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There is widespread consensus that current climate policy for passenger transportation is insufficient to achieve significant emission reductions in line with global climate stabilization goals. This article consequently has a starting point in the notion of ‘path dependency’ ( Schwanen et al., 2011 ) and an observed ‘implementation gap’ ( Banister and Hickman, 2013 ), suggesting that significant mitigation policies for transport do not emerge in the European Union because of various interlinked ‘transport taboos’, i.e. barriers to the design, acceptance and implementation of such transport policies that remain unaddressed as they constitute political risk. The paper argues that without addressing transport taboos, such as highly unequal individual contributions to transport volumes and emissions, social inequality of planned market-based measures, the role of lobbyism, and the various social and psychological functions of mobility, it will remain difficult to achieve significant emission reductions in passenger transport. Yet, transport taboos remain largely ignored among EU policy makers because their discussion would violate ‘order’, i.e. harm specific interests within neoliberal governance structures and the societal foundations and structures of transport systems built on these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on findings of the study titled "The EMF24 Study on U.S. Technology and Climate Policy Strategies," along with an introduction to the issue. Topics include aim of the study, which is understanding interactions between climate policy architectures and energy technology availabilities in the U.S.; comparison between models of the U.S. and European Union (EU); significance of United Nations Climate Change conference; and stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations.

The article presents an innovative method of analyzing energy companies' strategies, which aims to identify the strategic orientation of the entities subject to the research and, thus, to initially define the directions of strategic changes in the analyzed sector. The aim of the research, the results of which were used in this publication, was to identify the features of energy sector companies' strategies in the European Union in the period of sector transformation caused by the new climate policy. The analysis area is the energy sector, i.e., the sector whose fundamental strategic goal is energy production. The research used a critical analysis of the subject literature and desk research method with the use of the researchers' own analytical equipment, developed for the needs of this analysis. It was assumed in the conducted research that the primary source of information in the empirical study, the information subject to subsequent analysis, was the analysis of official documents (strategies, financial reports, etc.) posted on the websites of the surveyed corporations. The research results indicate the dominance of the resource-based approach in implementing strategic postulates of the surveyed companies. Nevertheless, the operational activity focuses on the implementation of innovative solutions towards decarbonization and climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapid process of globalization, merchandise trade has increased year by year, and the circulation and consumption of the energy embodied in the merchandise trade have increased. To study the relevant nature of the global embodied energy trade network (GEETN) from an overall perspective and the control and dependence relationships between various countries and regions from a partial perspective, this paper establishes a GEETN model, through an ecological network analysis (ENA) method and the motif of complex networks for research. From an overall perspective, a GEETN is a system that achieves stability quickly. Some developed countries, such as the United States and the European Union, and some emerging economies, such as China and Russia, play important roles in GEETN. From a partial perspective, in the GEETN model, US is mainly controlled by Asian countries and CA (Canada), EU is mainly controlled by other European countries, both due to their industrial layout in some extent. The scientific value of this article not only includes the improvement of model, but also provides a new perspective and a reference for the formulation of energy and climate change policies. [Display omitted] • We integrated ecological network analysis (ENA) with motif. • We analyzed the nature of global embodied energy trade network (GEETN). • The key countries and regions within the GEETN are detected. • The key control and dependence relationships within the GEETN are detected. • The results support policies of energy consumption and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report from the European Commission reveals deficiencies in the implementation of European environmental standards by member states. The report highlights the need to improve the protection of biodiversity, soil, and water quality. However, positive aspects are also highlighted, such as the expansion of the Natura 2000 network and the introduction of policies on chemicals and climate change. The report refers to the Sixth Environmental Action Programme, adopted in 2002, which established a strategic framework for environmental policies in the European Union. [Extracted from the article]

