There is one phrase that seems to guarantee most officials and many politicians eyes rolling and shut down any fruitful exchange.
It is “if you do this, the economy will tank”, or a variation “we will close our operations and leave if you do this “.
I’ve witnessed this line being used working for MEPs and as a DG ENV official. I’ve never seen it work.
It is a line that tends to be used when it comes to environmental regulation.
I think it does not work is because intuitively most politicians and civil servants don’t believe it because of the diagram below.
Europe’s embrace of Environmental Legislation was a few years behind the USA. But, it seems the European Union’s growth has not been hit by a well-developed body of Environmental Law in the EU 27.
And, as this study by the UK’s Environment Department in 1995, makes clear that overall the benefits of environmental measures outweigh the costs by a factor of 3.
defra-regulation-assessment-2015
Over 25 years I have heard the clarion song of economic armageddon by industry if the law or measure was passed. I recently checked. Most are doing just fine. One sector that was particularly vocal on the impending economic collapse because of the new laws put in profitability levels to match Google.
I recall one industrial interest whose standard letter to MEPs was to oppose any environmental proposals because of the economic collapse it would usher in. I learned that most progressive MEPs and many centre-right MEPs dropped their letter straight into the bin. It was a shame because if you could read to the end of the long letter and past the forewarning of economic collapse, there were some very good public policy points hidden away in plain sight.
Now, the ‘economy is going to collapse line that’s going to work with those officials and politicians who are already on your side. It is just not a line that’s going to persuade those who are not already on your side. And, for that, you’ll need to do and say different things. If you want to persuade enough officials and politicians to win, you need to choose the lines that will influence and persuade them to back you, not just sound nice to you.