation of these methodologies within the research community. Key lessons include the importance of inclusive priority-setting, differentiation between broad policy questions and specific Systematic Map questions, recognition of the value of Systematic Maps, and the role of experience in evidence synthesis teams. As policymakers and researchers navigate environmental policies in a resource-constrained environment, the EEF Initiative highlights the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of systematic mapping and review processes for evidence-based decision-making. The success of funding through NERC sets a precedent for future thematic evidence focused programmes, emphasising the need for continued support in developing synthesis skills among researchers and encouraging direct government commissions for targeted and responsive evidence. The EEF Initiative serves as a model for effective collaboration, providing valuable insights into addressing evidence gaps and shaping evidence-based policymaking in an ever-evolving environmental landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence that hypertensive heart disease is attributed to environmental noise and air pollution in European regions. Epidemiological studies have also demonstrated the potential role of road traffic air–noise pollution in adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. Despite the local implementation of the EU Directive on environmental noise and air quality, it is necessary to explore the progress and understand the impact of policy, legislation and the collection of exposure and associated health data for air and noise pollution in order to improve environmental public health. Therefore, the DPSEEA (Driving force, Pressure, State, Exposure, Effect and Action) conceptual framework model was used to systematically map and review these links and to identify relevant indicators linking air–noise pollution with cardiovascular diseases. With a focus on the EU and specifically UK situation, we critically evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based policy implementation of action plans, summarizing existing data using modified framework model tools. We concluded that, the DPSEEA conceptual framework provides an effective review method to more effectively, conduct data surveillance monitoring and assessment, and tracking outcomes with different types of evidence in the field of environmental public health. There is great scope demonstrating the use of the DPSEEA conceptual framework to highlight the casual relationship between exposure and effects taking into account other factors such as driving force, pressure, state, exposure and action and to incorporate as surveillance information in the environmental health tracking system (EHTS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 Climate Change Act has committed the UK to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent in 2050from 1990 levels. Key to achieving this is a focus on reducing carbon emissions in residential property, where more than a quarter of the nation's carbon dioxide is emitted. The assessment of dwellings is an essential part of this process and this paper investigates the role of the assessor and the various energy models as applied in the UK. Within this context, the authors consider the building energy modelling system that is in place for reporting carbon reductions, with a focus on the role of assessors. In doing this, the authors will simulate errors in data collection and input, and analyse their ramifications for building performance and the incentive systems in the UK. The paper closes by considering how the problem may be further investigated to better understand the linkages between policy, knowledge and performance analysis in UK domestic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an international divide between net emissions importers and net emissions exporters, with industrialised nations mainly falling into the former and emerging economies the latter. Integrating emissions transfers into climate policy, so as not to disadvantage export-intensive countries, has been suggested to increase participation in international emissions reduction commitments. Consumption-based scenarios are presented for the UK identifying the geographic and sectorial source of emissions to meet future consumer demands given the current international climate policy landscape. The analysis is applied to the UK yet the discussion is applicable to international climate policy; assigning national responsibility for global emissions reductions; and extending the mitigation potential for net importing countries. Two trajectories for UK consumption emissions are calculated in which (1) international reduction targets are consistent with those pledged today equating to four degrees of temperature rise and (2) international reduction targets achieve a two degree future. By 2050 it is estimated that UK consumption emissions are 40–260% greater than UK territorial emissions depending on the strength of global reduction measures, and assuming the UK meets its 80% reduction in 1990 emissions by 2050 target. Cumulative emissions are presented alongside emissions trajectories, recognising that temperature rise is directly related to every tonne of carbon emitted. Whilst this paper argues that the current UK emissions targets underestimate the UK's contribution to global mitigation for two degrees, it shows how expanding the focus of policy towards consumption introduces new opportunities for reduction strategies at scale. The paper advocates the implementation of consumption-based emissions accounting which reveals underexploited policy interventions and increases the potential to break down barriers that exist between industrialised and emerging economies in international climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand how the UK government's headline climate change targets are translated into action at the local level in the transport sector drawing