• The theoretical model connecting the energy and carbon markets is developed. • The model can be used as a monitoring tool for carbon price dynamics. • Identification of fundamental and market-specific shocks in a SVAR is proposed. • Time-varying short, medium, and long-run connectedness indices are computed. • A 65% on average of the variation in the carbon price is due to fundamental factors. In 2005, the European Union launched its Emissions Trading System (ETS), the first and one of the largest international carbon markets aimed at reducing member states' CO2 emissions. Policymakers tend to use the carbon price as an indicator of the "health" and effectiveness of the ETS mechanism, although this measure is influenced by many other energy and climate policies, energy market fundamentals, and speculative shocks. This paper develops a model that links the energy sector (oil, natural gas, coal, electricity prices, and the share of fossil fuels in electricity generation), economic activity, and the carbon price. The model can be used as a monitoring tool for carbon price dynamics. We represent the model empirically through a Structural Vector Autoregression and use frequency-domain analysis to distinguish the effects of changes in fundamental factors from shocks to market microstructure. Our empirical results show that up to 90% (65% on average) of the fluctuations in the carbon price, adjusted for supply effects, are explained by fluctuations in fundamental market variables; however, the individual contributions are not stable. Overall, our results suggest that the ETS has started to work well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines ratification of the Kyoto Protocol across 26 transitional economies of Europe and Eurasia for the period of 1998-2009; the period between the Kyoto Protocol and the 2009 Copenhagen meeting. The dependent variable measures whether or not the country has ratified the Kyoto Protocol in a given year. The key variable of interest is the strength of domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs). To account for the nascent stage of the NGO sector, I measure NGO strength as a 'stock' and as a 'flow' variable. Using an event-history model, I examine the impact of the NGO strength while controlling for other domestic-based and international drivers of treaty ratification. All time-variant independent variables are lagged by a year. My analysis suggests that the stock of domestic NGO strength is a significant predictor of the timing of ratification. Further, EU accession pressures, ratification levels in contiguous countries, and domestic economic cycle impact the timing of ratification of the treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how the European Union (EU) has responded to climate change adaptation and mitigation and how a similar approach can be taken by the government in British Columbia. The authors explain that most mitigation efforts around the world have failed to reverse global warming, causing a great need for adaptation policies. They discuss the importance of trans-municipal efforts to address climate change, explore how local and federal governments in the EU are working together on this issue, and analyze policy programs implemented by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.

As a regional organization, the European Union's role in global climate governance faces constraints that do not apply to other members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol. Addressing that uniqueness, this article provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of how the elements of actorness (recognition, capability, opportunity and cohesion) shape the EU's engagement with the international climate change regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union's (EU) decision to include aviation into the Emissions Trade Scheme was heatedly contested. Countries around the world, but mainly the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group (BRICS) and the US, denounced the EU's initiate as illegal and unilateral. Following a decade of frustrated negotiations at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), this paper interrogates why such measure, in principle climate-friendly, inspired so much global resentment. I argue that concerns with competitiveness and risks of legal inconsistency are important, but insufficient elements to explain the core of the conflict. The paper suggests that the EU was strongly criticized because third countries perceived this action as an imposed solution, which fostered an environment of distrust. Therefore, I claim that the problem has more to do with a normative divide than with a substantive divergence on what should be done regarding aviation emissions. My analysis is informed by the present literature on the links between trade and climate change, but gives particular weight to first-hand information through interviews with key stakeholders. The paper is divided in three parts. First, it presents the scope of the EU directive in historical perspective. Second, it explores the EU's measure through three different angles: legal, economical and political. The final part explores some possible solutions to overcome these divergences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Expected Utility theory is not only applied to individual choices but also to social decisions, e.g. in cost–benefit analysis of climate change policy measures that affect future generations and hence incorporate an ethical dimension. In this context the crucial question arises whether EU theory is able to deal with “catastrophic risks”, i.e. risks of high, but very unlikely losses, in an ethically appealing way. In this paper we show that this is not the case. Rather, if in the framework of EU theory a plausible level of risk aversion is assumed, a “tyranny of catastrophic risk” (TCR) emerges, i.e. project evaluation is dominated by the catastrophic event. Or, contrary to that, with low degrees of risk aversion, the catastrophic risk eventually has no impact at all (“negligence of catastrophic risk” (NCR)) which is ethically not acceptable as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The European Union (EU) Emission Trading System (ETS) has been a major tool of the EU climate policy. Despite its significance, the EU ETS faces serious challenges regarding its function. One of the major issues that encumber its contribution in EU climate policy is value added tax (VAT) carousel fraud within it. This paper examined the ways this type of swindle is conducted and its economic impact. It analyses the parameters that facilitate it and evaluates the responses of the EU and its Member States and mainly the introduction of the reverse charge mechanism. It finally highlights the need to implement some changes to the EU ETS, the VAT provisions, and the way the national tax authorities and the EU coordinate. Finally, it suggests the introduction