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Green Words, Misplaced Funds? EU Investment Fund Policy, Wildfire Risk, and the Spatial Logic of ERDF and EAFRD Investment, with Reference to Portugal

Jordebrandt, Daniel LU (2026) SGED10 20261
Human Geography
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
Across the EU, wildfires are becoming an increasingly devastating threat, placing growing pressure on investment in prevention. This thesis examines whether the greening of EU investment fund regulations governing the European Regional Development Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods has produced a regulatory architecture that would enable or require spatially targeted investment toward wildfire-vulnerable regions, with particular reference to Portugal. A document analysis consisting of three parts is applied to four EU regulations (governing EU investment funds) as well as audit evidence from the European Court of Auditors, applying Hajer’s concept of... (More)
Across the EU, wildfires are becoming an increasingly devastating threat, placing growing pressure on investment in prevention. This thesis examines whether the greening of EU investment fund regulations governing the European Regional Development Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods has produced a regulatory architecture that would enable or require spatially targeted investment toward wildfire-vulnerable regions, with particular reference to Portugal. A document analysis consisting of three parts is applied to four EU regulations (governing EU investment funds) as well as audit evidence from the European Court of Auditors, applying Hajer’s concept of ecological modernisation as well as Barca’s concept of place-based development and spatial blindness. The analysis finds that both funds have undergone strengthening of climate language between the two periods, with stronger earmarking obligations and more binding language. However, neither fund’s regulations contains a requirement that climate-adaptation investment be directed toward the territories where wildfire risk is greatest. The earmarking systems track how much was spent on climate activities, but not where within a member state that spending went. Audit evidence from Portugal confirms that this regulatory design has produced spatial misalignment between investment and risk exposure in practice. (Less)
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author
Jordebrandt, Daniel LU
supervisor
organization
course
SGED10 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
EU investment fund regulation, wildfire governance, ecological modernisation, place-based development, EU climate mainstreaming
language
English
id
9233379
date added to LUP
2026-06-15 11:32:39
date last changed
2026-06-15 11:32:39
@misc{9233379,
  abstract     = {{Across the EU, wildfires are becoming an increasingly devastating threat, placing growing pressure on investment in prevention. This thesis examines whether the greening of EU investment fund regulations governing the European Regional Development Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods has produced a regulatory architecture that would enable or require spatially targeted investment toward wildfire-vulnerable regions, with particular reference to Portugal. A document analysis consisting of three parts is applied to four EU regulations (governing EU investment funds) as well as audit evidence from the European Court of Auditors, applying Hajer’s concept of ecological modernisation as well as Barca’s concept of place-based development and spatial blindness. The analysis finds that both funds have undergone strengthening of climate language between the two periods, with stronger earmarking obligations and more binding language. However, neither fund’s regulations contains a requirement that climate-adaptation investment be directed toward the territories where wildfire risk is greatest. The earmarking systems track how much was spent on climate activities, but not where within a member state that spending went. Audit evidence from Portugal confirms that this regulatory design has produced spatial misalignment between investment and risk exposure in practice.}},
  author       = {{Jordebrandt, Daniel}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Green Words, Misplaced Funds? EU Investment Fund Policy, Wildfire Risk, and the Spatial Logic of ERDF and EAFRD Investment, with Reference to Portugal}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}