on the findings of research in two English regions. In doing so, these headline targets are identified as a symbolic meta-policy that results in little action on the ground and which challenges established conceptions of policy implementation. Both the 'meta' and 'symbolic' aspects of the policy offer part of the explanation for the lack of substantive action on the ground. As a meta-policy, the headline targets across government require the elaboration of other policies at other levels such as targets for government departments and local authorities, but these are largely absent, leaving the meta-policy without teeth. Over time, these headline targets have developed into a symbolic policy, serving political goals but having little practical effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel articulations between the state, markets and civil society arising from the shift to networked environmental governance highlight the importance of creating equal participation opportunities. Relevant questions from an environmental justice perspective are not only who participates, but also with whom, in what, why and how. In this paper, we explore public participation in biodiversity governance that has emerged after the initial designation of a Natura 2000 network in Finland, Greece, Poland and the UK by focusing on distributive and procedural justice. Our analysis, based on focus groups and document analysis, shows that new participatory arrangements have taken the modes of project-based, market, interest group and e-governance. These arrangements have been marked by problems in power and knowledge sharing, and in the distribution of conservation costs and benefits, reflecting serious deficits regarding environmental justice. Calls for public participation and wider stakeholder engagement in conservation across Europe should be followed by an acknowledgment of the diversity of perspectives, conflicting interests and social positions and their integration into biodiversity governance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population control of feral horses has been the subject of public debate in many parts of the world in recent years due to wide-reaching ecological and societal impacts. However, the feral populations in these high-profile cases are not 'native' but are instead descended from animals which escaped from or were released by settlers. This paper considers i) the potential role of indigenous equids as conservation grazers within native ecosystems currently in poor condition, and ii) the value of supporting semi-wild native ponies specifically. We argue that the high ecological overlap between ponies and cattle reported in a range of studies means that they should be considered as alternative tools for conservation management, particularly in scenarios where there is a need to reduce the dominance of plant species avoided by more-selective small ruminants such as sheep. Semi-wild ponies could be particularly suited to conservation grazing because their genomes have been predominately shaped by natural and not artificial selection, meaning they may have adaptations no longer present in domesticated equids. With agricultural and environmental policy in the EU and UK under major review, it is anticipated that the wider delivery of public goods, rather than primary production, will be prioritised under future subsidy payment schemes. Recognising the value of native ponies as conservation grazers would broaden the range of routes by which land managers could achieve biodiversity gain, whilst simultaneously supporting at-risk equine genotypes. • There is high dietary overlap between ponies and cattle. • Ponies should be considered as alternative tools for conservation management. • Semi-wild ponies' genomes have been shaped by natural and not artificial selection. • Conservation grazing could provide a sink for excess animals from semi-wild herds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric nitrogen pollution has severe impacts on biodiversity, but approaches to value them are limited. This paper develops a spatially explicit methodology to value the benefits from improvements in biodiversity resulting from current policy initiatives to reduce nitrogen emissions. Using the UK as a case study, we quantify nitrogen impacts on plant diversity in four habitats: heathland, acid grassland, dunes and bogs, at fine spatial resolution. Focusing on non-use values for biodiversity we apply value-transfer based on household's willingness to pay to avoid changes in plant species richness, and calculate the benefit of projected emission declines of 37% for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and 6% for ammonia (NH 3 ) over the scenario period 2007–2020. The annualised benefit resulting from these pollutant declines is £32.7 m (£4.4 m to £109.7 m, 95% Confidence Interval), with the greatest benefit accruing from heathland and acid grassland due to their large area. We also calculate damage costs per unit of NO 2 and NH 3 emitted, to quantify some of the environmental impacts of air pollution for use alongside damage costs for human health in policy appraisal. The benefit is £103 (£33 to £237) per tonne of NO 2 saved, and £414 (£139 to £1022) per tonne of NH 3 saved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood and water management governance may be enhanced through partnership working, intra- and cross-organisational collaborations, and wide stakeholder participation. Nonetheless, barriers associated with ineffective communication, fragmented responsibilities and ‘siloed thinking’ restrict open dialogue and discussion. The Learning and Action Alliance (LAA) framework may help overcome these barriers by enabling effective engagement through social learning, and facilitating targeted actions needed to deliver innovative solutions to environmental problems. By increasing the adaptive capacity of decision-makers and participants, social learning through LAAs may lead to concerted action and sustained