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Import Regulations and Certification as a Means to Enforce Sustainable Agriculture Abroad

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International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2017

Part of the book series: International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy ((IYSLP,volume 2017))

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Abstract

Bioenergy, used for the mitigation of climate change, has in recent years increased the pressure on land and thereby on agriculture, natural and near natural habitats. The European Union Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EU establishes for the first time environmental limitations that not only impact the drafting of climate change policy but also are specifically aimed at regulating its impact. Biofuels and bioliquids can only be supported by the States if they comply with certain limitations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and requirements on the protection of biodiversity. Although several issues are not sufficiently addressed, such as socio-economic issues or indirect land-use changes, the mechanism can nonetheless serve as a blueprint for regulation in other sectors. This is particularly true for the recognition mechanism, which benchmarks voluntary certification standards against the sustainability criteria. Valuable experiences may be drawn both for the design of certification systems and for the requirements on meta-standards.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    OECD (2007).

  2. 2.

    OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, pp. 16–62.

  3. 3.

    Worldwatch Institute (2007). Rosillo-Calle (2007), pp. 1–26.

  4. 4.

    Jumbe et al. (2009), pp. 4980–4986; Zhang (2008), pp. 3905–3924.

  5. 5.

    On the issue of conflicts with food, see FAO (2008).

  6. 6.

    Deininger et al. (2011), 13 foll., 163.

  7. 7.

    Goldemberg et al. (2008), p. 2095.

  8. 8.

    See European Commission (2011), p. 11.

  9. 9.

    IPCC (2007), pp. 282, 629.

  10. 10.

    van Stappen et al. (2011), pp. 4824–4834: 4829.

  11. 11.

    European Commission (2007).

  12. 12.

    Bowyer (2011), p. 8.

  13. 13.

    Lamers et al. (2011), p. 2672.

  14. 14.

    Fonseca et al. (2010), p. 40.

  15. 15.

    OECD (2007), pp. 12 foll.

  16. 16.

    Worldwatch Institute (2007), pp. 9, 141.

  17. 17.

    See the definition of regulation by Selznick (1985), pp. 363–364.

  18. 18.

    European Parliament and Council, Regulation (EU) n. 995/2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market, OJ [2010] L 295/23.

  19. 19.

    OJ [2010] L 151/19.

  20. 20.

    Bright et al. (2012), pp. 2–11.

  21. 21.

    OJ [2015] L 239/1.

  22. 22.

    Aguirre (2009), p. 206.

  23. 23.

    OJ [2014] L 351/3.

  24. 24.

    OJ [2009] L 30/16.

  25. 25.

    Cp. European Commission, Renewable Energy Progress Report 2017, COM (2017), 57.

  26. 26.

    German et al. (2011), Art. 29: 4 foll.

  27. 27.

    Oxfam UK (2007), p. 4.

  28. 28.

    Commission Communication on the practical implementation of the EU biofuels and bioliquids sustainability scheme and counting rules for biofuels, OJ [2010] C 160/8.

  29. 29.

    Deaton (2004), p. 618.

  30. 30.

    van Dam et al. (2010), p. 2457.

  31. 31.

    ISO, ISO 19011 – Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing [2011].

  32. 32.

    Matus (2010), p. 4.

  33. 33.

    Guénéau and Tozzi (2008), pp. 550–562.

  34. 34.

    McDermott et al. (2007), pp. 47–70.

  35. 35.

    Cashore et al. (2005), pp. 53–69.

  36. 36.

    van Dam et al. (2010), p. 2452.

  37. 37.

    German and Schoneveld (2011), p. 28.

  38. 38.

    European Court of Auditors (2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arnecke Sibeth, Berlin, Germany

    Andrea Schmeichel

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  1. Andrea Schmeichel
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Correspondence to Andrea Schmeichel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Environment Agency, Dessau, Germany

    Harald Ginzky

  2. Farmer Center, Iowa State University, Urbandale, Iowa, USA

    Elizabeth Dooley

  3. Sustainable Soils and Desertification, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Kleinmachnow, Germany

    Irene L. Heuser

  4. Kampala, Uganda

    Emmanuel Kasimbazi

  5. Research Centre for European Environmental Law, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Till Markus

  6. Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Tianbao Qin

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Schmeichel, A. (2018). Import Regulations and Certification as a Means to Enforce Sustainable Agriculture Abroad. In: Ginzky, H., Dooley, E., Heuser, I., Kasimbazi, E., Markus, T., Qin, T. (eds) International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2017. International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy, vol 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68885-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68885-5_10

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