Behind Closed Doors: The Use of Agreements in the UK to Protect the Environment

Abstract

The wider use of consensual rather than regulatory instruments for securing environmental protection and the wider use of public access to information and public participation in decision-making are both aspects of the drive to promote shared responsibility for the environment. The question addressed here is whether these different approaches to promoting shared responsibility are compatible with each other. The question is tested by reference to the use of agreements to secure environmental goals. The authors conclude that both legislation and practice with regard to the use of agreements make no more than limited provision for access to information and public participation. They argue that this need not be so and indicate how the position could be improved.