Two Decades of European Climate Policy: A Critical Appraisal

Climate change ranks high on the policy agenda of the European Union (EU), which considers itself a leading force in the battle against anthropogenic climate change. The EU is committed to the objective of limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than 2°C above preindustrial levels to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This article provides a critical appraisal of two decades of EU climate policy. Based on the global nature of climate change, we present three criteria for sound unilateral action and evaluate current EU climate policy against these criteria. We find that the actual implementation of EU climate policies is likely to make emission abatement much more costly than necessary. (JEL: H21, H23, Q58) Copyright 2014, Oxford University Press.