The study is far from an exhaustive examination of these issues. In many areas, the analysis is speculative, aimed at raising questions and suggesting areas where domestic and international policy makers may need to consider undertaking further analysis. Above all, it should be stressed that the study raises these matters at a very general level. Whether any given governmental measure is consistent with WTO rules is a highly contextual question, that may well depend on the exact design features of that particular measure, and its broader context – regulatory, technological and commercial. Thus, nothing in this study should be considered as a judgment that any actual measure of any particular government violates WTO rules.
The study has also been prepared at a time when countries across the income spectrum are taking a fresh look at local content requirements, after having largely phased them out in traditional strategic industries such as fossil fuel energy and automobiles. Questions explored include:
As “green public procurement” (GPP) is playing an increasingly important role in stimulating the demand for environmentally friendly products and services, there is a strongly emerging need to analyse which factors drive the inclusion of environmental criteria in public tenders. Working on data from Italian municipalities, the authors confirmed that intensifying information and raising awareness on GPP techniques can strongly support the development of public green tenders. Moreover, their analysis reveals that good GPP performance cannot be achieved through the mere adoption of a certified Environmental Management System (EMS) by a public authority alone, but rather through the level of maturity of the certified EMS that provides a growing “value added” to GPP practices. Finally, findings of this study demonstrate that the relevant limitations linked to the small size of public authorities can be overcome by the progress in GPP brought by several European, national and local supporting initiatives.
A green economy that incorporates a vision of environmental sustainability and equitable social development requires a fundamental rethinking of the existing economic models which centre on growth. In theory, this rethinking leans towards political ecology, which explores the State's relationship with market and civil society. In practice, more dynamic and inclusive public-private partnerships are being sought after in various domains of sustainable development. However, very little has been clarified with regard to the basic conditions that make dynamic partnerships both sustainable and equitable. This paper proposes to explore potential conditions by drawing on the public procurement of local food for school meals. The so-called home-grown school feeding initiative is a pertinent example because it focuses on the qualities of public services that do not fully follow the conventional free market principle, but instead promote the deliberative engagement of various actors.
Financial constraints are among the most important barriers to proper municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. The reform of fiscal measures and the adoption of economic instruments could help local governments by increasing revenue, causing MSW management authorities in the region to attempt to recover costs by levying fees for their services. However, the polluter pays principle is not easy to enforce in countries where the population has never paid the actual cost of public services aimed at mitigating environmental damage. Since it directly affects their available income, local people often do not understand why they should pay for these services while at the same time, rising public awareness of environmental issues is making it more difficult to implement low-cost solutions, such as the creation of new disposal sites. The fermentation of waste in open dumps and landfills generates landfill gas (LFG), a major component of which is methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG). Proper management of MSW which includes utilizing this LFG, can thus contribute to climate change mitigation.