Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) have become a popular alternative to traditional regulation. However, little is known about whether these programs are sending accurate signals about the environmental practices of their participants. As a means for understanding signaling accuracy, this research investigates VEP design characteristics. The findings suggest that there are four distinct types of programs with varying degrees of rigor. Because information for differentiating among program types is limited, less rigorous VEPs can signal that their administrative, environmental performance and conformance requirements are comparable to programs with more robust designs. Further, the lack of monitoring and sanctions in less rigorous programs create opportunities for participants to free-ride and receive benefits without satisfying VEP requirements. Unless some means of distinguishing among program types is implemented, these issues can threaten the long term viability of VEPs as a tool for environmental protection, and the credibility of market mechanisms more broadly. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005
Citation for published item:fulkeleyD rFeF nd grminD toenn nd gst¡ n frotoD nes nd idwrdsD qreth eFF nd pullerD r @PHIQA 9glimte justie nd glol ities X mpping the emerging disoursesF9D qlol environmentl hngeFD PQ @SAF ppF WIREWPSF Further information on publisher's website: NOTICE: this is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Global Environmental Change. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A denitive version was subsequently published in Global Environmental Change, 23, 5, 2013, 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.05.010. Additional information:Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.
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Cities throughout the world face the challenge of preparing for climate change impacts. Since urban climate adaptation is an emerging policy domain, however, few institutions exist to guide cities among the first to take action. Drawing on institutional theory and case study research, this article examines the initiation and development of adaptation planning in two cities in the global south: Durban and Quito. The cases suggest that action in nascent policy domains is motivated by endogenous factors and sustained by taking advantage of opportunities rising and creatively linking new agendas to existing goals, plans, and programs.
Voluntary Approaches" to environmental protection are environmental policy instruments that have been implemented in different European countries. As main characteristic this instruments are "voluntary in nature", meaning that the participating firms have the option to participate or not to participate, and after the program is implemented they maintain the option of abandoning it at any moment. Firms' participation in this "voluntary actions" is explained through three potential benefits ─ internal efficiency improvements, commercial image improvements and public regulation "capture" ─ that assume characteristics of imperfect "public goods", opening the door for free-riding. At the same time the empirical experiences on Voluntary Approaches show that the private participation is normally done by groups of firms. Combining this reality with the "voluntary nature" and the creation of internal non-excludable benefits we face the existence of a "collective action phenomenon". We analyse this "collective action" phenomenon that supports the implementation of the "Voluntary Approaches" in a four stage regulation game with two heterogeneous groups of firms. Our objective is to identify the game structures that are created and characterise the equilibrium conditions Voluntary Approaches as Collective Actions Manuel Cabugueira 20-10-2003 2/45 I. Introduction Recent theoretical developments on the field of environmental policy extended the toolbox for planning environmental regulation adding to the traditional public regulation instruments, which are non voluntary in nature, a new breed of privately participated instruments, voluntary in nature (In Box 1. we make a brief presentation of the non-voluntary approaches and the voluntary approaches to environmental policy Box 1.). Box 1. The environmental policy instruments toolbox Non Voluntary Approaches: traditional regulation methods where the environmental regulation is impose to the firms by the government, and they are legally obliged to comply with it. To implement this "public regulation" based approach there are the traditional environmental policy instruments 1 (OECD, 1989): Command and control instruments (direct regulation): institutional measures that aim to directly influence the environmental performance of the polluter, regulating the implementation of process or the characteristics of products, restricting or prohibiting emissions of pollutants, imposing a given technology or a choice between a group of technologies, and\or restricting the economic activity. The main feature of these instruments is that "there is no other choice left to the polluter: he has to comply, or face penalties in judicial and administrative procedures" (OECD, 189, page, 12). Market based instruments (economic instruments): institutional measures that affect the costs and revenue of the economic agents, with the purpose of influencing their decisions pressing for an efficient management of environmental resources. These instruments "as contrary to direct regulations, leave actors free...
Environmental movement organizations (EMOs) that have similar goals frequently rely on different tactics and strategies to advance their agendas. This article uses an interpretive perspective to examine the factors influencing EMO selection of a repertoire of action. Building on concepts from organization and social movement theories, and relying on interview and archival data from Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, this study suggests that experience, core values and beliefs, environmental philosophy, and political ideology work together to create distinct organizational interpretations of the political environment, efficacy of action, acceptability of tactics, significance of an issue, and source of the problem.These interpretations combine to shape EMO determinations of what types of action will be most appropriate and effective. Although structural factors influence the decisions that are made within EMOs, organizations also rely on interpretive processes in their selection of a repertoire of action.
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