Is the EU WFD suitable to support IWRM planning in non-European countries? Lessons learnt from the introduction of IWRM and River Basin Management in Mongolia

The Water Framework Directive (EU WFD, 2000/60EC, European Commission, 2000) is a comprehensive tool for water management taking Europe’s diverse national and local policy contexts into account. This has positioned the EU WFD as a potential tool to enhance the implementation of the globally-promoted integrated water resources management concept (IWRM) in developing and transition countries that to date lack comparable regulations. Using the case of Mongolia, a country that has shown interest in using aspects of the EU WFD for implementing its IWRM concept, we will discuss the extent to which the EU WFD also provides a framework for IWRM outside Europe. We find that the EU WFD may provide guidance for the implementation of ecosystem-based River Basin Management (RBM) within an existing national IWRM concept, in terms of public participation and in terms of economic analysis. However, the application of concepts EU WFD is easier if strong political will, good monitoring capacities and a legislative backbone covering key IWRM principles and the capacity for enforcement are in place. Also, the EU-WFD does not provide guidance in terms of water-related issues that are e.g. addressing gender, poverty and capacity development. Thus, the EU WFD cannot serve as a blueprint, as it requires adaptation to the different socio-economic, cultural and political contexts of the implementing country and it does not inform all aspects of IWRM.     

Cap and trade schemes on waste management: A case study of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) in England

The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) is one of the main instruments used in England to enforce the landfill diversion targets established in the Directive 1999/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (Landfill Directive). Through the LATS, biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) allowances for landfilling are allocated to each local authority, otherwise known as waste disposal authorities (WDAs). The quantity of landfill allowances received is expected to decrease continuously from 2005/06 to 2019/20 so as to meet the objectives of the Landfill Directive. To achieve their commitments, WDAs can exchange, buy, sell or transfer allowances among each other, or may re-profile their own allocation through banking and/or borrowing. Despite the goals for the first seven years – which included two target years (2005/06 and 2009/10) – being widely achieved (the average allocation of allowances per WDA was 22.9% higher than those finally used), market activity among WDAs was high and prices were not very stable. Results in terms of waste reduction and recycling levels have been satisfactory. The reduction of BMW landfilled (in percentage) was higher during the first seven years of the LATS period (2005/06–2011/12) (around 7% annually) than during the previous period (2001/02–2004/05) (4.2% annually). Since 2008, the significance of the LATS diminished because of an increase in the rate of the UK Landfill Tax. The LATS was suppressed after the 2012/13 target year, before what it was initially scheduled. The purpose of this paper is to describe the particularities of the LATS, analyse its performance as a waste management policy, make a comparison with the Landfill Tax, discuss its main features as regards efficiency, effectiveness and the application of the “polluter pays” principle and finally discuss if the effect of the increase in the Landfill Tax is what made the LATS ultimately unnecessary.     

Analysis of the relations between circular economy and sustainable development goals

ABSTRACT

Since the United Nations approved the eight Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and, 15 years later, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the highest political institutions in the world have not stopped worrying about achieving the sustainability of the planet. Also in 2015, the European Commission prepared the European Union Action Plan for the Circular Economy, seeking a transition towards a less linear economy, in which products, materials, and resources are kept in the system for as long as possible and in which the generation of waste is minimized.

Since then, the European Union has continued issuing reports and communications to accelerate this process in search of a circular economy, making continuous references to the fact that, through circular economy initiatives, the SDGs would be fulfilled. In this context, the objectives of this paper are 1) to determine, through exploratory factor analysis and correlation analysis, whether there is a statistically significant relationship between circular economy initiatives undertaken in the EU and compliance with the SDGs; 2) to check, through a cluster analysis, if there are homogeneous groups of countries worldwide in terms of compliance with the SDGs; and 3) using this same technique, to check whether the countries that make up the EU achieve similar results in terms of compliance with the SDGs.     

论特种设备安全技术规范的基本安全要求

本文分析了特种设备安全技术规范的含义、法律地位和作用,介绍了欧盟指令中基本安全要求的主要内容以及和标准的关系等,重点论述了特种设备安全与风险的关系、特种设备基本安全要求的范围、本质安全的含义、特种设备损伤机理和失效模式分析的要求,提出了特种设备基本安全要求的确定原则。     

