1st Edition
EU Climate Policy Industry, Policy Interaction and External Environment
Climate policy is today a significant area of EU governance, providing important framework conditions for many industries. But how has EU climate policy developed? This book offers structured, comparative case studies of the development of four central climate policies: emissions trading systems, renewables, carbon capture and storage, and energy policy for buildings, examining the intriguing similarities and differences in how these have taken shape. Combining sociological New Institutionalism and political science theories in a novel and engaging way, Elin Lerum Boasson and Jørgen Wettestad explore and explain the history of EU climate policy. What emerges are fascinating stories - of skilled entrepreneurs who have managed to create and exploit political windows of opportunity, and of more long-term path-dependent developments. Drawing on more than 60 interviewees, the authors present accounts never told before, providing a valuable and timely contribution to our knowledge of environmental management and EU integration. This book is a must-read for all those seeking to understand the driving forces in EU climate policy and recognize its prospects for the future.
Biography
Elin Lerum Boasson, Jørgen Wettestad
’In this timely contribution, Boasson and Wettestad explain the development of four key policy pillars of the EU’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: carbon emissions trading, the promotion of renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency in buildings. The book is theoretically and empirically of the highest quality.’ Miranda A. Schreurs, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany ’This book significantly advances our knowledge about EU climate policy not least by shedding light on the role of industry, policy interaction and external factors in policy development as well as through rich case studies, including on the central but understudied aspects of energy efficiency in buildings and renewable energy promotion. There can be no doubt that the book will take an important place in any collection on EU climate policy.’ Sebastian Oberthür, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium ’What the EU does and does not do in relation to climate change matters hugely to those who live within and well outside Europe. By drawing together a mass of fresh empirical evidence and carefully relating it to well-known policy theories, this book manages to derive some genuinely fresh and insightful explanations as to why the EU acts in the rather puzzling way it does. In what is now an increasingly crowded field of research, it stands out for its depth and quality of scholarship.’ Andrew Jordan, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UK 'There is no shortage of literature on EU climate policies, an area of European studies which has flourished recently. Several edited volumes already offer comprehensive overviews of this policy domain. Yet Elin Lerum Boasson and Jørgen Wettestad’s monograph stands out as the first theoretically driven, comparative analysis of the factors that drive the development of EU internal climate policies... the richness of the empirical material and well-structured framework of EU Climate Policy make it a must-read for
