The Regulations further set out energy labelling requirements for light sources and are a product-specific measure for the purposes of Regulation 2017/1369 setting a framework for energy labelling.
Bill | First reading 21/06/21 | Clean Air Targets (World Health Organization Guidelines) Bill 2021-22 (HC Bill 52) | A Bill to require UK clean air targets to comply with World Health Organization guidelines. [Extracted from the article]
Published
2021
Full Text
View/download PDF
- Author
-
Leipold, Sina
- Subjects
- *ENVIRONMENTAL policy, *ECOLOGICAL modernization, *ENVIRONMENTAL economics, *CHANGE agents
- Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that policies for a more sustainable society require narratives outside the status quo. This contribution studies the EU's environmental policy narrative of a circular economy (CE), which many consider promising in this respect. The results demonstrate that the CE narrative was created to transform EU policy discourses 'from within' but eventually perpetuated the established discourse of ecological modernization. This perpetuation resulted from specific strategic practices used to create the CE narrative, which (1) concealed conflict, (2) strengthened the agency of incumbents, and (3) excluded alternative voices. The analysis uses empirical evidence from 28 interviews with key stakeholders, 84 policy documents and participant observation data at the European Union (EU) level. The results suggest that the development of narratives outside the status quo depends on strategic practices that address (future) conflicts and offer new agency to change agents as well as transition strategies to incumbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Hedemann-Robinson, Martin
- Subjects
- *LAW enforcement, *ENVIRONMENTAL law, *ENVIRONMENTAL policy, ENVIRONMENTAL compliance
- Abstract
The aim of this short article is to provide a brief overview and reflections on the European Union's relatively recent introduction of a biennial Environmental Implementation Review (EIR) cycle as part of its activities in monitoring EU Member States' (MS) implementation of Union environmental law and policy. The EIR reflects an increased level of interest on the part of the Union in seeking to identify ways in which MS may improve upon their track records in implementing EU environmental legislative requirements at national level. Notably, it envisages a more intense form of engagement and dialogue on the part of the European Commission with MS authorities on identifying strengths and weaknesses in terms of individual MS performance as well as identifying common challenges at national level. The article assesses what key outcomes may have emerged thus far with the two EIR cycles that have been completed and how the EIR relates to the other principal supranational supervisory tool used by the EU for the purpose overseeing compliance with the EU environmental acquis, namely the use of law enforcement action via infringement proceedings. Ultimately, the article posits the view that the tools of EIR and law enforcement may be best seen to be in a complementary and mutually supportive relationship, each needing the other to be able to make a sufficient impression and impact on MS in terms of inducing them to address the subject of implementation with the degree of importance and urgency it deserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Author
-
Spulber, Diana
- Subjects
- *NATURAL resources, *SUSTAINABILITY, *CLIMATE change mitigation, *ENVIRONMENTAL policy, *FEDERAL government, *SUSTAINABLE development
- Abstract
The problem of the environment is becoming more and more pressing. The economic evolution of the world has led on the one hand to wellbeing, but on the other hand, has not taken into account Natural Resources. Sustainable development is on the agenda of all countries and represents a challenge for a return to green values. The European Union has sustainable development as one of its priorities. However, all this is not possible without proper education. The EU and national governments have set clear targets to guide European environmental policy up to 2025 and have developed a vision that extends to 2050, supported by specific research programmes, regulations and funding. The Life programme is one of the financing instruments dedicated entirely to the environment and climate action. However, the EU financing instruments are not limited only to this financing programme Projects aimed at the environment, to ecology, and sustainable development can be found in different calls. The article aims to analyse the contribution of the European Union through various funding in the field of education for Sustainable Development. In particular, Erasmus + KA 2 CBHE funding for education for Sustainable Development will be analysed. The method applied is the analysis of projects funded in the call KA2 CHBE that have as their objective the Sustainable Development in the environmental and ecological field. The analysis per year of the financed project and per region. This work will permit how important is the ecology question for EU and how Europe is replying to this challenge through different financing instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Németh-Durkó, Emilia
- Subjects
- *VECTOR error-correction models, *CARBON emissions, *COINTEGRATION, *ENVIRONMENTAL degradation, *ELECTRIC power consumption, *SUSTAINABLE development, *ENVIRONMENTAL policy
- Abstract
