We cover a range of issues that bring economic analysis into policy making at the national, EU and global level. Our work focuses on different tools to support the transition to a green, resource efficient and circular economy including market-based instruments, cost and benefit assessments, sustainability indicators and environmental accounts.
We also explore the role of nature in the transition to a green economy and are at the forefront of analysis of the economics of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Our research aims to support the integration of environmentally-sound economic signals in decision making, to encourage recognition of the true value of environmental resources and ecosystems.
The ‘green economy’ is one that pursues human progress without exceeding ecological thresholds, that ensures sustainability and simultaneously aims to reduce social disparities. Our work in this area has focused particularly on the policies and tools that are needed to support the transition to a green, resource efficient and circular economy, within the EU and internationally. There is a wide and expanding range of options.
We have examined marked based instruments to support the transition, including the use of environmental taxes and environmental tax reform (ETR), assessed the potential for reforming environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS) and explored the setting of incentives that reward environmentally progressive behaviour. Our work also aims to contribute to an improved understanding of the benefits and costs of environmental policy to provide an informed and balanced view to policy makers.
The analysis and assessment of the multiple benefits of nature to people, society and the economy is another focus of the team. Our work on assessing nature's multiple values seeks to support the integration of such values in decision-making and mainstream biodiversity and ecosystem services in relevant policy areas (e.g. agriculture, cohesion, water). The Programme has made a substantial contribution to the important international initiative The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB).
Another area of our work is the development and uptake of indicators of sustainability which take account of environmental and social factors contributing to human well-being, going beyond measures of economic performance such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This runs in parallel with work on environmental-economic and natural capital accounts, exploring the use of such tools in policy. For example we have been supporting the European ‘Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services’ (MAES) process.
A report on the benefits provided to society by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England and Wales was just published. The study, led by GHK with support from others including IEEP, examines the range of ecosystem services provided by the network of SSSIs and estimates the monetary value of protecting them.
Described by Nicholas Stern as a 'landmark' work, a full account of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, edited by institute staff, is now published by Earthscan.
The study demonstrates the value of ecosystems and biodiversity to the economy, society and individuals. It underlines the urgent need to transform our approach to natural capital, and demonstrates how we can practically take into account the value of ecosystems and biodiversity in policy decisions to promote the protection of our environment and contribute to a sustainable economy and to the wellbeing of societies.
The second volume from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, edited by Patrick ten Brink, Senior Fellow at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) is to be published in March 2011.
The report for WWF provides an assessment of the value and status of some key ecosystem services in the Danube Basin, and some policy instruments to support them.
On 7 April, the Greens and the European Free Alliance (EFA) in the European Parliament organised a stakeholder workshop to discuss the future of the EU biodiversity policy, in particular the role of nature in maintaining human welfare and economic wellbeing.
The TEEB for National and International Policy Makers report, coordinated by IEEP's Patrick ten Brink is now up on the TEEB official website and available for downloading and circulation.This has been ...
The new major study calls on policy-makers to accelerate investments in the management and restoration of ecosystems. It gives clear recommendations to policy-makers across the globe and calls for more ...
The urgency of addressing the continued loss of ecosystems and biodiversity is being increasingly translated into economic terms and there is also increasing clarity on the needs for policy response and ...
IEEP presented the draft results of the project ‘Environmentally Harmful Subsidies (EHS) – Identification and Assessment' for peer review in Brussels on 16 September 2009.The project team ...
Patrick ten Brink of IEEP presented results of the COPI study for DGENV to economists from national administrations from across Europe at the Commission organised ENVECO 23 meeting on the 17th of June ...
The cost of losing biodiversity due to policy inaction has been recently quantified in the report on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), launched on the 29th of May at the CBD COP9 by ...
The European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF are hosting a high-level conference on the true wealth of nations at the Plenary Room of the European Parliament in Brussels on ...
IEEP played a key role in a European Commission study that explored the possibilities for establishing PES schemes for biodiversity conservation in two new EU Member States and three Candidate Countries ...
The study on the Value of Biodiversity provides evidence that the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services has resulted in several socio-economic costs, including financial losses. The insights ...
Future economic prosperity and high environmental and social standards must go hand in hand, according to a new report launched in the House of Commons (UK) on 6 June 2006. Commissioned by the Aldersgate ...
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has recently released two reports on the development of market based instruments across Europe. Both reports are mainly based on work from a team led by IEEP, which ...
IEEP is leading a research consortium that is conducting a study on the value of biodiversity in the EU. The objective of this work is to identify and document EU examples where biodiversity/habitat loss ...
