Plastic Pollution in Soils: Governance Approaches to Foster Soil Health and Closed Nutrient Cycles

Plastic pollution in soils pose a major threat to soil health and soil fertility that are directly linked to food security and human health. In contrast to marine plastic pollution, this ubiquitous problem is thus far scientifically poorly understood and policy approaches that tackle plastic pollution in soils comprehensively do not exist. In this article, we apply a qualitative governance analysis to assess the effectiveness of existing policy instruments to avoid harmful plastic pollution in (agricultural) soils against the background of international environmental agreements. In particular, environmental and fertiliser legislation relevant to soil protection in the European Union and in Germany are assessed. Regulatory weaknesses and gaps of the respective legislation are identified, and proposals for enhanced command-and-control provisions developed. However, the legal analysis furthermore shows that plastic pollution ecologically is also a problem of quantity, which is difficult to solve exclusively through command-and-control legislation. Instead, comprehensive quantity-control instruments to phase out fossil fuels (worldwide and in all sectors) as required by climate protection law can be effective approaches to tackle plastic pollution in environmental media like agricultural soils as well.

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Peatland Governance: The Problem of Depicting in Sustainability Governance, Regulatory Law, and Economic Instruments

Land ◽

10.3390/land9030083 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 83 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Felix Ekardt ◽

Benedikt Jacobs ◽

Jessica Stubenrauch ◽

Beatrice Garske

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuels ◽

Control Variable ◽

Command And Control ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Control Law ◽

The European Union ◽

Economic Instruments ◽

Livestock Farming ◽

Precise Knowledge ◽

And Control

Limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and better even to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to Article 2 paragraph 1 of the Paris Agreement requires global zero emissions in a very short time. These targets imply that not only emissions from degraded peatlands have to be avoided, but conservation and rewetting of peatlands are also necessary to figure as sinks to compensate for unavoidable residual emissions. However, with regard to instruments for meeting these targets, measuring, depicting, and baseline definition are difficult for greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands. In the absence of an easily comprehensible control variable (such as fossil fuels), economic instruments reach their limits. This is remarkable in so far as economic instruments can otherwise handle governance problems and react to various behavioral motivational factors very well. Still, peatlands can be subject to certain regulations and prohibitions under command-and-control law even without precise knowledge of the emissions from peatland use, which will be shown using the example of the European Union (EU) and German legislation. This paper is a contribution to governance research and illustrates that even comprehensive quantity-control instruments for fossil fuels and livestock farming—which would address various environmental problems and reflect findings from behavioral research regarding motivation towards sustainability—require complementary fine-tuning through command-and-control law, e.g., for integrating peatland governance.

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Trading Schemes, Risks, and Costs: The Cases of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewables Obligation

Environment and Planning C Government and Policy ◽

10.1068/c0728j ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 938-953 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

David Toke

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Emissions Trading ◽

Command And Control ◽

False Belief ◽

The European Union ◽

Governance Systems ◽

Emissions Trading Scheme ◽

Trading Scheme ◽

And Control

The appropriateness and importance of market-based environmental governance systems vary according to different cases. Although so-called ‘market trading’ regimes can be useful in some circumstances, a false belief in the inevitability of their cost-effectiveness compared with so-called ‘command and control’ systems has allowed policy distortions to occur. So-called ‘command and control’ policies are being underemphasised, despite the fact that they may achieve reductions in carbon emissions that are cheaper than those likely to be achieved through emissions (or ‘certificate’) trading regimes. I address theoretical arguments which I then place in context with analysis of some features of the British Renewables Obligation and the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.

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Analysis of the influencing mechanism of command-and-control instruments on adopting energy consumption monitoring technology in public buildings

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies ◽

10.1093/ijlct/ctz075 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 210-223

Author(s):

