Side effects of categorized environmental measures and their implications for impact analysis

Publication

Environmental measures have sometimes unintended side effects. The paper focuses on side effects that are the result of relations and feedback mechanisms between economic activities and industries in production–consumption chains.

The theoretical framework of the chain analysis tools, life cycle assessment and substance flow analysis is used to define five different types of environmental measures: volume measures (1), efficiency measures (2), end-of-pipe emission reduction measures (3), re-use and recycling (4) and useful application of waste products (5). Each of these types of measures can re-direct substance flow in a different process, thus causing pollutant emissions to the environment to shift to similar or other emissions upstream or downstream in the economic chain. Using this categorization, the occurrence of a number of different processes that can lead to side effects can be predicted.

Authors

Raadschelders E , Hettelingh JP , Voet E van der , Udo de Haes HA

Specifications

Publication title
Side effects of categorized environmental measures and their implications for impact analysis
Publication date
22 December 2003
Publication type
Publication
Magazine
Environ Sci Policy 2003; 6:167-74
Product number
91133