The Evaluation Of The Environmental Impact Of Energy Strategies Within The Eec

Environmental Impact of Energy Strategies within the EEC is a report prepared for the Environment and Consumer Protection Service of the Commission of the European Communities. The report aims to examine the effects on the environment of the production and use of different forms of energy within the community and to determine the scope for minimizing environmental impact through the adoption of appropriate energy strategies. After an introduction, this report presents in Sections 2 and 3 the summary, conclusions, and recommendations presented at the time of the Nuclear Hearings. The main body of the report is further divided into two parts. Part A contains the assessment of future community energy needs and the forecasts of primary energy supply according to various alternative energy strategies. Part B focuses on the potential environmental consequences resulting from the production and consumption of different sources of energy.

The European Union (EU) has sought to establish itself as a global environmental leader but was hit by the combined effects of the economic and financial crisis from 2007-8 leading some to question whether the EU could continue to adopt ambitious environmental policy. This volume brings together leading environmental policy scholars to analyse the impacts of the crisis upon environmental policy in the EU and its member states. Authors analyse whether environmental policy has been dismantled, expanded or stayed the same. If policy has been dismantled, the kind of strategy adopted is analysed (active, symbolic, arena-shifting, or dismantling by default), and at what levels change has occurred. The Index of Policy Activity (IPA) is applied systematically across the cases, which combine quantitative with qualitative analysis. Non-European cases are also included to provide a counterpoint for comparison. The book finds that whilst the EU has not actively dismantled environmental policy, its economic policies have had negative effects upon some Member States, prompting policy dismantling. Climate and energy policies have seen some policy expansion but there are examples, most notably the UK, where there has also been active policy dismantling. The main trend is one of stasis - environmental policy in Europe is judged to have plateaued calling into question Europe's much-vaunted environmental leadership. The book contributes to scholarship on environmental policy and public administration, combining empirical and methodological insights to give an up to date perspective on the impact of crisis upon European environmental policy.

Although the energy sector is of key socio-economic importance, energy production and consumption also has considerable environment effects, including contributing to climate change, damaging natural ecosystems, and causing harm to human health. This report assesses how effectively environmental concerns are being integrated with EU energy policies, based on a range of indicators which examine performance in the EU as a whole and in individual member states. The indicators examine trends over the period 1990-99 and compare these with baseline projections to 2010. The report finds that EU energy consumption is rising, mainly because of transport growth, with energy efficiency improving slowly. Renewable energies need to expand by at least double the current rate if targets for boosting their market shares by 2010 are to be reached.

​As energy is becoming one of the crucial concerns in the EU, this volume provides an in-depth analysis and interdisciplinary perspective on European energy security. Given the multidimensional nature of energy security in terms of physical availability, affordability and geopolitical security, it brings together authors from different backgrounds pursuing a distinctly multidisciplinary approach. The authors' different perspectives correspond to the three sections of the book: international relations, which focuses on Eastern EU partners; energy economics, which highlights the current unconventional hydrocarbons revolution and its impact on EU energy and climate strategies; and public policy, which analyzes EU policies in the context.

This pathbreaking book contributes to the discourse of evidence-based policy-making. It does so by combining the two issues of policy evaluation and sustainable development linking both to the policy-cycle. It covers contributions: · examining the perception of sustainability problems, which analyse the relationship between sustainability and assessment; · highlighting the role of evaluation and impact assessment studies during policy formulation; · looking at policy implementation by examining sustainability and impact assessment systems in different application areas; · addressing policy reformulation presenting monitoring and quality improvement schemes; · discussing quality of sustainability evaluations studies. Providing theoretic insights, reflections and case studies, this novel study will prove essential to postgraduate students, practitioners, policymakers and researchers in the area of sustainable development, policy-making and evaluation.