ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
problems. It is argued in Chapter that the traditional policy paradigm, which
emerged in the 1970s to deal with environmental problems, and which is still
deeply entrenched among most policy elites, reflects the way power is
distributed and exercised in all capitalist liberal democracies. Chapter identifies
the key features of the alternative policy paradigm of sustainable development
and its close relation, ecological modernisation, and provides a broad analysis
of the alternatives’ respective strengths and weaknesses. The remaining
chapters assess progress towards sustainable development and ecological
modernisation by evaluating how far their key principles have been
implemented. Two of these chapters focus on the international dimension of
environmental policy. Chapter examines the development of international
co-operation to protect the global environment, with case studies of climate
change and ozone depletion, then Chapter analyses the relationship between
globalisation, trade and the environment, focusing on three key institutions: the
WTO, the NAFTA and the EU. The final two chapters shift down to the national
level where most environmental policymaking, including the implementation of
international agreements, takes place. Chapter looks at a range of efforts to
integrate environmental considerations into the policymaking process, while
Chapter focuses on implementation by assessing the relative merits of different
policy instruments, with a particular focus on climate change strategies in the
transport and energy sectors.
Throughout Part many of the recurring themes arising from the relationship
between politics and the environment reappear. Familiar issues in
environmental politics, such as equity, social justice and democracy, lie at the
very heart of environmental policy. Moreover, Part shows that an understanding
of environmental policy requires us to look beyond government to the central
role played by industrial and producer interests, and by the wider public, as
both citizens and consumers. Put differently, Part III highlights how difficult it is
for governments to develop radical responses to environmental problems in a
liberal democratic polity and a capitalist economic system.