of a real-time VAT collection mechanism that can be an effective and feasible solution to the problem in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to give an overview and systematic characterization of different national approaches to developing strategies of climate change adaptation from a spatial planning or regional development perspective, respectively. Based on this analysis, recommendations are made for the implementation of the Territorial Agenda of the European Union. The central research hypotheses addressed in this article are: (1) climate change impacts in Europe are distributed differently in European regions which influence the design of national adaptation strategies (NASs) in Europe as well as the planning-related fields of action; (2) the legal framework and the political-administrative system significantly determine how national adaptation responses are designed and by which institutions they are implemented and (3) spatial planning has the potential to play an important role in climate change adaptation due to its integrative, cross-sectoral character. In order to discuss the hypotheses, a meta-evaluation of already existing assessments of climate adaptation strategies was carried out, as well as nine in-depth country studies (Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands and the UK). The results show that spatial planning is only given minor attention in the assessed analyses and national strategies and that it is rather a matter of political willingness and capacity building than particular instruments or a high climate change vulnerability if spatial planning, however, plays an important role in an NAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business and environmental organisations' perceived access to climate policy-making is compared in the multi-level, pluralist system of the EU and in Norway, a parliamentary system with strong corporatist traditions. The extent to which the interest groups consider gaining access to climate policy-making to be demanding of resources is compared in two different political systems. It is concluded that business organisations consider their access to climate policy-making both at the EU level and in Norway as better than environmental organisations do, and that interest groups at the EU level consider it to be more resource-demanding to gain access than interest groups seeking access in Norway do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU), the US and Australia have each adopted, or are considering, free allocations to emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries (EITEIs) in order to minimize emissions leakage and industrial offshoring resulting from climate policy. Differences in the design of these schemes, including how a country defines eligible EITEIs, the scale of allocation and the method of distribution, all have the potential to affect the outcomes of the programmes. In crafting their EITEI allocation formulas, policymakers in each country must balance three important priorities - the economic efficiency of the cap and trade programme, an equitable distribution of the programme's allowances and the effectiveness of the allocations in addressing leakage and competitiveness concerns. These three priorities provide a useful framework for considering the tradeoffs inherent in designing allocation schemes for EITEIs. Through this lens, policy approaches taken by the EU, US and Australia are evaluated with respect to four important questions of allocation policy design: the definition of EITEIs, the costs to be covered, the methodology for distributing allowances and the duration of free allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the European Union's (EU) White Paper "Adapting To Climate Change: Towards a European Framework for Action." It says that the paper outlines the EU's approach to mitigating European vulnerability to climate change and sets out its commitment to resolving climate change. It also states that the paper is designed as a first step for mainstreaming climate change adaptation throughout EU policy sectors.

Climate policy is a relatively young and dynamic area of public policy making. However, its development has attracted far more attention than the results it delivers in practice, which of course are the concern of policy evaluators. This article attempts to provide the first systematic cataloging of the emerging patterns of policy evaluation undertaken in different parts of the European Union. Theories of policy evaluation suggest that these evaluation practices should acknowledge the inherent complexity of climate policy making, be reflexive by questioning official policy goals, and be participatory. A meta-analysis of 259 climate policy evaluations suggests that current practice engages with some but not all of these issues. This article concludes by analyzing the implications of this finding for those in the academic and practitioner community who are keen to understand the extent to which climate policy evaluation is delivering on its promises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the development of the European Union (EU) as a global actor in the area of climate security. Building on this, it explicitly draws on constructivist concepts such as norm entrepreneurship and epistemic communities. To this end, it adopts the framework of epistemic communities, as developed by Peter Haas, in order to suggest that there is a group of EU officials, EU member states and think-tank activists, who drive the climate security agenda of the EU. Thus, it examines the precise actors involved in this EU epistemic community for climate security. This group promotes a reason for action at the global level, resulting in the attempt to diffuse this norm: climate change has consequences for international security; thus, it requires the development of appropriate policies and capabilities within the EU and globally. This article suggests that the epistemic community on climate security has been effective at diffusing this norm at both levels, albeit with differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in whether and how parties matter. We add to this discussion by