Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?

Michael Howes; Liana Wortley; Ruth Potts; Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes; Silvia Serrao-Neumann; Julie Davidson; Timothy F Smith; Patrick Nunn

doi:10.3390/su9020165

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Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?

Michael Howes, Liana Wortley, Ruth Potts, Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes, Silvia Serrao-Neumann, Julie Davidson, Timothy F Smith and Patrick Nunn

Sustainability, Vol.9(2), 165

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020165

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Abstract

environmental policy

sustainable development

environment

environmental governance

environmental outcomes

For a generation, governments around the world have been committed to sustainable development as a policy goal. This has been supported by an array of new policies ranging from international agreements, to national strategies, environmental laws at many levels of government, regional programs, and local plans. Despite these efforts, decades of scientific monitoring indicate that the world is no closer to environmental sustainability and in many respects the situation is getting worse. This paper argues that a significant contributing factor to this situation is policy implementation failure. A systematic review of the literature reveals that the failure to achieve the intended outcomes of environmental policies is due to economic, political and communication factors. Conflict between the objectives of environmental policies and those focused on economic development, a lack of incentives to implement environmental policies, and a failure to communicate objectives to key stakeholders are all key factors that contribute to the inability to attain environmental sustainability.

Details

Title: Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?
Authors: Michael Howes (Author) - Griffith University
Liana Wortley (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
Ruth Potts (Author) - Southern Cross University
Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes (Author) - Griffith University
Silvia Serrao-Neumann (Author) - Griffith University
Julie Davidson (Author) - University of Tasmania
Timothy F Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Patrick Nunn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: Sustainability, Vol.9(2), 165; 17
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.3390/su9020165
ISSN: 2071-1050
Copyright note: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
Organisation Unit: Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450463202621
Output Type: Journal article

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187 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Green & Sustainable Science & Technology

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Source: InCites