The political influence of ecological economics in the European Union applied to the cap-and-trade policy1

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2022

Authors

Goncalves, J (Author) Other; Manuel Luís Costa (Author) FEP

Journal

Title: Ecological Economics

Vol. 195

ISSN: 0921-8009

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00W-1KR

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107352

Abstract (EN): This paper analyzes the influence of ecological economics (EE) in the European Union (EU) political agenda, specifically the agenda-setting dynamics of the cap-and-trade (CAT) EE policy concept. We follow the model developed by Boezeman, Leroy, Maas, and Kruitwagen (2010), elaborating on the important factors for the rise of CAT in the EU political agenda, and on the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) implementation issues.Although EE features are present in the EU political agenda, particularly in periods when international works and forums raised environmental awareness globally, its impact has been moderate and intermittent. Since the 80s, neoclassical economics views tend to dominate EU policy, furthering a win-win discourse between eco-nomic growth and environmental sustainability. More recently, climate change has rekindled EE concerns without shifting the prevailing paradigm.We conclude that EE did not influence significantly the rise of the CAT policy in the EU political agenda. Instead, this resulted from a combination of the political context around the Kyoto Protocol, the agency of EU actors and the CAT flexible framing among multiple stakeholders. Also, the EU ETS operationalization shows that political obstacles hindered the policy's success, suggesting that EE would benefit from further integrating in its theory political economy aspects.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14