exploring the ways in which parties matter for policy outcomes. To do this, we look at the European Union (EU) member states' progress towards the greenhouse gas emissions targets set for them by the Kyoto Protocol and the EU's Burden Sharing Agreement. We find that governments that are more pro-environment and less ideologically divided make better progress towards their targets. We also demonstrate that green party representation in government predicts convergence. This article contributes to research examining the ways in which parties matter as well as the growing literature on coalition politics and veto players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon its adoption in the Directive revising the European Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (Directive 2009/29), Article 10(a)8 was heavily criticized by a number of environmental organizations and legal scholars for disturbing the EU ETS' market mechanism. Article 10(a)8 provides for the possibility to co-finance the up to 12 planned European Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration projects as well as innovative renewable energy demonstration projects through the EU ETS new entrants reserve. The criticism of Article 10(a)8 raises doubts as to the article's consistency with the EU ETS (and its overarching goals) as such and, in essence, questions the measure's proportionality. It is not unthinkable that the EU law principle of proportionality will in future be used to challenge the validity of Article 10a(8). This article argues that it is in that case unlikely that the Court of Justice of the European Union would declare Article 10a(8) to infringe the principle of proportionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses climate change policymaking in the European Union (EU) and the lack of direction that came from the United Nations conference on climate change held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. The article discusses EU objectives for the Copenhagen meeting, EU actions taken at the meeting, the future of international cooperation on climate change, and influences that the Copenhagen meeting will have on the internal climate policies of the EU. Commentary is provided on the stance that the EU will take in future international climate change negotiations.

The issue of integrating environmental concerns into energy policy decision making is increasingly addressed, not least related to climate change. Although the United States, unlike the EU, did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, several U.S. states promote renewable electricity (RES-E), and some of these initiatives are linked to climate-change mitigation efforts. The present article assesses in this connection the six New England states of the United States, comparing their efforts of integrating RES-E with climate change to the Nordic countries in Europe. In order to explain different approaches, the article focuses on the importance of different EU and U.S. multilevel governing structures. The analysis indicates that the New England states' RES-E promotion thus far has not been substantially integrated with climate-change concerns, whereas in the EU's more top-down approach, climate change figures more prominently vis-à-vis RES-E. EU policies represent an increasingly important driver for the Nordic countries. In the United States, on the other hand, it remains an open question as to how future federal policy efforts will relate to existing policies at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult for political leaders to take action on climate change at the scale and speed necessary. Neither governments, businesses nor individuals acting alone will be able to secure more decisive action by political leaders. Only the third sector can do this, and a far greater mobilisation will be needed to create the social foundations for action. The four key characteristics of a successful mobilisation by the third sector are outlined: national leadership by a diverse coalition of groups; action at community level; a mass movement 'living differently and demanding more and mobilisation across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of determined or ambitious environmental policies may lead to regressive distributional impacts, disproportionately affecting low income population groups. The imposition of additional taxes on energy products affects negatively low-income households that face funding scarcity, increasing the risk of energy poverty. In this study, the state-of-the-art general equilibrium model GEM-E3-FIT is significantly expanded to represent ten income classes in all EU Member States. Each income class is differentiated by income sources, savings, and consumption patterns. We use the new modelling capabilities of GEM-E3-FIT to quantify the distributional impacts of European Union's ambitious emission reduction targets, in particular exploring their effects on income by skill and on energy-related expenditure by income class. The analysis shows that the transition to climate neutrality may increase modestly inequality across income classes, with low-income households facing the most negative effects. However, using carbon tax revenues as lump-sum transfers to support household income and as reduced social security contributions will increase employment and reduce income inequality across households in EU countries. • We develop a novel methodology to assess distributional impacts of climate policies. • We use and improve state-of-the-art macro-economic GEM-E3-FIT model. • We provide insights on socio-economic impacts for EU income classes. • High carbon pricing may have limited regressive impacts on households. • Targeting ETS revenues to low-income households increases equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the historical progression of changes and arguments indicating the need to move from fossil energy sources to the green economy in the European Union (EU) countries. It shows trends in the EU's climate and energy policy compared to the rest of the world. At the same time, it points to the elements of the necessary compromise between the climate requirements and the energy security of