Achieving Environmental Ends: Policy and its Implementation John Murlis UCL Department of Geography IUAPPA/BAEWAP Seminar São Paulo 22 October 2002

The story in summary Our environmental problems arise from the way we satisfy consumer needs and wants This involves life cycles of processes, products and services Present process- based systems for environmental management have served us well but how far will they take us towards our environmental aims? In future gains are likely to be slow and costly Eventually we will need new approaches, spread over life cycles, involving producers and consumers There are immediate opportunities to build towards these new approaches in addressing current problems

Policy and its Implementation What we aim to achieve How we aim to achieve it Working with different interests In complex societies

Trends in Environmental Policy and Implementation

Being Clear about ends How do environmental aims sit in a context of sustainable development? Can we describe the environment to which we aspire? Can we measure the gap between where we are and where we wish to be? Can we understand what has to happen to close the gap?

Approaches to environmental Policy and its Implementation Precaution Technology Effects Market Instruments Co- management

Precautionary Approach Strengths: Administrative Simplicity Weaknesses: Indirect solution Opportunities: Use where effects serious but link with pressures not quantified Threats: Discredited if investment produces no quantifiable improvement

Technology Based Approaches Strengths: Equal misery Weaknesses: Inherently costly Opportunities: Provides visibility and clarity for policy makers Threats: Resistance to costs imposed without reference to benefits

Effects Based Approaches Strengths: Value for investment clearly quantified Weaknesses: Relies on good scientific understanding Opportunities: Builds public confidence in secure environmental policy Threats: Over-selling if scientific uncertainties concealed

Market Instruments Strengths: Economic efficiency Weaknesses: Lacks transparency Opportunities: Flexibility to embrace technological progress Threats: Discredited if targets fail to be met

Co-Regulation Strengths: Takes advantage of environmental leadership and innovation Weaknesses: Depends on trust between parties Opportunities: Flexibility to embrace technological progress Threats: Discredited if principal actors fail to deliver

Taking Stock: How far have we come? Local Air Quality: greatly improved but some targets elusive and transport growth threatens gains Waste: where we have targets, they seem unattainable Regional Environmental Protection: may be half way toward critical loads for acidity in Europe by 2010 Climate Change: fragile agreement in Kyoto, but targets do not match the scale of the problem Control of persistent micropollutants barely begun

What are the Drawbacks of our current Approaches? Progress is slow: science and policy analysis are contested Solutions are incomplete: intermediate targets the norm Policy is reactive: damage is done before action can be taken Progress is fragile: other government and public priorities Inefficient: Little opportunity for innovation or environmental leadership

Life Cycles: Where to intervene? Marketing and Design Collecting Materials Manufacture Distribution and Sales Use Reuse and recycle Disposal of residuals

New Policy Approaches Move down the chain from process to product to service Spread the responsibility to producers and consumers Take advantage of market leadership and innovation

Example: Product Policies Aim : “minimising burden of consumption over whole life cycles” Standards guide, but do not constrain Results come from market leadership and innovation

Product-Focused Policies Implemented through: environmental design and marketing eco-labelling taxes and charges product regulation producer responsibility

Product Policies Address main environmental threat Treat whole product life cycle Responsibility for change is shared amongst actors Innovation released Market can reward leaders Opportunities for social learning Connect to other dimensions of sustainable development

The Environment as a business issue Return on Investment Legislative timetables and business cycles Certainty Level playing field Environmental Markets and Consumer Choice

Partnerships in compliance Understanding capacity: what is Possible? Understanding costs Linking to business or economic cycles Focussing on ends Agreements, compacts and covenants

What we need to know How much can a products policy deliver towards targets? What are the transaction costs? What regulatory controls will still be needed?

Conclusions Policy focus has moved from means to ends Regulatory regimes have yet to follow The next steps will be hard and a challenge to rule-driven regulation Cooperation is needed to reveal costs and options Role of regulator may be challenged by emerging environmental strategy in businesses Partnership in achieving ends may prove most effective common strategy