Xiaojun Liu ◽

Xiaodan Liu ◽

Xi Luo ◽

Mengmeng Wang ◽

Bojun Wang

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Command And Control ◽

Research Model ◽

Public Buildings ◽

Monitoring Technology ◽

Influencing Mechanism ◽

Equation Modelling ◽

And Control

Abstract How can command-and-control instruments (CACs) influence consumers’ adoption of energy consumption monitoring technology (ECMT) in public buildings? We attempt to answer this question in an extended theory of planned behaviour in which CACs and energy-saving awareness (ESA) are introduced. Empirical data are collected by a questionnaire survey with 298 respondents, and structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analyse the research model. The results indicate that ESA has a direct impact on consumers’ adoption of ECMT. The CACs have no direct effect on consumers’ adoption of ECMT but can indirectly affect consumers’ adoption of ECMT through three paths: CAC → ATT (attitudes) → BI (behavioural intention), CAC → ESA → BI and CAC → SN (subjective norm) → BI. Finally, suggestions are proposed, such as optimising the selection and combination of policy instruments, promoting the operation manager’s attitude towards ECMT to a more positive orientation, improving the ESA of the operation manager and providing more support for and pressure on the operation manager who has not adopted ECMT.

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Retrenchment, Reform Or Revolution - The Shift to Incentives and the Future of the Regulatory State

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr1200 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 455 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Robert Howse

Keyword(s):

Social Change ◽

Social Welfare ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Command And Control ◽

Regulatory Process ◽

Regulatory State ◽

The Social ◽

The Future ◽

Alternative Approaches ◽

And Control

A shift to incentive-based instruments of regulation is often viewed as a solution to the defects and limits of the traditional regulatory state. This article argues that, although in some contexts incentive-oriented approaches are desirable, there are limits to the use of economics in the regulatory process, particularly with respect to defining the goals of regulation in a pluralist democracy. As well, traditional policy instruments can be altered, evolved or supplemented to allow for belter government. There are many ways that government can bring about basic social change that neither suggest a return to old command and control approaches nor an increased reliance on or deference to economically self-interested market behaviour. It is these alternative approaches that are most promising for advancing the unfinished agenda of the social welfare slate, through a better reconciliation of care with autonomy and choice with community.

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Regional Economic Integration organizationsthe European Union as an Example

The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199552153.013.0037 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Ludwig Krämer

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Environmental Law ◽

International Environmental Agreements ◽

International Level ◽

The European Union ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Regional Organisation ◽

And Control ◽

The Eu

The European Union (EU), through the European Community (EC), is the only regional organisation that has the declared policy to pursue both the objectives of economic growth and environmental protection. At the international level, the EC has the competence to negotiate and conclude treaties with states that are not members of the EU. EU member states also participate in the negotiation and conclusion of international environmental agreements. As the EU increasingly tries to speak at the international level with one voice in environmental matters, it has the potential of progressively growing into the role of an important negotiator, initiator, and actor that influences the evolution of international law. This article first describes the EU's institutions and procedures, and then traces the development of EC environmental law. It also explores the characteristics of EU environmental law and policy, regulatory tools and approaches (command and control, economic instruments, etc.), concepts and principles in EU environmental law, sustainable development, and environmental rights. Finally, the article addresses lessons to learn from the EU environmental experience.

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The European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS): Still a Viable Entity or a Concept Spiraling Towards Obscurity?

Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law ◽

10.1163/161372709x457693 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 37-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Wenk

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

European Union ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Command And Control ◽

The Other ◽

The European Union ◽

The Future ◽

And Control

AbstractThe European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) was envisioned as a panacea for the perceived ills facing the European Union (EU) at the time of its inception. Its manifest purpose was to more comprehensively administer environmental management and compliance, to help ensure a uniform set of environmental performance across the entire EU. The scheme, together with the Eco-Label, the other EU voluntary tool, was developed as a complement to traditional 'command-and-control' legislation. While noble and ambitious in its design, EMAS has failed to become the shining light of environmental management which it was designed to be, and instead has devolved into a second class citizen. While the ongoing revision, EMAS III, offers some hope for the future, the program as a whole remains burdened by inefficiency and impracticality. The Scheme must expand in scope, and include motivations and rewards for incorporating such pressing ideas as CSR, or it will be doomed to the ash heap of history.