processes of behavioural change. In this paper, we evaluate the LAA framework as a catalyst for change that supports collaborative working and facilitates transition to more sustainable flood risk management. We use a case study in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, to demonstrate how the LAA framework brought together disparate City stakeholders to co-produce new knowledge, negotiate innovative actions and, ultimately, work towards implementing a new vision for sustainable urban flood risk management. The shared vision of Newcastle as a ‘Blue-Green City’ that emerged is founded on a strong platform for social learning which increased organisations’ and individuals’ capacities to manage differences in perspectives and behaviours, reframe knowledge, and make collective decisions based on negotiation and conflict resolution. Broad recommendations based on lessons learned from the Newcastle LAA are presented to aid other cities and regions in establishing and running social learning platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the interrelationships among carbon performance, CEO Pay, executive compensation, financial performance and market value. Using data relating to non‐financial firms from UK FTSE 350 from 2009 to 2018, our findings are fourfold. First, our results suggest that actual carbon performance is negatively associated with financial performance and market value of firms. Second, we document that self‐reported carbon performance has no effect on financial performance. By contrast, we observe that self‐reported carbon reduction initiatives performance has positive impact on market value. Third, our results suggest that CEO Pay, and executive compensation have positive moderating effect on the association between self‐reported carbon performance and financial performance. In addition, we show that self‐reported carbon performance–market value nexus is positively moderated by CEO Pay and executive compensation. Fourth, we observe that CEO Pay, and executive compensation have no moderating impact on actual carbon performance–market value nexus. Our findings demonstrate that while firms appear to employ compensation incentives to symbolically enhance their self‐reported carbon performance, this does not result in actual carbon emission reduction. Our findings have key implications for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential effects to the United Kingdom's (UK) economy and environmental policy if it exits the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) under the law of treaties. Also cited are the countries exiting ECT like Australia, Russia, and Italy, the efforts to modernize ECT, and how the ECT could hinder the UK's transition to renewable energy and sustain its dependence on fossil fuels.

Many factors can conspire to limit the scope for policy development at the national level. In this paper, we consider whether blockages in national policy processes − resulting for example from austerity or small state political philosophies − might be overcome by the development of more polycentric governance arrangements. Drawing on evidence from three stakeholder workshops and fifteen interviews, we address this question by exploring the United Kingdom’s recent retrenchment in the area of climate change policy, and the ways in which its policy community have responded. We identify two broad strategies based on polycentric principles: ‘working with gatekeepers’ to unlock political capital and ‘collaborate to innovate’ to develop policy outputs. We then empirically examine the advantages that these actions bring, analysing coordination across overlapping sites of authority, such as those associated with international regimes, devolved administrations and civic and private initiatives that operate in conjunction with, and sometimes independently of, the state. Despite constraining political and economic factors, which are by no means unique to the UK, we find that a polycentric climate policy network can create opportunities for overcoming central government blockages. However, we also argue that the ambiguous role of the state in empowering but also in constraining such a network will determine whether a polycentric approach to climate policy and governance is genuinely additional and innovative, or whether it is merely a temporary ‘sticking plaster’ for the retreat of the state and policy retrenchment during austere times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the emphasis of regional environmental assessment (EA) has shifted away from simply project approval towards facilitating environmental governance by accommodating heterogeneous stakeholders and emphasising relationship building across diverse institutions. However, there are very few advanced regional EA cases that may be studied to understand how practice has evolved and the implications for regional environmental governance. This paper characterises and assesses the interactions among the members of the Crown of the Continent Managers Partnership (CMP), whereby individuals with planning, policy-making, and EA roles attempted to implement an adaptive approach to regional cumulative effects assessment. