The Environmental Policy Integration Pyramid : Testing a New Model on the Case of Windpower Licensing in Norway

Environmental Policy Integration (EPI), understood as the incorporation of environmental objectives into all stages of policymaking, has suffered from poorly developed analytical tools. This article proposes a model for studying EPI in various contexts. Using Norwegian windpower licensing as an empirical example, we analyse the degree of EPI in Norway’s windpower licencing process. The cumulative-hierarchical EPI model developed here enables comparison of different sectors and policy environments. It is based on three levels of consequent and increasing EPI: recognition of environmental values, adaptation of the policy process to these values, and prioritization of them – often over other sector values. It spans the entire theoretical space of integration for assessment, including process, output and outcome. For Norway, recognition is found to be high, adaptation medium, and prioritization low. These findings have significant academic and practical value. Our framework represents a new development in analysing EPI, which also should be tested for comparisons between sectors and political context. This framework enables a more nuanced approach to policy advice concerning EPI, not least how it may be improved in a dynamic policy and natural-science setting