IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/glenvp/v17y2017i2p84-104.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The European Commission’s Shifting Climate Leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Jon Birger Skjærseth

Abstract

The European Commission has played a crucial role in promoting ambitious EU climate targets and policies that boost the credibility of EU leadership-by-example efforts internationally. The approach has gradually shifted from leadership toward more strategic behavior that reflects the preferences of the member states. Reduced uncertainty concerning member-state preferences and solutions accounts for much of the change in leadership. Uncertainty has decreased as climate policies have become more mature and member states have gained experience from implementing them. Asymmetries in member-state preferences, decision-making procedures, and impatience caused by the international context are all important conditions for the European Commission’s leadership. These observations lend support to apparently contradictory theories that have seen EU climate policy as propelled either by autonomous supranational institutions or by increasingly ambitious member states.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon Birger Skjærseth, 2017. "The European Commission’s Shifting Climate Leadership," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 84-104, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:17:y:2017:i:2:p:84-104
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/GLEP_a_00402
    File Function: link to full text
    Download Restriction: Access to PDF is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas Follesdal & Simon Hix, 2006. "Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44, pages 533-562, September.
    2. Steinar Andresen & Jon Birger Skjærseth & Torbjørg Jevnaker & Jørgen Wettestad, 2016. "The Paris Agreement: Consequences for the EU and Carbon Markets?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 188-196.
    3. Charles F. Parker & Christer Karlsson, 2010. "Climate Change and the European Union's Leadership Moment: An Inconvenient Truth?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 923-943, September.
    4. Miranda A. Schreurs & Yves Tiberghien, 2007. "Multi-Level Reinforcement: Explaining European Union Leadership in Climate Change Mitigation," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 7(4), pages 19-46, November.
    5. Christopher J. Bickerton & Dermot Hodson & Uwe Puetter, 2015. "The New Intergovernmentalism: European Integration in the Post-Maastricht Era," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 703-722, July.
    6. Sebenius, James K., 1983. "Negotiation arithmetic: adding and subtracting issues and parties," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 37(2), pages 281-316, April.
    7. Young, Oran R., 1991. "Political leadership and regime formation: on the development of institutions in international society," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 281-308, July.
    8. Jørgen Wettestad, 2014. "Rescuing EU Emissions Trading: Mission Impossible?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 14(2), pages 64-81, May.
    9. Morten Egeberg, 2012. "Experiments in Supranational Institutionbuilding: The European Commission as a Laboratory," ARENA Working Papers p0319, ARENA.
    10. Andreas Follesdal & Simon Hix, 2006. "Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 533-562, September.
    11. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1999. "A New Statecraft? Supranational Entrepreneurs and International Cooperation," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(2), pages 267-306, April.
    12. Jarle Trondal, 2007. "Is the European Commission a 'Hothouse' for Supranationalism? Exploring Actor-Level Supranationalism," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45, pages 1111-1133, December.
    13. Morten Egeberg, 2012. "Experiments in Supranational Institutionbuilding: The European Commission as a Laboratory," ARENA Working Papers p0318, ARENA.
    14. Radoslav S. Dimitrov, 2016. "The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Behind Closed Doors," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(3), pages 1-11, August.
    15. Charles F. Parker & Christer Karlsson, 2010. "Climate Change and the European Union's Leadership Moment: An Inconvenient Truth?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 923-943, September.
    16. Barnett, Michael N. & Finnemore, Martha, 1999. "The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(4), pages 699-732, October.
    17. Jørgen Wettestad, 2005. "The Making of the 2003 EU Emissions Trading Directive: An Ultra-Quick Process due to Entrepreneurial Proficiency?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, February.
    18. Pollack, Mark A., 1997. "Delegation, agency, and agenda setting in the European Community," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 99-134, January.
    19. Gary Marks & Liesbet Hooghe & Kermit Blank, 1996. "European Integration from the 1980s: State‐Centric v. Multi‐level Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 341-378, September.