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders provide data used in the investigation. The analysis demonstrates opportunities for an approach to regional EA that facilitates environmental governance through collective visioning, innovative leadership, learning from failure, and collaborative science and management. Lessons from the CMP are relevant internationally to jurisdictions seeking to implement regional EA via multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislation and fiscal policies have remained the key drivers of construction waste minimization. It has often been suggested that reducing waste to the landfill does not only require improvement on existing waste management policies and fiscal framework; there is a need for adequate inputs from the construction professionals. As a means of engendering effective waste management policies, this study explores industry practitioners’ viewpoints on effective policies for minimising waste landfilled by the UK construction industry. Using exploratory sequential mixed method approach, qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In the first phase of the study, data was collected through focus group discussions with 24 experts from the UK construction industry. Findings from the qualitative study served as an input into a questionnaire, which was used to elicit a wider opinion from 63 experts at the quantitative stage of the study. The study suggests that for waste management legislation and policies to effectively drive construction waste minimization, six key measures are important. These include (i) provision of tax breaks and incentives to good waste performers and waste management businesses; (ii) increased targeting of design stages in policies; (iii) Extension of sustainable design appraisal systems by allocating more points to proven waste performance measures; (iv) increased stringency of legislative measures by requiring use of proven waste efficient design, procurement and construction methods; (v) increased stringency of fiscal policies by increasing penalties for poor waste performance; and (vi) corroboration of policy requirements with enablers and facilitators. The strategies through which each of the legislative and fiscal measures could be tailored and enhanced are discussed in the paper. By embracing both stringent and palliative policy measures suggested in the study, substantial construction waste could be diverted from landfill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a detailed review of the basis and prospects for United Kingdom (UK) proposals for the most ambitious mainstream social, economic, and environmental policy program of the 21st century: the Green New Deal (GND), providing critical reflection for its implementation at a local or regional level. Through a review of academic, policy and book publications we examine the key proposed features of a UK GND, identifying five core elements: financial reforms; green infrastructure investment; financing the GND; ownership structures; and economic, social and climate justice. We subsequently review these policy areas through the lens of multi-level governance (MLG) to understand what scales of policy action are required for these aims to be achieved. We find that, whilst core elements of a UK GND, such as reforms to the financial system, and expansionary fiscal and monetary policy require policy change at national and supra-national level, the majority of GND investments require implementation at the local level. We suggest that, in the context of contemporary UK MLG, there are challenges for fully funding and delivering a GND without a national programme, while highlighting emerging options for coordinating and implementing a GND by local government actors, in the absence of national support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How we frame environmental problems and their solutions matters. Under the UK Net Zero Strategy and the European Green Deal, climate action—as a policy- and regulatory response to climate change—is framed overwhelmingly positive and coupled with the ambitions to generate growth, facilitate innovation, improve health and wellbeing, ensure inclusiveness and much else. This is done to project climate ambitions as part of a win–win scenario where no one is left behind. Yet it is unclear how each of the different aims relate to each other, which risks creating legal dilemmas, and possibly undermining climate action altogether. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the vulnerability of coastal areas to sectoral pressures from maritime-related socio-economic activities. To do this, a DEA-based method is proposed to construct a synthetic index of anthropogenic vulnerability with which to rank European Atlantic Area countries and regions down to a regional scale below the national level. The set of indicators selected for this index focuses on five important vectors: marine spills, port activities, tourism, protection of natural areas, and water quality and waste management. The paper shows that, overall, the United Kingdom has the most vulnerable coast in Atlantic Europe, with Ireland showing the most resilient coast of all. Furthermore, the proposed method also allows one to identify peer groups with the same vulnerability pattern. Thus, policies aiming to reduce the vulnerability of a target region may be devised by focusing on the least vulnerable regions within the relevant group. The detailed analysis presented may help regional policy makers as a diagnostic tool to detect and assess vulnerability weaknesses so that they can design and carry out appropriate actions in line with integrated European coastal management policies. • Data Envelopment Analysis-based method allows for flexible weights. • Synthetic index scores rank regions according to maritime-related coastal pressures. • United Kingdom has the most vulnerable coast and Ireland the least. • Index identifies peer groups with the same vulnerability pattern. • Regional policymakers can use it as diagnostic tool to design management actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the use of climate science for adaptation policy in Queensland, Australia and the UK. We examine policy players’ perceptions of climate science alongside prevailing political influences on evidence-based policy making. In Queensland, the evidence-based mandate has been weakened by partisan politics so that the political acceptability of evidence is a foremost concern for policy makers. In the UK, the evidence-based mandate is enshrined in the Climate Change Act (2008), yet here too political forces have sought to limit the acceptable use of climate science for policy making. Both cases reveal normative and political tensions in the interpretation and use of climate science, suggesting that important