Urban sprawl into Natura 2000 network over Europe

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity conservation at the global scale. Its impacts are expected to be especially detrimental when it sprawls into the landscape and reaches sites of high conservation value due to the species and ecosystems they host, such as protected areas. I analyzed the degree of urbanization (i.e., urban cover and growth rate) from 2006 to 2015 in protected sites in the Natura 2000 network, which, according to the Habitats and Birds Directives, harbor species and habitats of high conservation concern in Europe. I used data on the degree of land imperviousness from COPERNICUS to calculate and compare urban covers and growth rates inside and outside Natura 2000. I also analyzed the relationships of urban cover and growth rates with a set of characteristics of Natura sites. Urban cover inside Natura 2000 was 10 times lower than outside (0.4% vs. 4%) throughout the European Union. However, the rates of urban growth were slightly higher inside than outside Natura 2000 (4.8% vs. 3.9%), which indicates an incipient urban sprawl inside the network. In general, Natura sites affected most by urbanization were those surrounded by densely populated areas (i.e., urban clusters) that had a low number of species or habitats of conservation concern, albeit some member states had high urban cover or growth rate or both in protected sites with a large number of species or habitats of high conservation value. Small Natura sites had more urban cover than large sites, but urban growth rates were highest in large Natura sites. Natura 2000 is protected against urbanization to some extent, but there is room for improvement. Member states must enact stricter legal protection and control law enforcement to halt urban sprawl into protected areas under the greatest pressure from urban sprawl (i.e., close to urban clusters). Such actions are particularly needed in Natura sites with high urban cover and growth rates and areas where urbanization is affecting small Natura sites of high conservation value, which are especially vulnerable and concentrated in the Mediterranean region.     

Environmental policy implementation during the economic crisis: an analysis of European member state ‘leader-laggard’ dynamics

ABSTRACT

The long-standing debate on environmental policy ‘leaders’ and ‘laggards’ lends itself to a new analysis following with the advent of the 2008 economic crisis. This paper, therefore, asks the question to what extent do European Union (EU) member states have the capacity and willingness to implement EU environmental policy amid austerity, budget cuts, and rising costs over the period 2008–2014. Building upon previous studies, 26 interviews with European, Greek and United Kingdom participants and records of environmental infringements, the paper provides a contemporary picture of the environmental policy ‘leader-laggard’ dynamic in Europe. The findings demonstrate that the impact of the economic crisis seems contestable and varies amongst member states, while the reduction in environmental infringements appears to have a link with the decrease in economic activity. Although environmental policy ‘leaders’ maintain patterns of strong implementation, the improved implementation performance of some ‘laggards’ reflects a shift in their implementation patterns amid a period of intense political and economic controversies.     

The time-varying factors influencing the recycling rate of products

In Europe targets have been laid down by EU legislation for the recycling rate of end-of-life vehicles to be achieved within the nearby future. It is illustrated in this paper that the definition of the recycling rate and the realisation of the imposed targets are very much dependent on different parameters such as the changing lifetime of the product and product design. It may seem obvious that the recycling rate is determined by various time-varying factors, however, this paper endeavours to describe and quantify the role of these factors on the recycling rate over time by the use of a dynamic systems model. This model permits the prediction of the recycling rate as a function of the numerous presented parameters, changing design scenarios etc. In addition, different definitions of the recycling rate will be presented and discussed. This will lead to a better understanding of the parameters affecting the recycling system and a more precise understanding of the recycling targets and their realisation as imposed by EU legislation. This paper focuses on cars, but the discussion and the definitions derived are equally valid for any end-of-life product.     

Linking the Northeast states of the US mitigation program to the EU Emission Trading Scheme—Implications and costs

It is argued that there are at least five reasons for the Northeast states of the United States to implement a regional emission trading scheme for carbon dioxide despite the lack of federal policy regulations: goodwill, learning, political influence, risk management and competitiveness interests. Using an energy-economy model, the carbon price to bring the firms into compliance with a 10% reduction by 2020 is estimated to be 20-150 US$ per ton C. There have been discussions about linking the ongoing EU Emission Trading Schemes to the Northeast state initiative. The prime argument is that such a linkage would encourage a change of the federal US policy, which has traditionally followed action taken at the state level. Emissions trading with binding mitigation commitments could thus be demanded and accepted also on federal level. This paper demonstrates that the impact of linkage on permit prices depends on the reduction target in the European scheme: A low EU target results in a net flow of permits to the Northeast scheme, while a 40% EU reduction target results in a net flow of permits from the Northeast. Flow of permits from the Northeast state must be compensated for by the EU because the United States is not a party of the Kyoto Protocol. The EU must therefore buy permits in allowances recognized in the Kyoto regime in an amount equal to the net flow of permits from the Northeast states.

欧盟REACH法规研究

解读欧盟REACH法规,分析了欧盟REACH法规对国内产业,尤其是对中国石化的影响,为中国石化具体实践上述法规奠定了工作基础.