About this book
Voluntary environmental agreements (VEAs) - generally agreements between government and business - have been regarded by many as a key new instrument for meeting environmental objectives in a flexible manner. Their performance to date has, however, also led to considerable criticism, with several parties arguing that they are methods for avoiding real action, which goes beyond "business as usual". Is either of these positions justified? The aim of this book is to highlight and learn the lessons from existing experience, looking not just at results, but also at specific elements of agreements and also at the process of the agreement itself. Lessons are drawn from experience from across the world, covering the full range of environmental challenges, and from the perspective of key stakeholder groups. Importantly, the book also presents tools for assessing and improving existing agreements and includes recommendations and guidelines for future agreements in key areas such as climate change. The overall view of the book is that there is a real potential for the future use of VEAs as part of the policy mix and as a tool for sharing the responsibility for meeting environmental objectives. For the agreements to play this role, however, significant steps are needed to ensure that they are effective, efficient, equitable and appropriately linked to a portfolio of other instruments. The book is split into four sections. First, existing agreements, their development and efficacy are considered; second, the prospects for voluntary agreements in developing and transitional economies are discussed; third, a range of authors examine the role of VEAs as part of the policy mix to combat climate change; and, finally, the book concludes with an examination of how new tools for evaluating and improving VEAs could be utilized in the future. "Voluntary Environmental Agreements" should be of interest not only to academics, governments and businesses wishing to understand this specific instrument, but also to those already implementing or considering applying VEAs to meet their environmental objectives.
Contents
Foreword Jean-Philippe Barde, Head National Policies Division, OECD Environment Directorate Prologue Patrick ten Brink, Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Belgium Part A: Process, practice and stakeholder experience Part A: Introduction Patrick ten Brink 1. Voluntary environmental initiatives and sustainable industry Bruce Paton, The Silicon Valley Center for Innovation and Sustainability, USA 2. Corporate incentives for participation in voluntary environmental agreements: electric utility companies and the Climate Challenge Program Panagiotis Karamanos, Athens International Airport, Greece 3. Co-operative environmental solutions: acquiring competence for multi-stakeholder partnerships Ken Sexton, Barbara Scott Murdock and Alfred A. Marcus, University of Minnesota, USA 4. Legitimacy, efficacy and efficiency: factors affecting public participation in environmental agreements in British Columbia, Canada Michael Mascarenhas, Michigan State University, USA 5. Conflict or collaboration: the New Zealand Forest Accord Diane Menzies, Menzies Environmental Ltd 6. Successful application of environmental agreements in local communities: perspectives from environment and pollution control agreements in Japan Rie Tsutsumi, University of Cambridge, UK 7. The chemical industry in Germany: recent developments of the 1987 Chemical Industries Social Partners' Agreement on Environmental Protection Bernd Heins and Laurent Luttge, University of Oldenburg/University of Luneburg, Germany 8. A new trade union role in environmental agreements: a driving force for sustainable development Per Erik Boivie, Boivie Arbetsplatsutveckling AB, Sweden 9. EU-level agreements: a successful tool? Lessons from the agreement with the automotive industry Giulio Volpi and Stephan Singer, World Wide Fund for Nature Climate Change Campaign, Belgium Part B: New areas for VEAs? Developing countries and transition economies Part B: Introduction Patrick ten Brink 10. A role for negotiated environmental agreements in developing countries? Jonathon Hanks, University of Lund, Sweden 11. A national tripartite agreement on benzene in Brazil Nilton Freitas, Unified Workers' Confederation (CUT Brazil); Winston Gereluk, Athabasca University, Canada 12. Environmental agreements as appropriate long-term measures Nur Masripatin, Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia 13. Negotiated voluntary environmental agreements: cases in the Czech Republic Anton?n Dvorak, Ales Lisa and Petr Sauer, University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic 14. Navigating toward a Hungarian packaging waste management solution Dinah A. Koehler, Harvard University, USA 15. Conditions for environmental agreements in Ukraine Oleksandr Stegniy, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine 16. Step-by-step procedure for preparing, concluding and evaluating voluntary agreements Petr Sauer, Jaromir Kovar, Petr Fiala, Petra Holcova, Ales Lisa and Anton?n Dvorak, University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic Part C: Can voluntary agreements help address climate change? Part C: Introduction Patrick ten Brink 17. The Australian Greenhouse Challenge programme: a perspective from a participating university Paul Osmond, University of New South Wales, Australia 18. Application of effectiveness analysis: the case of greenhouse gas emissions reduction Roger L. Burritt, The Australian National University 19. Voluntary agreements: key to higher energy efficiency in industry? Signe Krarup, AKF, Denmark; Stephan Ramesohl, The Wuppertal Institute, Germany 20. Environmental agreements in climate politics Asbjorn Torvanger and Tora Skodvin, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo, Norway 21. Negotiated environmental agreements and CO2 emissions trading Johan Albrecht and Delphine Francois, Ghent University (CEEM), Belgium 22. Voluntary agreements: an effective tool for enhancing organisational learning and improving climate policy-making? Stephan Ramesohl and Kora Kristof, The Wuppertal Institute, Germany Part D: Future use: tools for developing agreements Part D: Introduction Patrick ten Brink 23. Voluntary agreements: effectiveness analysis. Tools, guidelines and checklist Roger L. Burritt, The Australian National University 24. Assessing the performance of negotiated environmental agreements in the Netherlands Ellis Immerzeel-Brand, CSTM, University of Twente, Netherlands 25. Co-regulation performance factors: lessons from theory and from practice in environmental agreements Manuel M. Cabugueira, Universidade Portucalense, Portugal 26. The EIA public enquiry procedure as a model for public participation in environmental agreements Patricia Bailey, European University Institute, Italy 27. Monitoring environmental agreements: a multi-level conformity approach. Sustainable water management in the Twente region Johan Woltjer, CSTM, University of Twente, Netherlands 28. Monitoring mechanisms for efficient environmental agreements Patrick ten Brink, IEEP; Marina Morere, Independent Expert 29. Voluntary environmental agreements between private and public law Bent Ole Gram Mortensen, University of Southern Denmark 30. The optimal policy mix: matching ends and means in environmental policy-making R. Yachnin, N. Gagnon, B. Guthrie and A. Howatson, The Conference Board of Canada Epilogue Patrick ten Brink
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