political challenges must be overcome by the scientific community to ensure the ongoing utility of climate science for policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, the UK government set in motion a process to establish a formal biodiversity offsetting programme in England, as an attempt to tackle biodiversity loss as a result of development. Drawing on critical approaches to the commodification of nature, this article traces the dilemmas encountered by the UK government in its endeavours to roll out a biodiversity offsetting programme in the English planning system. Based on 34 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, documentary analysis and participant observation at policy-focused events, the paper aims to show how the promise of reconciling development and conservation proved difficult to deliver. In government attempts to enrol sympathetic actors, disputes emerged over the purpose and fine detail of the proposals. Deeper tensions were revealed in clashes between governmental emphasis on deregulation and advocates’ calls for strong mandatory rules and well-resourced oversight, while efforts to balance complex ecology with market demands for simplicity and certainty undermined the promise of objective biodiversity metrics delivering uncontroversial hard numbers. Though the English case is in many ways context-specific, the problems experienced raise wider political questions around establishing meaningful offsetting schemes in any part of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Carbon taxes or similar pricing instruments could play a crucial role in helping countries decarbonise their economies. No country has a single carbon price that applies to all greenhouse gas emissions. The UK is typical in having adopted a complex patchwork of policies that raise the cost of different polluting activities to different degrees, resulting in implied carbon taxes that vary greatly across sources of emissions. We document and quantify these inconsistencies in the case of the UK, and assess the case for greater uniformity after accounting for considerations of efficiency, distribution, carbon leakage and the use of alternative policy instruments. We argue for greater rationalisation of environmental taxes in the UK and other developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Committee on Air Pollution Effects Research (CAPER) was established 40 years ago. This special section was compiled to mark this anniversary. During this time there have been dramatic changes in the composition of the air over the UK. The four papers in this special section of Environmental Pollution represent the current air pollution effects research focus on ozone and nitrogen deposition, two related issues and are proving from a policy perspective to be quite intractable issues. The UK CAPER research community continues to advance the underpinning science and engages closely with the user community in government departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union (EU-27) and UK, animal farming generated annually more than 1.4 billion tonnes of manure during the period 2016–2019. Of this, more than 90% is directly re-applied to soils as organic fertiliser. Manure promotes plant growth, provides nutritious food to soil organisms, adds genetic and functional diversity to soils and improves the chemical and physical soil properties. However, it can also cause pollution by introducing toxic elements (i.e., heavy metals, antibiotics, pathogens) and contribute to nutrient losses. Soil organisms play an essential role in manure transformation into the soil and the degradation of any potential toxic constitutes; however, manure management practices often neglect soil biodiversity. In this review, we explored the impact of manure from farmed animals on soil biodiversity by considering factors that determine the effects of manure and vice versa. By evaluating manure's potential to enhance soil biodiversity, but also its environmental risks, we assessed current and future EU policy and legislations with the ultimate aim of providing recommendations that can enable a more sustainable management of farm manures. This review explored the relationship between manure and soil biodiversity by considering 407 published papers and relevant legislative provisions. In addition, we evaluated whether benefits and risks on soil biodiversity are considered in manure management. Thereafter, we analysed the current legislation in the European Union relevant to manure, an important driver for its treatment, application and storage. This review found that coupling manure management with soil biodiversity can mitigate present and future environmental risks. Our analyses showed that manure quality is more important to soil biodiversity than manure quantity and therefore, agricultural practices that protect and promote soil biodiversity with the application of appropriate, high-quality manure or biostimulant preparations based on manure, could accelerate the move towards more sustainable food production systems. Soil biodiversity needs to be appropriately factored in when assessing manure amendments to provide better guidelines on the use of manure and to reduce costs and environmental risks. However, radical changes in current philosophies and practices are needed so that soil biodiversity can be enhanced by manure management. Manure quality in the EU requires greater attention, calling for more targeted policies. Our proposed approach could be applied by European Union Member States to include soil protection measures in national legislation, and at the EU level, can enable the implementation of strategic goals. [Display omitted] • More than 1.4 billion t y−1 of manure are generated in the EU and UK and re-applied to soils with potential harmful effects. • Current European regulations on manure disposal are scattered across different legislations and ignore soil biodiversity. • This review of 407 documents revealed that manure quality is more important