This paper examines the challenges and policy imperatives involved in implementing the Polluter Pays principle (PPP) in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It presents the state of play of the Polluter Pays principle in EU Member States. It also analyses the coherence with other...

This paper examines the concept of cost recovery of water services under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), including the different types of costs and cost-recovery mechanisms. It presents the state of play in the implementation of cost recovery in EU Member States, for financial,...

Socio-ecological transitions are a main project, current EU policies, national environmental politics, and regional as well as local action address. Manifold approaches exist and the European Union is anxious to coordinate and facilitate the process of a consolidated transition. Therefore, a...

Marine and coastal ecosystems – and thus the benefits they create for humans – are subject to increasing pressures and competing usages. For this reason, the European Union (EU) adopted the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which is to guide future maritime policy in the EU and...

To achieve the European bioenergy objectives, member states are likely to implement support policies targeting the use of lignocellulosic biomass for advanced bioenergy. Such policies could increase prices. In this study, we argue that with higher prices and new market opportunities for...

Concerns around potential losses of competitiveness as a result of unilateral action on carbon pricing are often central for policy makers contemplating the introduction of such instruments. This paper is a review of literature on ex post empirical evaluations of the impacts of carbon prices on...

In principle, linking emission trading schemes would favour the depletion of low-cost abatement opportunities that are geographically spread over the globe. However, this would only be possible if the price of the emission permits in the different schemes converge to one price. Using a simple...

To gain institutional and technical know-how for a national carbon market, since 2013 China has experimented with eight regional carbon emission trading system (ETS) pilot programs. The prominence of these policy experiments and their unusual tradable performance standards (TPS) design have...

To achieve the commitments to both carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, China should focus on those policies of significant impact on emissions reduction at the lowest cost. Launching the national carbon market with the power generation sector is a good start point in this direction. Since its...

The EU has embarked on multiple initiatives reflecting its commitment to environmental enhancement and sustainable transitions. Notable among these are the European Green Deal and the NextGenerationEU recovery plan, both pivotal in fostering eco-friendly policies and sustainable practices within...