IEEP uses cookies to ensure the best possible experience. You can
view our Privacy Policy page
to learn more about how cookies are used.
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.
Investment in natural capital through the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems has a lot to offer for regional development. A new publication authored by IEEP provides guidance on integrating biodiversity into EU Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in 2014-2020.
This new IEEP-authored report highlighting the importance of nature to the economy aims to clarify and help mainstream nature’s role in the transition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom, Senior Policy Analyst at IEEP, and Pawel Swidlicki, Research Analyst at Open Europe, put their heads together to identify why and where EU budgetary spending has got it wrong in the past and propose how roughly one trillion euros can better serve Europe's environment, economy and people in the next funding period.
This report examines Commission proposals on the use of innovative financial instruments in the 2014-2020 budget and analyses implications for the financing of EU policies and objectives.
This policy paper examines how the forthcoming 7EAP can contribute to protecting natural systems and improving the way in which we use natural resources. It also examines a number of cross-cutting actions needed to support the priorities of the 7EAP and ensure better delivery of EU environment policy.
12 September, Warsaw: IEEP workshop provided Polish national and regional authorities with better understanding and knowledge of how to factor in climate change impacts and objectives in the future EU Cohesion Policy.
What might be the Belgian contribution to the commitments made at COP15 and COP16 on potential sources of climate change finance? And how this might be implemented?
IEEP’s latest policy brief takes stock of the negotiation processes on the 2014-2020 EU Multi-annual Financial Framework and Cohesion Policy, and points at issues and opportunities ahead for ensuring the effective mainstreaming of climate change in the future EU spending plans
Biochar has the potential to both mitigate greenhouse gases, and to act as an adaptation measure in terms of responding to the impacts of climate change. Based on its compatibility with the appropriate soil properties, it could increase the resilience of soil to erosion.
The latest edition of IEEP's newsletter is now available with a lead article on efforts to reinvigorate EU water policy. Plus CAP reform, nature in the Green Economy, using straw for biofuels, emissions trading revenues ...
Elements of the green economy concept are relatively well integrated in EU strategic documents - but the focus is on achieving green/sustainable growth, rather than achieving a ‘green economy’.
Despite some new commitments on Green Economy, oceans, and Sustainable Development Goals, progress on much of the Rio agenda will depend on actions taken by individual countries, blocs (like the EU), companies and civil society networks.
Key agendas for the future were given an airing in Rio, whilst the agreement itself remained timid, not least on the Green Economy. IEEP played an active role in keeping this issue in the Rio bloodstream.
Developed and tested by IEEP, this guidance document is a tool to identify incentives harmful to biodiversity to help the UK draw up a reform roadmap and thus meet a commitment under the CBD.
Published timely before the Rio+20 Conference, this executive summary of a paper by IEEP highlights the role of nature in the transition to a green economy.
Waste management in the EU is improving, but implementation by the Member States of EU waste legislation remains patchy. This paper makes suggestions on how better compliance could be achieved.
This benefit Assessment Manual, originally for internal use, has been turned into a Benefit Assessment Manual for policy makers and experts for wider dissemination and provides an understanding of the methodologies applied for the country benefit assessments.
