Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control was adopted in September 1996 and had to be transposed by EU Member States by 30 October 1999. In June 2003 the European Commission launched a consultation process on the possible future development of the Directive during which some stakeholders advocated certain technical changes such as the clarification of certain provisions that are currently perceived as unclear or the extension of the scope of the Directive in terms of industrial activities covered. The purpose of this project is to gather data on and conduct an analysis of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of such possible technical change.

The project is part of a framework contract with the European Commission on “Economic Analysis in the Context of Environmental Policies and of Sustainable Development”.