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Green Giants?: Environmental Policies of the United States and the European Union PDF

414 Pages·2004·3.912 MB·English
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Green Giants.qxd 5/3/04 8:57 AM Page 1 Green Giants? Environmental Policies of the United States and the European Union edited by Norman J. Vig and Michael G. Faure The United States in recent years has been abandoning its historical role as a leader in environmental regulation. At the same time, the European Union, spurred by political integration, has enacted many G new environmental laws and assumed a leadership role in promoting global environmental sustainability. Green Giants?, one of the most detailed comparisons of the environmental policies of America and r Europe yet undertaken, looks at current policy trends in the United States and the European Union—the two largest economic actors in the world—and the implications they have for future transatlantic and e global cooperation. The contributors—leading European and American scholars and practitioners—examine similarities e and differences in specific policy areas in order to assess whether United States and European Union G r e e n G i a n t s ? policies are diverging, pursuing similar goals and methods, or undergoing a “hybridization” through n joint learning and exchanges. They find that although European and American policies may parallel each other somewhat in domestic regulation, they are clearly diverging in the “third generation” of environmental concerns, which include such global problems as climate change, international trade, and sustainable development. In the final chapter the editors conclude that transatlantic dialogue and G cooperation at the highest level are necessary if these two economic and political giants are to lead the international community toward a stable and secure ecological future. Norman J. Vig is Winifred and Atherton Bean Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, i Environmental Policies of Emeritus, at Carleton College. Michael G. Faure is Professor of Comparative and International a Environmental Law at Maastricht University and Academic Director of the Maastricht Institute for the United States and the Transnational Legal Research. n American and Comparative Environmental Policy series European Union t “This book raises the intriguing question of whether the world’s two richest economies—the United States and the European Union—are following increasingly divergent paths on environmental policy, s and points to the need for a new transatlantic partnership in this vital area. Everyone concerned about America’s faltering environmental leadership should read this book.” ? —The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth, President, The United Nations Foundation “An innovative and important comparison of environmental policymaking that sheds much light on the policy differences of the US and the EU and on how policymakers can more fruitfully learn from the experiences of others in designing more effective environmental policies. The book provides a very interesting look at how policies converge in some areas, diverge in others, and why those differences V and similarities occur.” i —Gary C. Bryner, Department of Political Science, Brigham Young University g a “We cannot make progress on global environmental issues if we fail to understand the differences in n approach between the United States and Europe. This volume not only sheds light on how we converge d and diverge, but also offers us a little hope—that if we share information, analysis, and experience, a hybrid approach that draws on the best each side has to offer may emerge and provide a way forward.” F —Eileen Claussen, President, The Pew Center on Global Climate Change a edited by u “At a time of severe strains in the transatlantic partnership, Vig and Faure’s Green Giants?poses a vitally r e Norman J. Vig important question: Are US and European approaches to environmental politics converging or diverging? , The book’s case studies are careful and methodical, covering a range of issue-areas from climate e and change to the regulation of genetically modified organisms, and the editors assess the prospects for d i either transatlantic conflict or joint leadership across these various issues.” to Michael G. Faure —Mark A. Pollack, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison r s 0-262-72044-2 The MIT Press ,!7IA2G2-hcaeeb!:t;K;k;K;k Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 http://mitpress.mit.edu Green Giants? American and Comparative Environmental Policy Sheldon Kamieniecki and Michael E. Kraft, editors Critical Masses: Citizens, Nuclear Weapons Production, and Environmental Destruction in the United States and Russia Russell J. Dalton, Paula Garb, Nicholas P. Lovrich, John C. Pierce, and John M. Whiteley Toward Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy Daniel A. Mazmanian and Michael E. Kraft, editors Domestic Sources of International Environmental Policy: Industry, Environmentalists, and U.S. Power Elizabeth R. DeSombre Waste Trading among Rich Nations: Building a New Theory of Environmental Regulation Kate O’Neill Reflections on Water: New Approaches to Transboundary Conflicts and Cooperation Joachim Blatter and Helen Ingram, editors Environmental Leadership in Developing Countries: Transnational Relations and Biodiversity Policy in Costa Rica and Bolivia Paul F. Steinberg Environmental Politics and Policy in Industrialized Countries Uday Desai, editor Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously: Economic Development, the Environment, and Quality of Life in American Cities Kent Portney Bringing Society Back In: Grassroots Ecosystem Management, Accountability, and Sustainable Communities Edward P. Weber Green Giants? Environmental Policies of the United States and the European Union Norman J. Vig and Michael G. Faure, eds. Green Giants? Environmental Policies of the United States and the European Union edited by Norman J. Vig and Michael G. Faure The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2004 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. This book was set in Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong and was printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Green giants? : environmental policies of the United States and the European Union / edited by Norman J. Vig and Michael G. Faure. p. cm.—(American and comparative environmental policy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-22068-7 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-262-72044-2 (pbk. : paper) 1. Environmental policy—United States. 2. Environmental policy—European Union countries. I. Vig, Norman J. II. Faure, Michael (Michael G.) III. Series. GE180.G735 2004 363.7¢00973—dc22 2003065186 Printed on recycled paper. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Series Foreword vii Preface xi Introduction 1 Norman J. Vig and Michael G. Faure I Comparing Policy Trends: Divergence or Convergence? 