Conditions of Development of a Product Ecolabel

Since the early 1990s, national ecolabelling programmes have proliferated worldwide. The European Union (EU) implemented such a regional program in 1991. This decision was part of a broader orientation towards Integrated Product Policy approach in the EU. Since 1991, the development of European ecolabels has been slow and difficult. This paper examines industrial strategies vis-à-vis the EU ecolabel in order to understand the problems faced by the regulator in the development of this ecolabel.The first part of the paper defines and uses the concept of credence good in order to argue that the consumer cannot assess the ecolabel. Based on the examination of the development of the European ecolabel, the second part points out three variables that seem to influence the development of product eco-labels : i) the type of industry (i.e. the degree of heterogeneity between the sets of products sold by the different firms); ii) the threat of direct governmental regulation on the environmental quality of the product; and, iii) the magnitude of the final demand for a green variant of the product. The paper concludes with a discussion of on policy implications for policy makers interested in considering or promoting the use of ecolabels.quality, eco-labeling, voluntary environmental regulation.

Consumer' sovereignty and policy issues in the development of product ecolabels

Quality labels are not new, but the last decade saw labeling schemes to be increasingly targeted at expert qualities – i.e. qualities involving a high degree of scientific expertise in order to be assessed. The paper takes a close look at the regulatory and institutional framework underlying the development of one of these labels: the EU ecolabeling program (CEE, 1992). In order to better understand the conditions for the development of product ecolabels, we examine a success story, the case of the paints and varnishes European Ecolabel and contrast it the result with case of industrial opposition (detergent industry). The comparison pints at the importance of the negotiation phase in the development of product ecolabels. It also suggests that the degree of technological heterogeneity of the concerned industry - i.e. the extent to which the environmental performance of the products sold by the different firms are different - may be a variable determining the chances of success in the development of an ecolabel. The conclusion examines the lessons that can be drawn for the development of environmentally effective product ecolabels. It proposes tracks for further research on the subject.ecolabel ; industry ; competition ; negotiation

Consumer' sovereignty and policy issues in the development of product ecolabels

International audienceQuality labels are not new, but the last decade saw labeling schemes to be increasingly targeted at expert qualities – i.e. qualities involving a high degree of scientific expertise in order to be assessed. The paper takes a close look at the regulatory and institutional framework underlying the development of one of these labels: the EU ecolabeling program (CEE, 1992). In order to better understand the conditions for the development of product ecolabels, we examine a success story, the case of the paints and varnishes European Ecolabel and contrast it the result with case of industrial opposition (detergent industry). The comparison pints at the importance of the negotiation phase in the development of product ecolabels. It also suggests that the degree of technological heterogeneity of the concerned industry - i.e. the extent to which the environmental performance of the products sold by the different firms are different - may be a variable determining the chances of success in the development of an ecolabel. The conclusion examines the lessons that can be drawn for the development of environmentally effective product ecolabels. It proposes tracks for further research on the subject

Conditions of Development of a Product Ecolabel

International audienceSince the early 1990s, national ecolabelling programmes have proliferated worldwide. The European Union (EU) implemented such a regional program in 1991. This decision was part of a broader orientation towards Integrated Product Policy approach in the EU. Since 1991, the development of European ecolabels has been slow and difficult. This paper examines industrial strategies vis-à-vis the EU ecolabel in order to understand the problems faced by the regulator in the development of this ecolabel.The first part of the paper defines and uses the concept of credence good in order to argue that the consumer cannot assess the ecolabel. Based on the examination of the development of the European ecolabel, the second part points out three variables that seem to influence the development of product eco-labels : i) the type of industry (i.e. the degree of heterogeneity between the sets of products sold by the different firms); ii) the threat of direct governmental regulation on the environmental quality of the product; and, iii) the magnitude of the final demand for a green variant of the product. The paper concludes with a discussion of on policy implications for policy makers interested in considering or promoting the use of ecolabels

Acceptabilité sociale et planification territoriale, éléments de réflexion à partir de l'éolien et du stockage du CO2

