Environmental Governance

Our Work

Environmental policy integration (EPI) is the process of placing environmental considerations at the heart of decision-making in other sectoral policies, such as energy and agriculture, rather than leaving them to be pursued separately through purely environmental policy instruments.

The requirement to integrate the needs of the environment into other sectoral policies has been included in the EU Treaties since 1987. The Sixth Environmental Action Programme sets out objectives for putting these goals into practice.

The so-called ‘Cardiff’ process, launched in 1998, targeted the various sectoral configurations of the Council of Ministers, requiring them to produce their own strategies for integrating the environment and sustainable development into their areas of activity. However, in the end even the Commission admitted that the results had been disappointing due to political, institutional and technical factors.

For over 20 years, IEEP has been at the forefront of work to advance EPI. Our key projects and activities have included:

EPIGOV: This EU funded research project brings together 19 institutions from around Europe to explore the modes of governance employed at global, EU, national and regional/local levels to support EPI.

IEEP helped to draft two key reports on EPI for the European Environment Agency: Environmental policy integration in Europe - State of play and an evaluation framework; and Environmental policy integration in Europe - Administrative culture and practices

In collaboration with the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS), IEEP has written two reports on the integration of environmental considerations into EU energy policy Climate Change and Energy Security in Europe: Policy Integration and its Limits and the EU budget Turning the EU Budget into an Instrument to fight Climate Change.

Regarding work in this area please contact:

Marc Pallemaerts
Peter Hjerp
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom

Latest in Environmental Policy Integration

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    Co-authored by IEEP staff, the Manual is for anyone who is considering or currently undertaking a TEEB country study. Its purpose is to provide guidance throughout the entire TCS cycle, from initiation to policy analysis and ecosystem service valuations, communicating findings, and using results to support decision making.

  • Natural capital in a Nordic context

    A report for the Nordic Council of Ministers reviewing five different approaches to natural capital accounting and exploring their links with biodiversity and ecosystems.

  • Incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem service values into national strategies and action plans

    This guidance document has been prepared to support practitioners of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans to update their plans to incorporate biodiversity and ecosystem service values. Six in depth country case studies provide common lessons of good practice.