A marine pollution governance assessment framework - the case of emerging tyre wear particles governance in the European Union

Despite global regulatory efforts over the last 50 years, marine pollution remains a persistent challenge. Its transboundary nature requires a multifaceted governance approach that encompasses land-based sectors as well as pathways of pollution from land to sea. Understanding why marine pollution governance struggles to be effective requires examining actor interactions and power dynamics that shape regulatory outcomes. This article therefore develops a marine pollution governance assessment framework (MAPGAF) based on two key components: 1) A life cycle perspective that considers pollution sources from product creation to their end-of-pipe emissions, and 2) an analysis of governance arrangements including rules of the game, discourse and power dynamics between actors. The MAPGAF is applied to the emerging governance of tyre wear particles (TWPs) within the European Union (EU), a new focal area recognized in the European Green Deal Zero Pollution Action Plan. The analysis highlights that different regulatory developments are emerging along the lifecycle of tyres and the end-of-pipe emissions of TWPs. EU governance arrangements addressing different life cycle stages thus interact, shaping overarching regulatory, power and discursive trends. Most importantly, while on the one hand recent EU regulations are expected to foster a more preventive approach to TWP emissions by enhancing tyre design, the power of the tyre (and car) manufacturers is increasing. Recognising these interactions is key to strengthening marine pollution governance in the EU, by addressing industry influence, integrating a life cycle perspective, and ensuring that governance arrangements are ambitious and enforceable.