In less than thirty years, the anthropogenic climate change has become a major challenge. In 2002, the European Union countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and set the goal of reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases 8% below the 1990 levels by 2012. Member States heavily rely on renewable energy and CO2 capture and storage in order to reduce their emissions. The social acceptability of these new technologies is often difficult because of the territorial and landscape recomposition they induce. This paper explores the case of wind power deployment in France in order to draw lessons as regards to the territorial planning and the deployment of new technologies such as CCS.En moins de trente ans, le changement climatique d'origine anthropique est devenu un enjeu scientifique et géopolitique majeur. En 2002, les pays de l'Union Européenne ratifient le protocole de Kyoto et se fixent l'objectif de ramener, en 2012, leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre 8 % en dessous des niveaux de 1990. Les Etats s'appuient très largement sur les énergies renouvelables et de façon encore expérimentale sur le stockage du CO2 pour réduire leurs émissions. L'acceptabilité sociale de ces nouvelles technologies est souvent délicate en raison des recompositions territoriales et paysagères qu'elles provoquent. Pour éclairer la question de l'acceptabilité, cet article s'appuie sur la distinction entre la technologie générique et territorialisée (Nadaï, à paraître). Parler de technologie générique consiste à concevoir son potentiel, c'est-à-dire ses capacités de développement, comme un attribut intrinsèque et son déploiement comme un processus s'élaborant à distance du social. Cette vision tend à confondre le territoire avec l'espace quasi-isotropique de leur gisement (vent, caractéristiques géologiques) et à mettre les enjeux d'acceptabilité sociale et de régulation territoriale du côté des contraintes. En abordant le cas de l'éolien et du stockage du CO2, cet article analyse l'écart entre une technologie générique et une technologie territorialisée. Cette alternative peut éclairer les enjeux contemporains en montrant que le potentiel d'une technologie n'est pas un donné mais qu'il reste à construire en fonction de processus d'exploration du social déterminant pour son acceptabilité

Communs paysagers et devenirs éoliens opposés : Le cas de la Seine-et-Marne (France)

International audienceThis article starts with the opposition to a wind farm project which led to conflict in a village in Seine-et-Marne (France). It follows the emergence and the gradual structuring of the trajectories of the opposing parties by exploring the roles and different opposing projects for shared landscapes. At the intersection between these conflicting changes and projected landscapes, the analysis sheds light on the reasons why institutions in France fail to establish the connection between heterogeneous shared landscapes to support the emergence of joint wind farm projects.Cet article part d'un projet éolien contesté et conflictuel dans un village de Seine-et-Marne (France). Il suit l'émergence et la structuration de trajectoires d'opposants dans leur constitution progressive, en explorant les rôles et les devenirs opposés de communs paysagers. À la croisée de ces devenirs opposants et paysagers, l'analyse met en lumière les modalités selon lesquelles, en France, l'accompagnement institutionnel échoue à articuler des communs paysagers hétérogènes pour soutenir l'émergence de projets éoliens partagés

A survey on the public perception of CCS in France

An awareness and opinion survey on Carbon Capture and Storage was conducted on a representative sample of French aged 15 years and above. About 6\% of respondents were able to provide a satisfying definition of the technology. The key question about `approval of or opposition to' the use of CCS in France was asked twice, first after presenting the technology, then after exposing the potential adverse consequences. Approval rates, 59\% and 38\%, show that there is no a priori rejection of the technology. The sample was split in two to test for a semantic effect: questioning one half about `Stockage' (English: storage), the other about `Sequestration'. Manipulating the vocabulary had no statistically significant effect on approval rates. Stockage is more meaningful, but does not convey the idea of permanent monitoring.Carbon capture and storage; public opinion

A survey on the public perception of CCS in France

International audienceAn awareness and opinion survey on Carbon Capture and Storage was conducted on a representative sample of French aged 15 years and above. About 6\% of respondents were able to provide a satisfying definition of the technology. The key question about 'approval of or opposition to' the use of CCS in France was asked twice, first after presenting the technology, then after exposing the potential adverse consequences. Approval rates, 59\% and 38\%, show that there is no a priori rejection of the technology. The sample was split in two to test for a semantic effect: questioning one half about 'Stockage' (English: storage), the other about 'Sequestration'. Manipulating the vocabulary had no statistically significant effect on approval rates. Stockage is more meaningful, but does not convey the idea of permanent monitoring

