The Microcosm of Climate Change Negotiations

What Can the World Learn from the European Union?

by Håkan Nordström

Climate Change Architecture Programme Series • Issue Paper 1

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The EU has played a leading role in international efforts to combat climate change since the issue appeared on the agenda in the 1980s. The EU was the first party to commit to a stabilization target in 1990. It assumed the toughest target under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and it has made the most ambitious offer for Copenhagen with an autonomous target of 20 percent emission reductions by 2020, relative to the 1990 level, or 30 percent “provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable reductions and economically more advanced developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities.” The EU has also indicated a willingness to contribute between €2 and 15 billion annually to support adaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries, although the exact number is yet to be fixed by the Council.

The EU has emerged as a leader on climate change despite many obstacles. Collectively, the EU isresponsible for 13.8 percent of current emissions of greenhouse gases, with individual shares ranging from 0.01 to 2.8 percent. None of the Member States are large enough to influence the global emission trajectory in any significant way, nor is the EU as a collective, since global emissions are growing faster than what the EU can offset alone. The leadership is especially interesting in that Member States have veto power over key aspects of climate policy, including fiscal measures and energy policy. The EU cannot order Member States to phase out fossil fuels in favour of renewable energies, nor can the EU impose a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system without the agreement of all Member States.

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