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This book presents the new EU approach to environmental management and its attempt to place it in the perspective of sustainable development. China and other large and fast growing economies are putting increasing pressures on global environment, but they are also looking at the European experience with great interest. To present critically this experience can help those countries avoid the mistakes made by developed countries in dealing with the relation between economic growth and environmental protection, and to improve the institutions and tools for better environmental governance. The variety of issues covered and the wide approach used in this book make it a useful tool for readers who want to place themselves in this perspective, although starting from different backgrounds and levels of knowledge on environmental and sustainability sciences.

Sustainable Development Policies -- Integrated Environmental Policy in the European Union -- The Role of Legal Principles for Environmental Management -- Valuation of Sustainable Development Policies: Social Multi-criteria Evaluation -- Water Management -- The Groundwater Challenge -- Water Services and Water Policy in Italy -- Water Quality Control -- New Approaches to Wastewater Treatment Plants in Italy -- Integrated Policy Approach to Water Supply Management: A Venetian Project -- Air Quality Control -- Monitoring Air Quality in Urban Areas -- Sustainable Mobility: Mitigation of Traffic Originated Pollution -- Waste Management -- Integrated Waste Management. Technologies and Environmental Control -- Economic Analysis of Waste Management Systems in Europe -- Hospital Waste Management -- Energy Efficiency And Renewables -- Solar Energy -- Geothermal Energy -- Renewable Energy from Biomass: Solid Biofuels and Bioenergy Technologies -- Wind Energy -- Power Electronics in Distributed Power -- Energy Optimization of a Building-plant System -- The Sino-Italian Environment & Energy Building (SIEEB): A Model for a New Generation of Sustainable Buildings -- New Policy Schemes to Promote…