L'énergie des sciences sociales

National audienceL’énergie constitue un enjeu vital pour l’avenir de nos sociétés. Cet ouvrage porte l’ambition d’encourager le développement de recherches interdisciplinaires sur les choix qui s’offrent aux sociétés en matière d’énergie et de réponse à l’enjeu climatique. Il est le fruit d’une réflexion collective et interdisciplinaire ménée au sein du Groupe de prospective ‘Energie et Sciences Sociales’ de l’Alliance ATHENA, en concertation avec l’Alliance ANCRE.Il propose d’aborder la technologie comme un ensemble sociotechnique aux frontières mouvantes, qui pour être stabilisé, appelle des régulations d’ordres divers, parfois contradictoires, et suscite des controverses. Cette approche permet de structurer un premier agenda pluridisciplinaire, organisé et partagé, en sciences humaines et sociales.Quatre grands sujets sont abordés : visions du futur et scénarios ; gouvernance des politique de l’énergie ; marché, régulations et modes de consommation ; territoires et recompositions sociales. L’agenda de recherche qui s’en dégage appelle à instaurer des relations renouvelées sur les enjeux énergétiques entre les différentes communautés scientifiques.Le Groupe de Prospective Energie et Sciences Sociales est coordonné par Sandra Laugier (DAS INSHS en charge de l’interdisciplinarité, CNRS), Olivier Labussière (UJF / PACTE) et Alain Nadaï (CNRS / CIRED). Il porte un travail de structuration de la communauté SHS sur l’énergie en France afin de faciliter les voies d’un dialogue avec les autres sciences sur ces enjeux

El Paisaje y la transición energética: Comparando el surgimiento de paisajes de energía eólica en Francia, Alemania y Portugal

National audienceDue to the global acceptance of the reality of global warming and the imperative of changing energy patterns, ever more countries are in the process of implementing alternative energies such as wind power. In this article, we focus on the transformation of space as a consequence of these newly established alternative energy policies. We analyse the deployment of wind power in three European countries, France, Germany and Portugal through the lens of ethnographic landscape studies. Landscapes are the level at which political visions and policy decisions endorse (or not) their very materiality. With this comparative approach to local realities, we highlight the differences, commonalities and potentials for the production of wind energy in different national contexts. We argue that the global demand for low carbon futures and its successful implementation is highly dependent on the respective national cultures of administration as well as on local practices, initiatives and perceptions of space at the local level. The ethnographic focus on landscape gives an insight into the practice of the implementation of new energy policies. It directs the attention to people's relations with their environment in concrete places as being crucial for the potential to transform rural spaces into alternative energy landscapes. We analyze the way in which wind power and landscape issues are framed in each of the three countries under scrutiny, we point at potential tensions and explore how there are overcome (or not) at the local level so as to give way for the emergence of (new) wind power landscapes. We then bring the case studies and local landscape processes into the perspective of the energy transition, by comparing the role played by landscape cultures, institutions or practices in the development and resolution of tensions over the deployment of wind energy.Debido al reconocimiento generalizado de la realidad del calentamiento global, cada vez hay más países inmersos en el proceso de introducir energías alternativas, como la energía eólica. En este artículo nos centramos en la transformación del espacio que se ha producido como consecuencia de estas nuevas políticas energéticas. Los paisajes constituyen la plasmación (o no) de las visiones y las decisiones políticas. Analizamos el desarrollo de la energía eólica en tres países europeos, Francia, Alemania y Portugal, desde la perspectiva de un estudio etnográfico del paisaje. Proponemos que la implementación efectiva de un futuro bajo en carbono depende en gran medida de las respectivas culturas administrativas nacionales, de las prácticas y iniciativas locales, y de la percepción del espacio a nivel local. En los tres países estudiados, identificaremos las posibles fuentes de tensión y exploraremos cómo se superan (o no) a nivel local, para así dar paso a la aparición de (nuevos) paisajes de energía eólica. Comparamos el papel de las culturas paisajísticas, las instituciones y las prácticas en el desarrollo y la resolución de conflictos sobre el despliegue de la energía eólica