Environmental Policy

1. Class 11: Env Policy Making: Process CofC Fall 2010 Environmental Policy

2. Primary Actors in US Enviro Policy-Making • Government Actors • President and Congress: powerful incentives to take on enviro policy issues; key variable is salience of issue (extent public cares about it) • Administrators: critical role b/c they implement laws passed by Congress. Based on science/economics, can modify policy goals (e.g. Forest Service, EPA, or BLM) • Judiciary: Fed Cts review agency decision; expanded purview with ‘standing’ in 70s • State & Local Officials: Imp b/c of Federalism, but often focused on econ impacts b/c of need to attract/retain industry (public op is important too) • Non-State Actors • Advocacy Orgs (NGOs): all governance levels: global to local; build broad coalitions • Experts: wide variety (lawyers, scientists, economists); not neutral; make value judgments like everyone else • Media: critical component; cover all aspects (inform, persuade, dictate); policy-makers and media have mutually reinforcing relationship (influence each other).

3. Climate change Example(Rosenbaum, pp 32-37) • Competing interests • Competing Institutions • Competing Discourses (“Issue framing”) • Competing values • Competing ideologies • All catering to develop policy choices/alternatives and to compete over public perceptions, values, and worldviews (that shape individual action—see our flowchart)

4. Enviro Policy-Making Process • Agenda Setting: getting problem on subject list • Alternative Formulations: possible solutions to prob • Decision-Making: choosing among alternatives to address prob • Implementation: translating decision into concrete action • Evaluation: assessing those actions for their constituency with a policy’s goals.

5. General Rules from Policy Process • Legis and Administrative Policy makers generally engage in routine decision-making, avoiding change • Constitutional Constraints • Checks and balances • Federalism • Organized interests—political activism at all levels • Substantial divergence from status quo only when the following “streams” converge: • Government concentration on a particular set of probs—window of opportunity opens • Policy community (experts, media, advocacy groups) initiate and refine proposals • Political events (change in admin or problem) induce change • In absence of convergence of 3 streams  policy makers prefer incremental change or no change. • Incrementalism is “politically seductive” (p42) and results in “policy adjustments at the margins”

6. Interest Group Politics • Organized interests that affect public policy • Have an increasing role in shaping policy • Access is granted in our political system for lobbying as a central component • Business/Corps are the most fundamental interest group—and most effective • 70% of all interest groups addressing Climate change were business interests (and over $70m spent) in ‘08 • Has a “special relationship with government” because the overall economy health is key to politics • Environmentalism as a “special interest” • Enlarging access • Have re-balanced interest group politics—more influence • But becoming increasing based on donor’s $$ • Narrower issues • Ideology of Enviro: “pluralism is still bounded by general values, attitudes and beliefs” that shapes worldviews in engaging political action

7. Rosenbaum’s Typology of Environmental Politics • Ideological Mainstream • Pragmatic reformers (Sierra Club, Nat’l Wildlife Fed) • Stress incrementalism • Deep Ecologists—lifestyle transformation • All forms of life have equal claim on existence • Biocentric vs. Anthropocentric • Radical Environmentalism • Active political activism through direct action toward environmental ends • NOTE: Our Typology (institutionalist, mktlibs, bioenviros, social greens) is probably a better construction of approaches to environmental issues or worldviews

8. Environmental Attitudes • Deprioritize “environment” now, but in future, many Americans see it as a priority • Jamieson, “An American Paradox” • Nichols Institute’s findings—MOST VOTERS: • Believe significant progress has been made on EP • Perceive enviro as “long term issues that did not warrant the same priority as more ‘immediate concerns such as jobs and health care.” • Assume that enviro policies would have a negative economic impacts such as lost jobs and higher taxes. • By 2009, Gallap Poll indicated that for the 1st time in 25yrs, a majority favored protecting econ growth over the environment.

9. Science in Policy • Distinguishing factor b/w EP and other policy issues  immensely important • Sci data become “weapons” and science becomes a “bastion against critics” • Everyone has values. Enviro issues place scientists into the political fray, in which “impartiality and objectivity, the highest highly esteemed scientific virtues, are severely tested and sometimes fail.” (p68) • Often, policy makers are faced with decision b/w scientifically risky decision and politically risky one.

10. Enviromental Policy • Essentially, enviro degradation is a 21st C problem resolved according to 18th C rules….[such as] Fundamental instit checks/balances, interest group liberalism, federalism.” (p71) • Explosive growth of federal enviro legislation and the distinct role of science in EP making, add new elements to the fed policy cycle.