to soil biodiversity than manure quantity. • To promote soil biodiversity by manure amendments, a radical transformation in the way agriculture is conducted is needed. • This approach could reinforce EU MS' commitment to protect soils and improve future agricultural policies at the EU level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biophysical condition is one indicator of the immediate success of efforts to restore degraded rivers as well as longer‐term progress towards improving water quality. In the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the biophysical condition of river systems in the UK also reflects how well international environmental policy translates into improved river management domestically. We assess whether the condition of river systems in the UK has improved or declined over the past two decades, whether regions identified by the first WFD assessment have improved or declined, and thus, how effectively international policy has been implemented nationally. Methods include: statistical and spatial analysis of more than 25,000 habitat condition records collated in the River Habitat Survey over the 1990s and 2000s; computing of an Index of Change for Local Authorities; and comparison of Indices of Change with a sub‐sample of 1,727 WFD assessments conducted in 258 Local Authorities. Findings include that three of four measures indicate that biophysical quality has declined, although only the decline in one measure (habitat quality) was statistically significant. Riparian quality has improved, although measures do not consider invasive compared to native coverage. In total, 27 regions were identified with the worst declining quality. Comparative analysis of regions suggests that condition has declined most substantially in regions that were previously in "good" condition. Priorities for future investment include improving degraded sites, protecting high quality sites, and increasing monitoring of "data poor" regions. Our methodology offers an approach for utilising "messy" routinely collated data like the RHS. However, guidelines are needed to support the use of similar datasets for the international river restoration community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical commentaries have often treated the smart city as a potentially problematic 'top down' tendency within policy-making and urban planning, which appears to serve the interests of already powerful corporate and political actors. This article, however, positions the smart city as significant in its implicit rejection of the strong normativity of traditional technologies of planning, in favour of an ontology of efficiency and emergence. It explores a series of prominent UK smart city initiatives (in Bristol, Manchester and Milton Keynes) as bundles of experimental local practices, drawing on the literature pointing to a growing valorisation of the 'experimental' over strong policy commitments in urban governance. It departs from this literature, however, by reading contemporary 'smart experiments' through Shapin and Schafer's work on the emergence of 17th-century science, to advance a transhistorical understanding of experimentation as oriented towards societal reordering. From this perspective, the UK smart city merits attention primarily as an indicator of a wider set of shifts in approaches to governance. Its pragmatic orientation sits uneasily alongside ambitions to 'standardise' smart and sustainable urban development; and raises questions about the conscious overlap between the stated practical ambitions of smart city initiatives and pre-existing environmental and social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revision of the national planning policy framework (NPPF) for England demonstrates the great flexibility given to the government to make national policy. The NPPF retains a presumption in favour of what they define as sustainable development, and the surrounding publicity has been right to focus on their intention to increase the delivery of housing. Whilst the framework gives some support for a greater level of environmental protection, we are still a long way off from an integrated planning and environmental system. This analysis looks at how a different approach could have been taken, with reference to the Law Commission's review of Planning Law in Wales, the TCPA's Raynsford Review and the draft Environmental Bill 2018. It also examines how the NPPF policies on housing delivery often override the supposedly plan-led system, and what protection the NPPF does offer for the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A principal driver for sustainability in the UK is the influence of European Union law and policy. Sustainability is a key component of the ultimate purposes of the European Union, and is given specific legal force by the requirement that in conjunction with environmental law and policy it must be integrated into all of the EU's activities in whatever field of competence. Part of this success has been the uniformity in which environmental law and policy has been agreed and implemented by the member states, including the United Kingdom. This law is also then subject to coordination, evaluation, oversight, and enforcement by the EU's governance institutions. Following a referendum in which the UK population narrowly voted to separate itself from the EU, specific laws, amongst others those relating to nature conservation, such as the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Bathing Water Directive, will ultimately no longer apply to govern UK policy and practice. Given that waters and biodiversity are often shared resources, this article examines the potential impacts that non-aligned environmental policies consequent upon the UK's separation will mean in terms of the development of effective environmental law and policy, both in the UK and for those who have a stake in the sustainable and effective management of those resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]