The greening of the grey: National Competition Policy and the environment

Concern for environmental degradation is now widespread, and has penetrated key policy institutions such as the National Competition Council (NCC) - t he body overseeing National Competition Policy. While the NCC's primary foc us is on promoting competition, it acknowledges the importance of environme ntal considerations. Such a body thus represents the contemporary Ecologica l Modernsiation approach to environmental policy-making. Ecological Moderni sation posits that there can be a reconciliation and synthesis between econ omic and ecological goals. This paper investigates this claim by exploring the relationship between competition and the environment in the three areas of electricity, regulatory review and rural water.