15 1 The Precautionary Principle, Risk Assessment, and the Comparative Role of Science in the European Community and the US Legal Systems 17 Theofanis Christoforou 2 The Roots of Divergence: A European Perspective 53 Ludwig Krämer 3 Convergence, Divergence, and Complexity in US and European Risk Regulation 73 Jonathan B. Wiener II Regulatory Trends: Institutional and Policy Innovations 111 4 Environmental Federalism in the United States and the European Union 113 R. Daniel Kelemen 5 Implementation of Environmental Policy and Law in the United States and the European Union 135 Christoph Demmke vi Contents 6 Convergence or Divergence in the Use of “Negotiated Environmental Agreements” in European and US Environmental Policy: An Overview 159 David J. E. Grimeaud 7 What Future for Environmental Liability? The Use of Liability Systems for Environmental Regulation in the Courtrooms of the United States and the European Union 183 Timothy Swanson and Andreas Kontoleon III Policy Divergence on Global Issues 205 8 The Climate Change Divide: The European Union, the United States, and the Future of the Kyoto Protocol 207 Miranda A. Schreurs 9 Trade and the Environment in the Global Economy: Contrasting European and American Perspectives 231 David Vogel 10 International Development Assistance and Burden Sharing 253 Paul G. Harris 11 Sustainable Development: Comparative Understandings and Responses 277 Susan Baker and John McCormick IV Transnational Networks and Dialogue 303 12 Emerging Transnational Policy Networks: The European Environmental Advisory Councils 305 Richard Macrory and Ingeborg Niestroy 13 The Transatlantic Environmental Dialogue 329 Carl Lankowski V Conclusions 345 14 Conclusion: The Necessary Dialogue 347 Michael G. Faure and Norman J. Vig About the Editors and Contributors 377 Index 381 Series Foreword Environmental and other public policy conflicts in recent years have underscored significant differences between the positions adopted by the United States and the member nations of the European Community. Dis- agreements over the Kyoto Protocol on climate change have been among the most visible in the environmental arena, but they are by no means the only ones. The disparities in outlook among the world’s leading industrial nations have important consequences for global environmen- tal governance and achievement of sustainable development. At a time when third-generation environmental challenges such as climate change and loss of biological diversity call for unprecedented cooperation among the world’s nations, what are the reasons for these divergent perspec- tives? What are the implications for concerted international action? For the goal of sustainable development? In this volume, Norman Vig, Michael Faure, and their collaborators address these questions through original and perceptive assessments of the actions, achievements, and future potential of the United States and the European Union. These two “green giants” of the world together account for at least one-half of the world’s GDP and the generation of about 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as much of the world’s toxic waste. They offer great potential for resolving global environmental problems because of their wealth, technological expertise, and level of public commitment to environmental protection. Yet their cooperation is by no means assured, nor is their support for global sus- tainable development. Thus it is imperative to understand why the green giants take the environmental policy paths they do, and the conditions under which the paths are likely to come together or head off in viii Series Foreword separate directions. A range of variables may be important: differences in political and cultural values, political and institutional processes, legal and regulatory traditions, the role of economic interests, and recent domestic political and ideological shifts. The sixteen authors represented in this collection offer varying analy- ses of policy trends and especially of the evidence for divergence or con- vergence of the United States and the European Union across a range of environmental policy issues. The chapters are particularly attentive to differences and similarities with regard to the regulation of environ- mental and health risks; trends in reform of environmental regulation, such as decentralization, negotiation, and changes in liability systems; positions taken on global issues such as climate change, international trade, development assistance, and sustainable development; and involvement with transnational networks and environmental dialogue. In some of these areas, such as the use of risk assessment, there is evi- dence of convergence between the EU and the United States. But equally striking is the apparently increasing divergence in how best to deal with third-generation global environmental challenges such as climate change. The authors also identify areas in which hybridization, or interaction and mutual learning, in environmental policies is occurring, for example, in a willingness to consider a new generation of “smart regulation” that may work better than early “command-and-control” approaches. In short, convergence, divergence, and hybridization are all taking place, but at different levels of government and in different policy arenas. Taken together, the conclusions in this volume contribute significantly to our understanding of comparative environmental politics and policy, and to environmental policy within the EU. The analyses represented in this collection illustrate well our purpose in the MIT Press series in American and Comparative Environmental Policy. We encourage work that examines a broad range of environ- mental policy issues. We are particularly interested in volumes that incor- porate interdisciplinary research and focus on the linkages between public policy and environmental problems and issues both within the United States and in cross-national settings. We welcome contributions that analyze the policy dimensions of relationships between humans and the environment from either a theoretical or empirical perspective. At a Series Foreword ix time when environmental policies are increasingly seen as controversial, and new approaches are being implemented widely, we especially encour- age studies that assess policy successes and failures, evaluate new insti- tutional arrangements and policy tools, and clarify new directions for environmental politics and policy. The books in this series are written for a wide audience that includes academics, policymakers, environ- mental scientists and professionals, business and labor leaders, environ- mental activists, and students concerned with environmental issues. We hope they contribute to public understanding of the most important envi- ronmental problems, issues, and policies that society now faces and with which it must deal. Sheldon Kamieniecki, University of Southern California Michael E. Kraft, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay American and Comparative Environmental Policy Series Editors

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