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Evaluating Consistency in Environmental Policy Mixes through Policy, Stakeholder, and Contextual Interactions

Author

Listed:
  • Jenny Lieu

    (Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), Brighton BN1 9SL, UK)

  • Niki Artemis Spyridaki

    (Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, Greece)

  • Rocio Alvarez-Tinoco

    (Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), Brighton BN1 9SL, UK)

  • Wytze Van der Gaast

    (JIN Climate and Sustainability, 9711 BB Groningen, The Netherlands)

  • Andreas Tuerk

    (Joanneum Research, 8010 Graz, Austria)

  • Oscar Van Vliet

    (Climate Policy Group, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland)

Abstract

This paper introduces a method to analyse and explore consistency within policy mixes in order to support the policymaking cycle and applies it to energy and climate change policies in the United Kingdom (UK) biofuels policy context. The first part of the paper introduces a multi-level method to evaluate consistency within policy mixes implemented over a period of time. The first level explores consistency across policy design features in policy mixes. The second level evaluates how stakeholders, and their interactions with policy instruments and each other, can impact consistency within a given context. These interactions influence the implementation of policies and can lead to unintended outcomes that fail to meet the overarching goals. In the second part of the paper, we apply our method to the UK biofuels policy mix, to explore a sector that cuts across the policy areas of transportation, energy, land-use, air, and climate change. Our analysis demonstrates how, by overlooking complex interactions in the design and implementation of policies in the biofuels sector, policy mixes have conflicted with the development of a potential low-carbon technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenny Lieu & Niki Artemis Spyridaki & Rocio Alvarez-Tinoco & Wytze Van der Gaast & Andreas Tuerk & Oscar Van Vliet, 2018. "Evaluating Consistency in Environmental Policy Mixes through Policy, Stakeholder, and Contextual Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-26, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:6:p:1896-:d:150957
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Xieao Chen & Ping Huang & Zhenhong Xiao, 2022. "Uncovering the verticality and temporality of environmental policy mixes: The case of agricultural residue recycling in China," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 39(5), pages 632-653, September.
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