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Environmental Governance
The environmental governance team covers strategic questions and examines the mechanics and processes behind the formulation and implementation of environmental policies. Our work is spread across a wide, often cross-cutting, range of issues.
Key tasks include monitoring current developments in EU environmental policy, including the role of the budget, assessing environmental policy integration and policy coherence, conducting impact assessment and policy evaluation studies, evaluating policy implementation and enforcement, and looking at the global dimension of European environmental policy.
At its founding in 1957, the then European Economic Community (EEC) did not have an environmental dimension. Today the EU has some of the most progressive environmental policies in the world. EU legislation has played a vital role in improving habitat and species protection and river management, and has contributed to dramatic improvements in air and water quality and waste management. Although significant challenges remain, it is widely acknowledged that EU policy has successfully reduced a number of pressures on the environment and stimulated investment in more sustainable economic growth.
The EU has developed a ‘tool box’ of policy instruments, approaches and strategies with which to pursue its environmental objectives. It has also adopted a number of cross-cutting strategies and approaches to policy making to provide the overarching context for environmental decision-making. These are seen to be increasingly significant to the environmental debate in Europe.
Over the years the EU has taken on a growing leadership role in the global context.
Following the European elections, we take a look at the results and at the 'green wave' that swept across some of the Member States. This article gives insights on what the election results might imply for environmental policies at the European level.
Today we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity aiming at increasing understanding of the diversity of life on the planet and awareness of its importance for human development. IEEP takes the opportunity to share some key positive lessons from recent EU biodiversity action and identify key remaining challenges towards 2030.
IEEP carried out an overall analysis of the main European parties’ manifestos. This comparative analysis sets side-by-side all of the leading Parties’ manifestos and dissects them in an attempt to shed light on their environmental and sustainability agendas. While the parties attempt to respond to citizens’ concerns on climate change, the proposals are on average not likely to be enough to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
As Brexit negotiations continue, IEEP Honorary Fellow Nigel Haigh spoke recently at the annual Environmental Law conference of the Academy of European Law on its implications for EU environmental policy.
IEEP is carrying out an analysis of the European parties’ manifestoes ahead of the European elections, to assess their commitments on environmental, climate and sustainability issues, against Think 2030 recommendations. The fifth segment of the analysis looks at EPP’s manifesto. The last publication will be an overall summary analysis.
Following the publication of the Think 2030 report and its 30 key recommendations, IEEP is carrying out an analysis of the manifestoes of European parties ahead of the elections in May 2019. After ALDE, PES and EGP, here is the analysis of the European Left manifesto.
Following the publication of the Think 2030 report and its 30 key recommendations, IEEP is carrying out an analysis of the manifestoes of European parties ahead of the elections in May 2019. After PES last week, here is the analysis of the European Greens Party.
Following the publication of the Think 2030 report and its 30 key recommendations, IEEP is carrying out an analysis of the manifestoes of European parties ahead of the elections in May 2019. After ALDE last week, here is the analysis of the Party of European Socialists analysis.
IEEP welcomes the urgency of the Commission’s SDG reflection paper “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030” and strongly supports the development of an overarching EU SDG strategy. To support further policy action, here is our ‘a-day-after’ analysis of the paper.
The status quo is no longer an option. The CAP must deliver greater ambition for the environment and climate or we risk undermining the long-term viability of our agricultural and forest systems.
Although the EU has an aspirational goal of an 80-95% GHG emissions cut for 2050, compared to 1990 levels, currently planned measures and intermediate goals are not in-line even with the low end of this aim. Additionally, the EU would have to over perform if 1.5 degrees were the aim, as developing economies cannot realistically be expected to reduce emissions as quickly.
Current policies are not enough to deliver the Paris Agreement ambition to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. Preparation of a European strategy on long-term decarbonisation of the economy is a critical opportunity for a step change. To seize it, we need a strategy which considers the economy as a whole, and draws the lessons for early action and investment in each sector.
In a recently publicly published book chapter, Jean-Pierre Schweitzer and IEEP’s Susanna Gionfra brought together evidence of how nature-based education, utilizing green infrastructure and protected areas, presents an opportunity to mitigate the impacts of environmental and socio-economic challenges faced by urban citizens.
New inequality data and metrics reveal inequities of income, wealth, gender, education, health and environmental protection - highlighting the need to go Beyond GDP.
Achieving gender equality in Europe in research and science, in line with the spirit of the European Commission’s strategic engagement for gender equality, the European pillar of social rights and SDG5, remains a major challenge.
IEEP Executive Director, Céline Charveriat, explores the achievements and areas of improvement for gender equality in European research.
The Commission has set out its initial proposals for the next “Multi-Annual Financial Framework” – the planning period for the EU budget which sets the priorities for spending, and shares out EU money between programmes and Member States. We’ve been examining what’s at stake for the environment, sustainable development, and Europe’s future.
In environmental terms there are at least two ways of looking at the prospects for 2018. Viewed through the rather sober lens of EU process, it has the look of a project completion and tidying up period with limited long term impetus to the last full year of the current European Parliament and Commission.