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Using Economic Instruments to Fix the Liability of Polluters in India

Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal ◽

10.37773/ees.v4i2.363 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 45-64

Author(s):

Sukanya Das ◽

MN Murty ◽

Kavita Sardana

Keyword(s):

Environmental Policy ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Air Pollution ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Command And Control ◽

Pollution Assessment ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Economic Instruments ◽

Environmental Policy Instruments ◽

And Control

This review paper highlights the informational requirements for the effective use of environmental policy instruments to achieve ambient standards of pollution in India. A section on the Integrated Urban Air Pollution Assessment Model is attempted to identify data requirements for, and information gaps associated with, using these instruments. We review the available information and identify informational gaps that thwart the realization of ambient standards of environmental quality. In India, command-and-control instruments are arbitrarily used to assign liability without taking cognizance of economic estimates. The available cost–benefit estimates of air and water pollution, combined with air quality modelling for urban areas and water quality modelling, are essential inputs for using environmental policy instruments to ensure compliance with ambient standards. We discuss how to use economic estimates while designing and using economic instruments such as pollution taxes and pollution permits, in addition to command and control.

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Environmental Policy Instruments and Eco-innovation: An Overview of Recent Studies

Innovar ◽

10.15446/innovar.v25n58.52426 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (58) ◽

pp. 65-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ángeles Pereira Santos ◽

Xavier Vence

Keyword(s):

Environmental Policy ◽

Keyword Search ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Command And Control ◽

Economic Incentives ◽

Incremental Innovation ◽

Environmental Policy Instruments ◽

Innovation And Diffusion ◽

And Control

In this paper we conduct a systematic literature review with the aim of understanding the effectiveness of environmental policy instruments, in particular, command and control, market-based instruments and voluntary schemes, in promoting eco-innovation. This study analyzes the information presented in selected papers, mainly from peer-reviewed journals, covering the period 2005-2012. The sample is based on 40 papers traced through a keyword search in Scopus database, representing the main academic journals related to the subject. A few more sources were added after reviewing the list of references from the main papers.The literature reviewed adopts different approaches and pursues several objectives to understand the relationship between policy instruments and eco-innovation. We find overall evidence that stringency is a key feature of policies for determining the effects of environmental technological change. It is argued that command and control instrument boosts eco-innovation, but continuity in investments depends more on the expected severity of future regulation. Empirical studies confirm that market-based instruments promote more incremental innovation and diffusion of existing technologies than radical innovation. In general, instruments based on economic incentives need to be complemented with stringent controls to be more effective. We conclude that complementarities between measures focused on developers and demanders are necessary in order to foster eco-innovation.

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Aid for Sisyphus: Incentives and Canadian Content Regulation in Broadcasting

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr1206 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 575 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

H. N. Janisch

Keyword(s):

Policy Instruments ◽

Command And Control ◽

Administrative Law ◽

Investment Incentives ◽

Incentive Policy ◽

Recent Developments ◽

And Control ◽

Content Regulation ◽

Canadian Content

Measured against recent developments in Canadian content regulation in broadcasting, claims of an overall shift to incentive-policy instruments seem exaggerated. Nevertheless, even here there are signs of some move away from exclusive reliance on command-and-control type regulation in favour of investment incentives for indigenous programming. In documenting this shift from "sticks to carrots" it is suggested that it would be inappropriate to think in terms of the traditional notions of administrative law fair procedures, although some minimal concept of "orderliness" in applying incentives might be appropriate.

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C2 Advanced Multi-domain Environment and Live Observation Technologies

International Journal of Computers Communications & Control ◽

10.15837/ijccc.2021.6.4251 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Francisco José Pérez ◽

Alberto García ◽

Víctor J. Garrido ◽

Manuel Esteve ◽

Marcelo Zambrano

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Data Model ◽

Command And Control ◽

The Other ◽

Border Control ◽

The European Union ◽

Standard Data ◽

Border Areas ◽

And Control ◽

Border Surveillance

Nowadays, the free movement of people and goods within the European Union is one of the topical issues. Each member state and border practitioner exploits its own set of assets in their goal of border surveillance and control. States have invested significantly in these assets and infrastructures necessary to manage and control the transit in the border areas. As new capabilities and assets become available and as current Command and Control (C2) systems become older, border control practitioners are faced with the increasing challenge of how to integrate new assets, command and control all of them in a coordinated and coherent way without having to invest in a completely new C2 systems built from the ground up. Therefore, and bearing in mind that the systems already developed up to date are very old and are not framed in a global standard data model, it has been identified, on one side the need to define a platform that allows to interact with multiple UxVs (land, sea and air), and on the other, unify all data models so that it can globalize and generate a much more concise analysis of what happens in places of conflict.

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