countries and their economies. The aim of the article is to present the main quantitative challenges for the development of the green economy in the EU, which are analyzed from the perspective of the year 2030. For this year, specific values have been established to be achieved by European countries in several fundamental areas. On the other hand, the strategic goals and further development perspective are included until 2050. This undoubtedly indicates the complexity of the issue, which is intensified as a result of the various economic and political strategies of many European Union members. At the same time, as part of the analysis carried out, efforts are made to develop concepts and practical recommendations for the development of a green European economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing climate changes necessitate an effective climate policy. The energy transition is now an important topic and problem, especially in Poland. (1) The undertaken analysis of the problem of energy transition is important for political, social and technological reasons. Political, because it shows the weakness of the implementation of Polish energy policy in regards to climate change. Social, because energy transition will bring about significant social changes in the largest industrial region of Poland. Technological, as the departure from fossil fuels requires the introduction of other sources of energy on a massive scale, for which Poland is not prepared. The aim of the study was to critically analyse the activities to date in the field of energy transition in Poland. The second goal of the analysis was an attempt to answer the question of whether the process of energy transition and achieving the goals set in the EU's European Green Deal are possible at all until 2050. (2) To achieve the goals, the system method and the decision-making method were primarily used. These methods allowed for an examination of the main determinants of the Polish energy transformation. (3) The main results include the confirmation, contrary to the announcements of the Polish government, that despite the adoption in Poland of the strategy "Poland's energy policy until 2040", the effective implementation of the energy transition before 2050 is not only very difficult, but may even be impossible to implement in the assumed time. This is due to political, economic, social and technological conditions. Coal energy is outdated, expensive and ineffective. Due to natural conditions, wind energy is not able to meet the energy demand of the industry. The development of nuclear energy is only in the planning phase. (4) To sum up, in the next thirty years, Poland will not be able to achieve the assumed effects of the energy transition, which is in contradiction with the official declaration of the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces this special issue that deals with subnational (and, in the case of the European Union, sub-supranational) global climate change politics. While recognizing the limitations that face local governments, the article discusses the importance of focusing more attention on climate policies and programs of state (prefectural, provincial), regional, metropolitan, and local levels of government, where implementation of national climate change policies and programs must occur. Four cases are examined in detail: California within the United States, Germany within the European Union, prefectures and some municipalities (Tokyo and Kyoto) within Japan, and provinces and prefectures within China. The reasons why local governments sometimes choose to act as agenda setters are considered, the ways local governments can influence national government policies are discussed, the role of international networks in diffusing policy ideas among local governments is introduced, and the obstacles to affecting deep change at the local level are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany is one of the leading countries in Europe, as well as globally, in terms of its renewable energy and climate change policies. The multiple levels of government within the European Union (EU) mean that the German government must interact both with EU institutions (e.g., the Commission, Council, and Parliament) and subnational Länder, or states, when formulating and implementing policy. The grand coalition government of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats that came into power in 2005 has set demanding national climate change and renewable energy goals and actively supports international climate negotiations, often spurring EU policy. This progressive policy has its roots in the air pollution control policies that started to develop in the 1970s. This article discusses the various factors that are behind Germany's climate change policy leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GDP growth is the main contributor to GHG emissions increase in low-income countries. • Decreases in energy intensity had the highest impact on GHG emission reductions. • Greater RES and EE efforts are necessary to offset effects from growing economy. • Current climate policies in the Baltics are not sufficient to achieve 2030 targets. The global economy is on the verge of one of the greatest transitions in modern history. The ability to ensure sustainable economic development and prosperity while significantly reducing consumption of energy resources and generated greenhouse gas emissions is a global challenge that affects every country in the world. To assess whether economies are ready for this challenge, there is an urgent need to examine this dual relationship between economic growth and climate change measures. European Green Deal strategy has set the ambitious goal of Europe becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, boosting competitiveness and long-term prosperity of the economy. Kaya identity and LMDI decomposition is applied to examine how European Union countries have been coping with these countereffects historically. The decomposition analysis is conducted for the EU-28 (including the UK) countries for a 10-year study period from 2010 to 2019. This study analyses the main drivers of changes in GHG emissions