Natural Capital Accounting Informing Water Management Policies in Europe

In the European Union, the Water Framework Directive provides a roadmap for achieving good water status and sustainable water usage, and a framework for the information, types of analysis, and interventions required by the Member States. Lack of previous knowledge in, and understanding of, interdisciplinary approaches across European countries has led to applications of corrective measures that have yielded less than favourable results. The natural capital paradigm, the assessment and monitoring of the value of natural capital, has the potential to convey information on the use of water resources and improve the connection between implemented measures and changes in the status of the resources, thus enhancing the effectiveness of policy interventions. In this paper, we present the natural capital accounting methodology, adapted to the requirements of the Directive, and demonstrate its application in two European catchments. Using economic methods, the asset value of two ecosystem services was estimated and associated with changes in water status due to policy instruments. Findings demonstrate that the asset value of water for residential consumption and recreational purposes fluctuates from year to year, influenced by current and future uses. Consequently, managing authorities should consider both current and emerging pressures when designing interventions to manage water resource sustainably.

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The European Charter of Local Self-Government

10.3366/edinburgh/9781474403337.001.0001 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chris Himsworth

Keyword(s):

Critical Study ◽

The European Union ◽

Future Prospects ◽

Council Of Europe ◽

International Treaty ◽

Additional Protocol ◽

Domestic Courts ◽

The Status ◽

History Of ◽

Regional Authorities

The first critical study of the 1985 international treaty that guarantees the status of local self-government (local autonomy). Chris Himsworth analyses the text of the 1985 European Charter of Local Self-Government and its Additional Protocol; traces the Charter’s historical emergence; and explains how it has been applied and interpreted, especially in a process of monitoring/treaty enforcement by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities but also in domestic courts, throughout Europe. Locating the Charter’s own history within the broader recent history of the Council of Europe and the European Union, the book closes with an assessment of the Charter’s future prospects.

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Doing Everything You Can, but Not (yet) Getting it Right: Challenges to Brussels' Great Expectations for Water Quality1

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2017.sc.452733 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Franca Angela Buelow

Keyword(s):

Water Status ◽

Organizational Structures ◽

Eu Water Framework Directive ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Great Expectations ◽

Eu Member States ◽

European Water ◽

Improve Water Quality ◽

Governance Architecture

To arrive at a good status of all European water bodies is the main objective of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD). Since its adoption in 2000, the policy has fundamentally changed the institutional, procedural and organizational structures of Member States' water management, leading to an Europeanization of national legislation and decision-making structures. The case of WFD implementation in Schleswig-Holstein is an example of the policy's highly innovative governance architecture that unfortunately is not (yet) able to take that one last hurdle: to improve water quality and establish a good water status across EU Member States by 2015 or 2027.

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Euratom and Brexit: Could the United Kingdom Maintain One Foot in the European Union? Current Scenarios and Future Prospects of British withdrawal from the EAEC

International and Comparative Law Review ◽

10.2478/iclr-2018-0042 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 134-151

Author(s):

Andrea Circolo ◽

Ondrej Hamuľák

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Independent Solution ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

The European Union ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Status ◽

Long Time ◽

Energy Community ◽

The Impact

Abstract The paper focuses on the very topical issue of conclusion of the membership of the State, namely the United Kingdom, in European integration structures. The question of termination of membership in European Communities and European Union has not been tackled for a long time in the sources of European law. With the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), the institute of 'unilateral' withdrawal was introduced. It´s worth to say that exit clause was intended as symbolic in its nature, in fact underlining the status of Member States as sovereign entities. That is why this institute is very general and the legal regulation of the exercise of withdrawal contains many gaps. One of them is a question of absolute or relative nature of exiting from integration structures. Today’s “exit clause” (Art. 50 of Treaty on European Union) regulates only the termination of membership in the European Union and is silent on the impact of such a step on membership in the European Atomic Energy Community. The presented paper offers an analysis of different variations of the interpretation and solution of the problem. It´s based on the independent solution thesis and therefore rejects an automatism approach. The paper and topic is important and original especially because in the multitude of scholarly writings devoted to Brexit questions, vast majority of them deals with institutional questions, the interpretation of Art. 50 of Treaty on European Union; the constitutional matters at national UK level; future relation between EU and UK and political bargaining behind such as all that. The question of impact on withdrawal on Euratom membership is somehow underrepresented. Present paper attempts to fill this gap and accelerate the scholarly debate on this matter globally, because all consequences of Brexit already have and will definitely give rise to more world-wide effects.

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Modelling the European Union Sustainability Transition: A Soft-Linking Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116303 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6303

Author(s):

Andrea M. Bassi ◽

Valeria Costantini ◽

Elena Paglialunga

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Computable General Equilibrium ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Strong Support ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Evaluation Process ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Spillover Effects ◽

The European Union ◽

Intrinsic Complexity

The European Green Deal (EGD) is the most ambitious decarbonisation strategy currently envisaged, with a complex mix of different instruments aiming at improving the sustainability of the development patterns of the European Union in the next 30 years. The intrinsic complexity brings key open questions on the cost and effectiveness of the strategy. In this paper we propose a novel methodological approach to soft-linking two modelling tools, a systems thinking (ST) and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, in order to provide a broader ex-ante policy evaluation process. We use ST to highlight the main economic feedback loops the EGD strategy might trigger. We then quantify these loops with a scenario analysis developed in a dynamic CGE framework. Our main finding is that such a soft-linking approach allows discovery of multiple channels and spillover effects across policy instruments that might help improve the policy mix design. Specifically, positive spillovers arise from the adoption of a revenue recycling mechanism that ensures strong support for the development and diffusion of clean energy technologies. Such spillover effects benefit not only the European Union (EU) market but also non-EU countries via trade-based technology transfer, with a net positive effect in terms of global emissions reduction.

