Climate Change Policy in the European Union: Confronting the Dilemmas of Mitigation and Adaptation?

by Edited by Andrew Jordan , Dave Huitema , Harro van Asselt , Tim Rayner , Frans Berkhout

• ISBN13: 9780521196123
• ISBN10: 0521196124
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-07
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The European Union (EU) has emerged as a leading governing body in the international struggle to govern climate change. The transformation that has occurred in its policies and institutions has profoundly affected climate change politics at the international level and within its 27 Member States. But how has this been achieved when the EU comprises so many levels of governance, when political leadership in Europe is so dispersed and the policy choices are especially difficult? Drawing on a variety of detailed case studies spanning the interlinked challenges of mitigation and adaptation, this volume offers an unrivalled account of how different actors wrestled with the complex governance dilemmas associated with climate policy making. Opening up the EU's inner workings to non-specialists, it provides an unparalleled perspective on the unique way that the EU governs, as well as exploring its ability to maintain a leading position in international climate change politics.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xv
List of contributors	p. xix
List of abbreviations	p. xx
Introduction and overview	p. 1
Climate change policy in the European Union: an introduction	p. 3
The evolving governance context: the European Union	p. 27
Governing the European Union: policy choices and governance dilemmas	p. 29
The evolution of climate policy in the European Union: an historical overview	p. 52
Climate policy in the European Union: understanding the past	p. 81
Burden sharing: distributing burdens or sharing efforts?	p. 83
Renewable energies: a continuing balancing act?	p. 103
Emissions trading: the enthusiastic adoption of an 'alien' instrument?	p. 125
Adapting to a changing climate: an emerging European Union policy?	p. 145
Adaptation in the water sector: will mainstreaming be sufficient?	p. 167
The evolution of climate change policy in the European Union: a synthesis	p. 186
Climate policy in the European Union: future challenges	p. 211
Exploring the future: the role of scenarios and policy exercises	p. 213
Governance choices and dilemmas in a warmer Europe: what does the future hold?	p. 229
Climate policy in the European Union: retrospect and prospect	p. 251
Governing climate change in the European Union: understanding the past and preparing for the future	p. 253
Index	p. 276
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