in European Union and estimates the progress made in implementing the Green Deal targets. The results show that in the EU, energy efficiency improvements have twice the effect on reducing GHG emission compared to RES strategies. The effect of economic growth was the main offsetting factor hindering the achievement of larger GHG emission reductions. More in-depth ex-ante and ex-post investigation is performed for the Baltic States. A novel forecasting technique is applied to project GHG emissions under three different development scenarios, such as the scenario with existing measures, the scenario with additional measures, and the business-as-usual scenario. The results show that the current climate policies in the Baltic States are not sufficient to achieve the 2030 emission reduction targets and that greater efforts should be made to enforce climate mitigation measures in the economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the postulated efforts to limit adverse climate change (CC), increasing attention is paid to the development of distributed renewable energy (RE) that meets the needs of local communities on the spot. This article analyses the objectives, planned actions and performance indicators related to CC and RE, defined by national and local stakeholders in: (1) the national Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014–2020 in Poland and (2) in the bottom-up Local Development Strategies (LDS) financed from RDP and using a Community-Led Local Development approach. The content analysis method was used. We found that the strategy documents considered, created in the years 2014–2015, paid relatively little attention to local actions related to CC and RE. Some educational activities related to adaptation and mitigation of CC were planned in 66% of LDS, while investment support for RE was planned only in 9% of the LDS. Traditional goals such as supporting local businesses and farmers, local cultural heritage and the development of human and social capital were seen as more important. The results of the analysis suggest a relatively low level of interest from rural-policy actors in Poland in implementing the climate-friendly objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. This article contributes to understanding why Poland failed to meet the European 2020 RE development goals. These issues are discussed in the context of national and continental climate policy and problems of transformation to post-carbon society. • The European Union (EU) prioritises climate change (CC) mitigation actions. • The Rural Development Programme 2014–2020 in Poland disregarded EU aims related to CC. • In Poland, 66% of Local Development Strategies (LDS) planned CC educational actions. • Investment in Dispersed Renewable Energy (DRE) was planned in only 9% of LDS. • Development of DRE needs greater targeted support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Great Britain's policy toward Europe as of September 2008 and how it may develop in the period to 2020. It examines policy possibilities and proposals including conditional Europeanism and a commitment to the European Union (EU), a stalemate position that could lead to possible crisis, and the development of a more committed pro-Europeanism. The authors discuss the possible scenarios and how they might impact British and EU defense policy and foreign policy, as well as the EU climate change agenda and the Euro currency. The article discusses how European integration might influence European policy development in Great Britain.

The article evaluates the cooperative federalism models. It mentions that the Warner-Lieberman bill is the most important federal legislation because it provides only a limited role for the states. Among the cooperative federalism models are the decentralized approaches taken by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Emissions Trading Systems of the European Union, and the Clean Air Act.

The neoliberalisation of international climate policy through devices such as emissions trading has led to a significant restructuring of governance competencies between supranational, national and non-state actors. This article explores the implications of this restructuring for the scalar politics of climate governance by examining the European Union emissions trading scheme, the world's largest multi-state carbon-trading scheme. Analysis shows that although the member states were prepared to accede to a common legal framework for emissions trading, its implementation has been characterised by intense sovereignty disputes over emissions allowances. The article concludes by reflecting on the scalar politics of international climate governance in an unevenly regulated and competitive world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that, in order to address the challenges of climate change, attention needs to be focused not only at the international level but also on how climate protection policy is taking shape locally. It provides a comparative analysis of local climate change policy in Germany and the UK. By moving the focus from an analysis of the formal competencies of local government to the multiple modes of governing through which climate protection is taking place, the similarities between the two countries are brought into view. In both cases, actions are concentrated in the energy sphere and municipalities are increasingly deploying self-governing and enabling approaches to undertaken emissions reductions. The paper argues that the impacts of EU policies, financial crises and the political challenges of implementing climate change policies are changing the capacity for local intervention, with potentially significant consequences for medium- and long-term goals for climate protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses legislation being negotiated by the European Council to limit greenhouse gas emissions for the European Union. The policies being considered hope to combat global climate change. The article discusses previous legislation including the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme. The article details the efforts of European companies to mitigate their carbon emissions.