    20. Andris Piebalgs, 2006. "Green paper: A European strategy for sustainable, competitive and secure energy," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 7(02), pages 8-20, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jon Birger Skjærseth, 2021. "Towards a European Green Deal: The evolution of EU climate and energy policy mixes," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 25-41, March.
    2. Charles F. Parker & Christer Karlsson, 2017. "The European Union as a global climate leader: confronting aspiration with evidence," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 445-461, August.
    3. Rauh, Christian, 2022. "Clear messages to the European public? The language of European Commission press releases 1985–2020," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-19.
    4. Beetz, Jan Pieter & Rossi, Enzo, 2015. "EU legitimacy in a realist key," Discussion Papers, Center for Global Constitutionalism SP IV 2015-802, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. Stavros Afionis & Lindsay C. Stringer & Nicola Favretto & Julia Tomei & Marcos S. Buckeridge, 2016. "Unpacking Brazil’s Leadership in the Global Biofuels Arena: Brazilian Ethanol Diplomacy in Africa," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(3), pages 127-150, August.
    6. Petia Kostadinova & Magda Giurcanu, 2018. "Capturing the legislative priorities of transnational Europarties and the European Commission: A pledge approach," European Union Politics, , vol. 19(2), pages 363-379, June.
    7. Torbjørg Jevnaker & Jørgen Wettestad, 2017. "Ratcheting Up Carbon Trade: The Politics of Reforming EU Emissions Trading," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 105-124, May.
    8. Pamela Pansardi & Pier Domenico Tortola, 2022. "A “More Political” Commission? Reassessing EC Politicization through Language," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1047-1068, July.
    9. Thomas Winzen, 2013. "European integration and national parliamentary oversight institutions," European Union Politics, , vol. 14(2), pages 297-323, June.
    10. Höpner, Martin & Schäfer, Armin, 2012. "Integration among unequals: How the heterogeneity of European varieties of capitalism shapes the social and democratic potential of the EU," MPIfG Discussion Paper 12/5, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    11. Felix Lehmann, 2023. "Talking about Europe? Explaining the salience of the European Union in the plenaries of 17 national parliaments during 2006–2019," European Union Politics, , vol. 24(2), pages 370-389, June.
    12. Alves, Amanda M. & Brousseau, Eric & Yeung, Timothy Yu-Cheong, 2021. "The dynamics of institution building: State aids, the European commission, and the court of justice of the European Union," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 836-859.
    13. Lisbeth Aggestam & Markus Johansson, 2017. "The Leadership Paradox in EU Foreign Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(6), pages 1203-1220, November.
    14. Selianko, Iulii and Andrea Lenschow, 2015. "Energy policy coherence from an intra-institutional perspective: Energy security and environmental policy coordination within the European Commission," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 19, January.
    15. Filipec Ondřej, 2018. "Agent–Principal Dilemma and the EU Chemical Management," TalTech Journal of European Studies, Sciendo, vol. 8(1), pages 154-175, June.
    16. Scharpf, Fritz W., 2016. "De-constitutionalization and majority rule: A democratic vision for Europe," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/14, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    17. Mark Dawson & Adina Maricut‐Akbik, 2023. "Accountability in the EU's para‐regulatory state: The case of the Economic and Monetary Union," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 142-157, January.
    18. Joerges, Christian & Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian, 2016. "Europe and European studies in crisis: Inter-disciplinary and intra-disciplinary schisms in legal and political science," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2016-109, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    19. Richard Hyman & Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, 2020. "(How) can international trade union organisations be democratic?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(3), pages 253-272, August.
    20. Adela Toscano-Valle & Antonio Sianes & Francisco Santos-Carrillo & Luis A. Fernández-Portillo, 2022. "Can the Rational Design of International Institutions Solve Cooperation Problems? Insights from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:17:y:2017:i:2:p:84-104. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kelly McDougall (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://direct.mit.edu/journals .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.