Environmental policy integration: a state of the art review

TLDR

Environmental policy integration (EPI) is widely supported politically, especially in the EU, yet its practical implementation lags behind and evidence remains fragmented. This article reviews the state of the art in EPI research and practice, examining its conceptual meaning, implementation processes, and real‑world outcomes. The authors conduct a comprehensive literature review of EPI, analyzing conceptual definitions, implementation mechanisms, and empirical outcomes. The review finds that while political commitment to EPI is widespread, there is deep disagreement about its application, policy integration is complex with few transferable best practices, and evidence on outcomes is sparse, leaving policymaking systems ill prepared. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Abstract

Abstract The principle of environmental policy integration (EPI) attracts great scholarly interest as well as widespread political backing. Political support is particularly strong in the European Union, where it enjoys a prominent quasi‐constitutional status. However, the practical fulfilment of EPI appears to lag well behind these aspirations, although the evidence base of this widely held view remains rather fragmented. This article aims to review the ‘state of the art’ in EPI research and practice from the perspective of its conceptual meaning, processes of implementation and outcomes ‘on the ground’. It finds that the political commitment to EPI is indeed widespread, especially in industrialized states, but that deep disagreement surrounds its actual application. In terms of everyday practices, ‘policy integration’ is complex and contingent, and there are few ‘best practices’ that can be easily shared between jurisdictions. Finally, knowledge about policy outcomes is very sparse indeed, and policy‐making systems seem very ill prepared to address this lacuna. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.