The European Union as a Leader in International Climate Change Politics

Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. The European Union (EU) has developed into a leader in international climate change politics although it was originally set up as a ‘leaderless Europe’ in which decision-making powers are spread amongst EU institutional, member state and societal actors. The central aim of this book, which is written by leading experts in the field, is to explain what kind of leadership has been offered by EU institutional, member state and societal actors. Although leadership is the overarching theme of the book, all chapters also address ecological modernisation, policy instruments, and multi-level governance as additional main themes. The book chapters focus on the Commission, European Parliament, European Council and Council of Ministers as well as member states (Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain) and societal actors (businesses and environmental NGOs). Additional chapters analyse the EU as a global actor and the climate change policies of America and China and how they have responded to the EU’s ambitions. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, EU politics, comparative politics and international relations as well as to practitioners who deal with EU and/or climate change issues.

1. Introduction: European Union Political Leadership in International Climate Change Politics, Rüdiger K.W. Wurzel and James Connelly 2. The European Union as a Global Environmental Policy Actor: Climate Change, John Vogler 3. The Role of the Commission of the European Union – Creating External Coherence From Internal Diversity, Pamela M. Barnes 4. The European Parliament and Climate Change: From Symbolism to Heroism and Back Again, Charlotte Burns and Neil Carter 5. The Council, the European Council and International Climate Policy: From Symbolic Leadership to Leadership by Example, Sebastian Oberthür and Claire Dupont 6. The United Kingdom: A Paradoxical Leader, Tim Rayner and Andrew Jordan 7. France’s Troubled Bids to Climate Leadership, Joseph Szarka 8. German Climate Change Policy: Political and Economic Leadership, Martin Jänicke 9. The Netherlands: a Case of ‘Cost-Free’ Leadership, Duncan Liefferink and Kathrin Birkel 10. Poland’s Climate Change Policy Struggle: Greening the East? Karolina Jankowska 11. Spanish, EU and International Climate Change Policies: Download, Catch Up, and Curb Down, Oriol Costa 12. Business: The Elephant in the Room? Wyn Grant 13. Environmental NGOs: Taking a Lead? Rüdiger K.W. Wurzel and James Connelly 14. A Green New Deal: Framing U.S. Climate Leadership, Guri Bang and Miranda A. Schreurs 15. Towards a New World Order of Climate Change: China and the European Union’s Leadership Ambition Xiudian Dai and Zhiping Diao 16. Conclusion: The European Union’s Leadership Role in International Climate Change Politics Reassessed Rüdiger K.W. Wurzel and James Connelly