ABSTRACT
During the 1980s, Britain, in common with many other countries in the developed world, underwent a series of changes in its environmental politics and policies. New issues came on to the policy agenda, including acidification, the control of toxic substances, nitrate pollution, ozone depletion and the threat of global climate change. The locus of decision-making on environmental policy increasingly shifted from national and sub-national actors to international bodies like the European Community (EC) or the Conference of North Sea Ministers. New interest was shown in the development of innovative policy instruments, such as environmental impact assessments and the uses of taxes and charges to control pollution, and there was a general upsurge of public interest, symbolized by the Green Party’s 15 per cent share of the vote in 1989 European elections and the increase in the membership and prominence of environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
