Due to ever mounting scientific evidence, today neither climate sceptics nor climate believers deny the fact that climate change is occurring and that human activity can be regarded as a prime cause. Uncertainty solely remains about the precise relationship between specific concentrations of particular greenhouse gases – most importantly water vapour and carbon dioxide – and changes in global temperatures. It is beyond doubt that certain gases in the atmosphere contribute to the so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ by trapping heat. Human activity like burning carbon-based fuels, but also deforestation and ploughing is intensifying this effect and causing a constant rise in carbon dioxide concentrations.
The growing empirical evidence for climate change triggered a global response, even though some authors classify it as ‘meagre’ (Helm 2008). In 1992, 154 countries joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC), to cooperatively consider what they could do in order to limit average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change. The UN FCCC built upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established in 1988, an international scientific collaboration entrusted with the task to ‘provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts’ (IPPC n.d.). The UN FCCC finally kicked off the process which culminated in the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Japan on 11 December 1997 and entering into force on 16 February 2005. The Protocol commits 37 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU) to stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions and sets binding emission reduction targets for a certain period (cf. UN FCCC n.d.). Being of particular relevance for this paper, the Kyoto agreement enabled the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to get under way as a prototype for a global emissions-trading regime.
The aim of this paper is to have a closer look at the EU ETS and to examine whether the development of the regime can be explained by using the lens of policy network analysis – a concept that appears particularly well suited to grasp the essence of multi-level governance in the European Union (cf. Jachtenfuchs 2001:255). The central question is whether the actors involved in the development of the EU ETS can be identified and classified by using policy network analysis as a theoretical framework.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- European Environmental Policy - Origins and Dynamics
- A New Impetus for Environmental Policy - The EU ETS
- In Theory - Policy Networks and Multi-level Governance
- Multi-level Governance - an Appropriate Analytical Tool?
- A Typology for Policy Network Analysis
- In Practice - Which Actors are Involved?
- Governmental Actors
- The European Commission
- The Council of Ministers
- The European Parliament
- Interim Conclusion
- Non-State Actors
- Non-Governmental Organizations
- Business Associations
- Governmental Actors
- Conclusion
- References
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and investigates whether the development of this regime can be explained through the lens of policy network analysis. The paper explores the theoretical framework of policy networks and multi-level governance, highlighting the potential for understanding European Union policy development. Key themes explored include: * The evolution of European environmental policy, including its institutional deepening and expanding scope. * The rise of the EU ETS as a significant response to the growing concern over climate change. * The application of policy network analysis as a theoretical framework for understanding the development of the EU ETS. * The identification and classification of various actors involved in the EU ETS, including governmental and non-governmental actors.Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The paper begins by outlining the growing scientific evidence of climate change and its anthropogenic causes, highlighting the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) in fostering a global response. The introduction discusses the Kyoto Protocol and its significance for the EU ETS. Chapter two provides a historical overview of European environmental policy, tracing its evolution from the 1970s through the ratification of the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, and subsequent reforms. Chapter three introduces the concept of policy network analysis and its relevance for understanding multi-level governance within the European Union. The chapter outlines a typology for analyzing the influence of policy networks on European environmental policy, particularly the EU ETS. Chapter four delves into the identification and classification of actors involved in the development of the EU ETS. This chapter examines both governmental actors, such as the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament, and non-state actors, including Non-Governmental Organizations and Business Associations.Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This paper focuses on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), policy network analysis, multi-level governance, climate change, environmental policy, European Union, actors, governmental actors, non-governmental actors, business associations, non-governmental organizations.- Citation du texte
- Katja Philipps (Auteur), 2012, The EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/233348
