Journal profile · ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmental Policy and Governance
ISSN 1756-932X · eISSN 1756-9338 · Wiley-Blackwell
Environmental Policy and Governance: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,800; median 253 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 6% (journal website); 74 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Environmental Policy and Governance is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sustainability and Climate Change Governance, Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management and Policy Transfer and Learning, together about 37.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Environmental Policy and Governance is an international, inter-disciplinary journal which seeks to advance interdisciplinary environmental research and its use to support novel solutions in environmental policy and governance. The journal publishes innovative, high quality articles which examine, or are relevant to, the environmental policies that are introduced by governments or the diverse forms of environmental governance that emerge in markets and civil society. The journal includes papers that examine how different forms of policy and governance emerge and exert influence at scales ranging from local to global and in diverse developmental and environmental contexts. The journal invites analyses that are at the forefront of academic debates and that are of practical significance and policy relevance. Each volume includes guest-edited special issues on themes deemed to be of widespread interest and importance.Environmental Policy and Governance is deliberately inter-disciplinary, seeking to publish articles that build the understanding of environmental issues not only by drawing upon and contributing to the environmental social sciences, but also by linking the social and natural sciences. The journal accommodates and encourages methodological innovation and diversity in order to foster interdisciplinary, problem-oriented environmental research. All manuscripts and special issues are reviewed by an international panel of referees, with an aim of returning constructive comments on submitted manuscripts in a timely way. The editorial strategy and the review processes of Environmental Policy and Governance are guided by an active editorial board consisting of leading academics from different regions and disciplines. The editors cordially invite the submission of manuscripts and proposals for special issues.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United Kingdom 6, Australia 4, United States 3, Mainland China 2, India 2 (40 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science22.7%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science7.9%
- Policy Transfer and LearningSocial Sciences6.8%
- Climate Change Policy and EconomicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.9%
- Forest Management and PolicyEnvironmental Science4.2%
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences3.7%
- Social Acceptance of Renewable EnergySocial Sciences3.3%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceINSPECCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, Astrophysics Data System
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.39LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 71OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 488OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 79.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 57LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 59Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 241,502Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 957 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 106 | 81 | 41 |
| 2025 | 74 | 58 | 262 |
| 2024 | 62 | 45 | 444 |
| 2023 | 56 | 46 | 679 |
| 2022 | 74 | 53 | 1,571 |
| 2021 | 55 | 29 | 1,100 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
253 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 191 days – 339 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 267 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (192 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 249 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 15 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,800 / EUR 3,170 / GBP 2,560 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted2, with length limits
- articleFull length papers should be approximately 7000-10000 words.Length not stated
- editorialluded. Special issues should include an editorial review of around 3,000 words and 5 or 6 papers of up to 8,000 words each. The Editors armain text ≤ 3,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Peer review
- Publication ethics 5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Editorial Review and AcceptanceThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to our readership. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are double-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Wiley's policy on confide…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are double-blind peer reviewed.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1756-932X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1756-9338
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 36, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Environmental Policy and Governance
What CAS zone is Environmental Policy and Governance in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Environmental Policy and Governance is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Environmental Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Environmental Policy and Governance?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.19; CiteScore 7.6, h-index 71.
How long does peer review take at Environmental Policy and Governance?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 253 days (interquartile range 191–339 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 6% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Environmental Policy and Governance?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Environmental Policy and Governance based?
Of the 40 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (6), Australia (4) and United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Environmental Policy and Governance?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Environmental Policy and Governance is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, INSPEC, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Environmental Policy and Governance open access, and what is the APC?
Environmental Policy and Governance is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,800.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .