Environmental policy in the EU: actors, institutions and processes 3rd edition, edited by A Jordan, C Adelle; Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, 2012, 392 pages, ...
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 2013, volume 31
doi:10.1068/c473wr
Environmental policy in the EU: actors, institutions and processes Ian Bailey School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA Environmental policy in the EU: actors, institutions and processes 3rd edition, edited by A Jordan, C Adelle; Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, 2012, 392 pages, £90.00 cloth, £29.99 paper (US$145.00, $53.95), ISBN 9781849714686, 9781849714693 Over the years, I’ve reviewed several of Andrew Jordan’s books on European Union (EU) environmental policy and felt reasonably confident about what I would encounter in terms of both content and quality. However, the third edition of this book, coedited with Camille Adelle, threw up some interesting departures from the previous two editions, both of which were handbooks composed of keynote articles on EU environmental politics, targeted at mainly specialists. This edition is very consciously and clearly a textbook—intended, in the editors’ words: “to meet the more refined learning needs of students” (page xx). Precisely what is meant by this statement is left a little in the air; but I interpret it, at least in part, as recognising that environmental policy is no longer a new and precarious gate-crasher among the EU’s competencies and is now an established part of the EU’s identity and purpose. As such, debates on how environmental policy operated ‘without portfolio’ and secured a legal foothold, or how sustainable development became a formal objective of European integration, remain important in helping students to build up a picture of why EU environmental policy making has evolved in particular ways, but require less attention compared with understanding how interplays between Europe’s governing institutions and member states continue to shape EU environmental politics or more recent political debates over the adoption of new modes and instruments of governing. The two main manifestations of this shift in emphasis are: the inclusion of helpful chapter summaries and recommended reading lists to guide students through theoretical debates and policy developments for each topic; and a tauter sense of progression through the themes explored. Previous editions had a similar construction, with sections on: “The historical and institutional context of EU environmental policy”; “Key actors involved in environmental policymaking”; “The policy dynamics of EU environmental policy”; and “Future challenges”. What is most striking this time around is the precision with which each section is composed to guide readers through topics. Whereas “Policy dynamics” in the second edition contained three articles (on task expansion, accommodating diversity, and rule making) that reflected particular policy dynamics without ever claiming to provide a comprehensive review of all policy dynamics, the third edition studiously subdivides policy processes into chapters on: agenda setting; policy making; coordination; implementation; evaluation; and the EU as an international environmental actor. The net effect of these changes and the authorship of each chapter by leading scholars is an accessible but highly authoritative text for those interested in, but without extensive prior knowledge of, the European Union. One more disappointing absence is a dedicated section on ‘making EU environmental policy’ and the resulting dearth of detailed case studies of how key pieces of legislation emerged on the EU’s political agenda and were negotiated and implemented. For a geographer such as myself these more microlevel analyses of the EU’s regulatory travails and triumphs provided different but no less revealing insights into the factors shaping the EU’s capacity
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to develop a credible system of environmental governance than can be gained from more general analysis of its actors, institutions, and processes. As Zito (2000, page 2) notes: “a substantial portion of EU policy change [and explanations for these changes] occurs in the day to day accretion of policy decisions [and the political processes accompanying them]— not in grand political acts.” The quest to make sense of EU environmental policy is partly served through synthesis and probing theoretical angles, but some novice scholars may struggle to comprehend the implications of some macrotrends. Moreover, a greater accent on individual issues need not be at the expense of engagement with broader issues. For instance, a study of emissions trading could be used to good effect to review the EU’s progress on the hugely important issue of climate mitigation whilst simultaneously illuminating wider processes by which policy innovations navigate the EU decision-making machinery; how competencies are acquired, strengthened, contested, and constrained; the EU’s attempts to conciliate between its economic and environmental ambitions; and its role as an international environmental actor (via current debates over international aviation and the scheme’s linkage to other carbon markets). The general prioritisation of processes over policies also throws up questions about the book’s underlying, even subconscious, purpose: in essence, to what extent is the primary concern, EU environmental policy making or European integration, based around an extended case study of environmental policy? On balance, the focus on environmental policy is sufficiently consistent to dismiss the suggestion, although some chapters and sections are somewhat generic (similar points could have been made with different thematic foci), and there remains a feeling that the book may appeal less to nonpolitical scientists (eg, human geographers) who hold a strong interest in how political systems govern environmental issues but for whom European integration itself is a subsidiary concern. A section on making environmental policy would have easily quelled this concern. Despite these relatively minor points, this is an immensely valuable and timely addition to the literature on EU environmental policy and politics, and is thoroughly recommended reading for scholars and students of EU politics. Keeping pace with such a dynamic field as EU environmental policy presents a major challenge. Successive volumes have provided updates but inexorably begin to lag behind developments almost as soon as they are published. The editors and authors of this book provide an outstanding contribution to this ongoing endeavour. Reference Zito A R, 2000 Creating Environmental Policy in the European Union (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, Hants)
