This book, through various differently oriented chapters, tries to give an insight on how the European Union and its multilevel model of governance must try to strike a balance between diverging interests and priorities. In particular, the EU and the European states (including the CoE's Members)...

With paroxysm of technology due to new invention and innovations, nation across the world are experiencing extreme developmental activity. Though these activities meant for betterment of society but on the contrary it is posing threat to natural environment. The damages could be water pollution,...

The state of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the European Union (EU) in the context of the EU framework governing business and human rights (B&HR) is worthy of consideration. This chapter follows the top-down approach: it explores the relevant EU legal and policy...

This chapter discusses the basic obligations for national product safety regulations imposed by the TBT Agreement, and gives a general picture of the rules on technical standards that are applicable in the relations between China and its trading partners. The first section defines the scope of...

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,...

Although agriculture could contribute substantially to European emission reductions, its mitigation potential lies untapped and dormant. Market-based instruments could be pivotal in incentivizing cost-effective abatement. However, sector specificities in transaction costs, leakage risks and...

Hydraulic fracturing has been the subject of much debate recently, both in the United States and increasingly in Europe. Advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have led to a shale gas boom in the United States, significantly lowering natural gas prices, and causing some foreign businesses...

The contribution of biofuels to the saving of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has recently been questioned because of emissions resulting from land use change (LUC) for the bioenergy feedstock production. We investigate how an expanding biofuel feedstock production impacts on land use dynamics if...

Das ökonomische Potential des Einsatzes von Ausschreibungen für Umweltleistungen konnte nunmehr auch in Europa aufgezeigt werden. Jedoch stellen diese Modellprojekte bislang nur einen ersten Schritt auf dem Weg zur Implementierung von Ausschreibungen in europäische Politikmaßnahmen dar. Dies...