Boeuf, B, Fritsch, O and Martin-Ortega, J orcid.org/0000-0003-0002-6772 (2018) Justifying exemptions through policy appraisal: ecological ambitions and water policy in France and the United Kingdom. Water Policy, 20 (3). pp. 647-666. ISSN 1366-7017
Abstract
The Water Framework Directive aims to achieve ‘good status’ for all water bodies in the European Union. However, exemption clauses enable member states to delay protective measures and to lower water quality objectives. The ambiguity of exemption clauses has led to a plurality of approaches across the continent. They differ as to their political objectives, i.e., the overall ambition displayed in implementing the Directive, and to their methodological choices, i.e., the analytical tools used to justify exemptions. This article argues that those political and methodological dimensions influence each other. Relying on a framework of analysis that integrates key recommendations from the literature, we explore the usage and justification of exemptions in two countries, the United Kingdom and France. Our analysis suggests that analytical methods were often decided so as to reflect the ecological ambitions of a country, and some methodological choices seem to have had unintended consequences for water quality objectives. We conclude that economic methods should be adapted so that they take into account, rather than ignore, the political ambitions of a country in the field of water.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) IWA Publishing 2018. The definitive peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Water Policy, 2018 http://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2018.108 and is available at www.iwapublishing.com. |
Keywords: | Affordability; Cost-benefit analysis; Disproportianate costs; Exemptions; Water Framework Directive |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 30 Jan 2018 11:42 |
Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2019 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IWA Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.2166/wp.2018.108 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:126771 |