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Investigating the status of transgenic crops in Iran in terms of cultivation, consumption, laws and rights in comparison with the world

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-88713-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Abolfazl Baghbani-Arani ◽

Mona Poureisa ◽

Hossein Alekajbaf ◽

Rezvan Karami Borz-Abad ◽

Khodadad Khodadadi-Dashtaki

Keyword(s):

Transgenic Crops ◽

Economic Effects ◽

Food Allergies ◽

The European Union ◽

Gm Crop ◽

Gm Food ◽

Gm Foods ◽

The World ◽

The Status ◽

Transgenic Technologies

AbstractRecently, there has been a development in transgenic technologies in many countries to meet nutritional needs of increasing worlds҆ population. However, there are some concerns about possible risks in the field of growing genetically modified (GM) food, such as threats of biodiversity and food allergies making their use a challenge. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the economic effects and political scopes of GM foods in production sector and policies made by different countries in the world and Iran. Moreover, essential (practical and legal) solutions and guidelines were provided for production and consumption of GM foods, which are useful for governmental entities, Iranian politicians, and consumers' rights. The latest situation of transgenic crops in the countries with which Iran has the highest exchange of agricultural products (including Turkey, Pakistan, and the European Union (EU)) was also studied. Although, Iran has been one of leading Asian countries not only in the field of transfer of technical knowledge of genetic engineering, but also in development of the specialized knowledge of biosafety, and despite production of several transgenic plant lines by Iranian researchers, unfortunately no GM crop has obtained release and cultivation license except for GM rice that its growing process was banned after change of government. According to findings of this study, in Iran, growing and production process of GM crops does not follow the global trend owing to scientific and legal infrastructures.

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Towards a Circular Economy Taxation Framework: Expectations and Challenges of Implementation

Circular Economy and Sustainability ◽

10.1007/s43615-020-00002-z ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leonidas Milios

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Action Plan ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Policy Instrument ◽

Detailed Examination ◽

Raw Material ◽

The European Union ◽

Material Resource ◽

Waste Hierarchy ◽

Tax Relief

AbstractThe transition to a circular economy is a complex process requiring wide multi-level and multi-stakeholder engagement and can be facilitated by appropriate policy interventions. Taking stock of the importance of a well-balanced policy mix that includes a variety of complementing policy instruments, the circular economy action plan of the European Union (COM(2020) 98 final) includes a section about “getting the economics right” in which it encourages the application of economic instruments. This contribution presents a comprehensive taxation framework, applied across the life cycle of products. The framework includes (1) a raw material resource tax, (2) reuse/repair tax relief, and (3) a waste hierarchy tax at the end of life of products. The research is based on a mixed method approach, using different sources to analyse the different measures in the framework. More mature concepts, such as material resource taxes, are analysed by reviewing the existing literature. The analysis of tax relief on repairs is based on interviews with stakeholders in Sweden, where this economic policy instrument has been implemented since 2017. Finally, for the waste hierarchy tax, which is a novel proposition in this contribution, macroeconomic modelling is used to analyse potential impacts of future implementation. In all cases, several implementation challenges are identified, and potential solutions are discussed according to literature and empirical sources. Further research is required both at the individual instrument and at the framework level. Each of the tax proposals needs a more detailed examination for its specificities of implementation, following the results of this study.

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From natural capital accounting to natural capital banking

Nature Sustainability ◽

10.1038/s41893-021-00747-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael J. Vardon ◽

Heather Keith ◽

Peter Burnett ◽

David B. Lindenmayer

Keyword(s):

Natural Capital ◽

Natural Capital Accounting

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ANTI-SUIT INJUNCTIONS IN ARBITRAL AWARDS: ENFORCEMENT IN EUROPE

The Cambridge Law Journal ◽

10.1017/s0008197315000859 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

pp. 412-415

Author(s):

Ewelina Kajkowska

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Member State ◽

State Courts ◽

The European Union ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

The Status ◽

Recognition And Enforcement ◽

The Relationship ◽

Brussels Regulation

THE status of anti-suit injunctions in Europe has long given rise to controversy. The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-536/13, Gazprom OAO [2015] All E.R. (EC) 711 sheds a new light on the relationship between anti-suit injunctions and the European jurisdiction regime embodied in the Brussels Regulation (Regulation No. 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters). In this much anticipated judgment, the Court of Justice confirmed that, by virtue of the arbitration exclusion in Article 1(2)(d) of the Brussels Regulation, Member State courts are not precluded from enforcing anti-suit injunctions issued by arbitration tribunals and aimed at restraining the proceedings before Member State courts. Although the decision was given before the Recast Brussels Regulation came into force (Regulation No. 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, effective from 10 January 2015), it can be assumed that the same conclusion would have been reached under the new law.

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