Hungary is one of the European Union's most dynamically developing countries in Central-Eastern Europe with a high income and increasing level of environmental degradation. The present study explores the dynamic relationship between economic growth, electricity consumption, carbon emissions and urbanization in Hungary for period 1974–2014 based on annual data. Using autoregressive distributed lag model, we found long-run relationship among the variables in the presence of structural breaks and Toda–Yamamoto procedure were applied to test causality. The findings indicate that electricity consumption is positively linked with carbon emissions in the long run, which implies that the energy efficiency should be improved. Urbanization has also positive effect on carbon emissions meaning that the number of cities increases the emissions. Causality results suggest that Hungary is growing at the cost of the environment and the lack of the coordination of economic and environmental objectives to fulfill emission reduction targets can reduce economic growth. The reconsideration of the economic and energy policy is vital for ensuring sustainable development and stricter environmental policy is suggested. These results contribute not only to the expansion of the existing literature, but also improves the methodological background by employing a new variable to capture urbanization effect on carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Spriņġe, Gunta, Bērtiņš, Māris, Gnatyshyna, Lesya, Kokorīte, Ilga, Lasmane, Agnese, Rodinov, Valery, and Stoliar, Oksana
- Subjects
- *WATER quality, *PLANT indicators, *SOCIOECONOMIC factors, *NONPOINT source pollution, *RIVER pollution, *WATER quality management, *FECAL contamination
- Abstract
Long-term changes, from 1984 to 2010, in the indicators of microbial pollution (total viable count, coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens) are analysed in the Riga Hydropower Plant Reservoir, an essential source of drinking water for Riga, the capital of Latvia. Counts in microbial indicators fluctuated seasonally and were related to physicochemical parameters (nitrogen compounds, turbidity, temperature, and pH). The changes in microbial pollution were brought about by two major socio-economic developments. Firstly, Latvia's independence from the USSR in 1991 which facilitated a distinct reduction in most microorganism counts due to a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. This resulted in a significant drop in point and nonpoint pollution in the river basin. A further development was Latvia joining the European Union in 2004. The corresponding focus on water management, including wastewater treatment, was a major priority of environmental investment and lead to improvements in microbial water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Corbera, Esteve, Lave, Rebecca, Robertson, Morgan, and Maestre‐Andrés, Sara
- Subjects
- *GREEN movement, *BIODIVERSITY, *ENVIRONMENTAL policy, *POLICY analysis, *GOVERNMENT policy
- Abstract
The past decade has been a dynamic one for biodiversity offsetting policy. Efforts to incorporate offsetting into the Convention on Biological Diversity as a compliance mechanism did not succeed. The expansion of offsetting outside of the Natura 2000 network in the European Union (EU), which looked all but inevitable in the early 2010s, was withdrawn in the face of unexpectedly strong opposition from environmental groups and the business sector. Highly publicised offsetting programmes in some EU countries have had mixed outcomes, and many observers describe offsetting as a failed policy. And yet four years of interviews and policy analysis in Brussels, Spain, and England suggest that reports of offsetting's death may be exaggerated. While the possibility of an overarching EU Directive aimed at harmonising offsetting policy and practice across the region's countries seems unlikely, in Spain, offsetting has returned to the national policy arena via adoption as an implementation tool within the national Green Infrastructure Strategy. Offsetting in England persists in a handful of counties as a locally situated development strategy, and seems to have returned at the national level despite its spectacular flame‐out in 2014. This is not, after all, a high‐profile failure of neoliberal environmental policy. Rather, we see offsetting's persistence as a result of policy refugia: the retreat to small but amenable jurisdictions where offsetting policies can wait out inclement policy conditions and then emerge to recolonise the policy landscape when conditions improve. Highly publicised offsetting programmes in some EU countries have had mixed outcomes, and many observers describe offsetting as a failed policy. However, our analysis of offset policy development in the EU, Spain, and England suggests that offsetting has not failed but persists as a result of policy refugia: it has retreated to small but amenable jurisdictions from which it can emerge to recolonise the policy landscape as conditions improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Zapletal, František
- Subjects
- *EMISSIONS trading, *STEEL, *ENVIRONMENTAL policy, *FEDERAL government
- Abstract
Environmental policy in the European Union is a hot topic for both practitioners and researchers. Their interests are attracted mainly by the main tool of this policy—emissions trading within the EU ETS. In literature focusing on the impacts of the EU ETS, the EU is usually considered to be a compact unit and its structure is omitted there. In particular, the impacts on a single company (regardless its geographical location), on a sector of industry (regardless the member countries), or on some subset of the involved companies with respect to non-EU competitors are often explored. However, through the eyes of national governments, it is vital for the countries to keep their national industrial sectors competitive not only against companies from countries outside the EU but also from other EU countries. This paper focuses on the influence of the EU ETS on the national steel sectors in the EU and their competitiveness. The hybrid PROMETHEE-DEA approach is used to assess how the price of emission allowance and grandfathering within the EU ETS impact the technical efficiency and competitiveness of these national sectors. The results of this study show that the volatile allowance price influences the efficiency and grandfathering affects the competitiveness of the EU national steel sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
- Author
-
Crowe, Matthew R., Najah, Parissa, Mellor, Shada, Percy-Raine, Henry, and Cottrell, Jack
- Subjects
- *COMMERCIAL building energy consumption, *INDUSTRIAL pollution, *BRITISH withdrawal from the European Union, 2016-2020, *LIMITED liability partnership, *PESTICIDE resistance
- Abstract
The date on which that transitional provision expires is amended from 31 March 2021 to 31 December 2021. |