Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

Despite international momentum for sustainable development, unsustainable practices are fueled by economic incentives that generally favour an expansion of economic activity at the expense of conservation and restoration, often causing environmental damage. Such incentives are known as environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS). They are defined as a set of aids emanating, directly or indirectly, from a public entity, which favour production or consumption that is harmful to the environment by increasing the exploitation of resources, the level of pollution or the deterioration of biodiversity. On a global scale, EHS are estimated to be 5 to 6 times higher than those that benefit the environment. Harmful subsidies to the environment pose a significant challenge for many countries in the
Mediterranean, each facing unique circumstances regarding their subsidy programs. Plan Bleu, recognizing the urgency of addressing environmentally harmful subsidies in the Mediterranean, embarked into the production of this edited volume report which seeks to better inform decision-makers across the Mediterranean. To produce this report, Plan Bleu launched a Call for Papers in 2023 as an open invitation to Mediterranean researchers, primarily from academia, diving into the intricacies of subsidies and their socioeconomic and environmental impacts in the Mediterranean. Eight paper proposals were selected and funded by Plan Bleu and are presented as chapters throughout this Edited Volume. Based on relevance and/or data availability, some chapters are regional while others are country specific, and all provide recommendations relevant to the global Mediterranean context. This «by Mediterraneans, for the Mediterranean» approach offers precious insights, ideas and practices from diverse perspectives across the region. The significance of these chapters lies in their collective ability to holistically address the challenges posed by environmentally harmful subsidies in the Mediterranean.