Voluntary Approaches for Environmental Policy: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Usage in Policy Mixes

Voluntary Approaches for Environmental Policy: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Usage in Policy Mixes
ISBN-10
9264101772
ISBN-13
9789264101777
Category
Science / Environmental Science
Pages
143
Language
English
Published
2003-06-25
Publisher
OECD Publishing
Author
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Description

Voluntary approaches include environmental agreements negotiated with industry and public programs which firms can volunteer to participate in. They are increasingly supplementing or replacing other environmental policy instruments, such as regulations, taxes and tradable permits. However, their environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency are often challenged. Questions often asked include: Do voluntary approaches deliver the expected environmental benefits? Do they help reach environmental targets in a cost-effective way?

This report assesses the use of voluntary approaches by building on a number of new case studies and an extensive search of the available literature. The focus of the analysis is on the environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency, and administrative costs of voluntary approaches, either used in isolation or as part of "policy mixes".

This report concludes that the environmental effectiveness of voluntary approaches is often questionable, and their economic efficiency is generally low. While administrative and transaction costs vary greatly among voluntary approaches, it is clear that if too few resources are spent in their preparation, negotiation and enforcement, their environmental impacts are likely to be modest. Combining a voluntary approach with a tax or a tradable permit system can trigger quite significant additional administrative costs, and the environmental integrity of the other instrument can be weakened.

Similar books

  • Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management V
    By Daniel William Tedder, American Chemical Society. Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

    Reimann , G. A .; Grandy , J. D .; Eddy , T. L .; Anderson , G. L. In Nuclear and Hazardous Waste Management Spectrum '92 ( Proc . ) ; American Nuclear Society , Inc. , La Grange Park , IL , 1992 ; Vol . 2 , pp . 1083-1088 . 3 .

  • Ecosystem Management in the United States: An Assessment of Current Experience
    By Steven Lewis Yaffee

    In 1991 , the Spence - Moriarty property ( 37,000 acres adjacent tÉ™ the Inberg - Roy ) was purchased . Now administering enough winter habitat , WGFD removed the thirteen miles of elk fence . WGFD sets herd - unit objectives based on ...

  • Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management IV
    By Daniel William Tedder

    A stock solution of PCP was prepared at an elevated pH of 11 with 1 N NaOH to increase the solubility of PCP in the aqueous phase . For the partial chemical oxidation pretreatment by Fenton's Reagent , the ferrous sulfate solution ...

  • Encyclopedia of Human Ecology: A-H
    By Julia R. Miller

    Amy Griffin Monica Mouton Sanders M.Angela Casady Jennifer Smith Burden Tom Luster See also: Adolescent Pregnancy and Prevention; Prenatal Decision Making by Adolescents; Sexual Abstinence References and Further Reading Child Trends.

  • Environment: The Science Behind the Stories
    By Scott R. Brennan, Jay Withgott

    KEY BENEFIT: The first edition of Environment: The Science behind the Stories made the biggest splash of any new entry in environmental science over the past thirty years.

  • A New Green Order?: The World Bank and the Politics of the Global Environment Facility
    By Zoe Young

    Jackson , P.M. , The Political Economy of Bureaucracy , 1981 , Philip Allan , Oxford . Jacobs , Michael , Environment , Sustainable Development and the Politics of the Future , 1991 , Pluto Press , London . Jordan , Andrew , ' Financing ...

  • ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE FROM CHEMICALS
    By W. Brock Neely, Gary E. Blau

    Johanson , R. L. , Imhoff , J. C. , Davis , H. H. , Jr. , Kittle , J. L. , Jr. , and Donigian , A. S. , Jr. , User's Manual for Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN ( HSPF ) . Release No. 8 , EPA - 600 / 3-84-066 , U.S. Environmental ...

  • Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica
    By Tom Griffiths

    A1 commented that Casey is traditionally considered to have lower morale than any other station , because of the tunnel design of the old station ( now superseded and removed ) and because it is the least scenic of the Australian ...

  • Encyclopedia of Environmental Control Technology: Volume 6: Pollution Reduction and Containment Control
    By Paul Cheremisinoff

    Chapters cover the practical application of pollution and contaminant control technology

  • Tourism in the Polar Regions: The Sustainability Challenge
    By United Nations Environment Programme, John Snyder, International Ecotourism Society

    The Sustainability Challenge John Snyder, United Nations Environment Programme, International Ecotourism Society. Foreword The rapid growth of tourism over recent decades presents both challenges and opportunities .