A Novel Methodology for Environmental Policy Analysis—The Concept of Environmental Activity Elasticities and an application to the CAP

This study proposes and demonstrates an extension of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for the purpose of assessing the environmental and social consequences of sectorial policies. It introduces the concept of “activity elasticity”. The method relies on relative, rather than absolute, assessments of the contribution of various activities to environmental impacts. The methodology is designed to be easy to apply, to require relatively little training for implementation and to make the most of the acquired experience of local professional staff and affected parties. The method is demonstrated by an application to the effects of the reformed CAP on a farming community in Greece, from which it is concluded that the environmental and social costs are high.