The European Union (EU) has one of the most stringent sets of environmental policies in the world. A complex framework of regulatory standards aiming to improve the state of the environment is in force in all major areas of environmental policy, including air pollution, water, chemicals regulation and climate change. The system of EU environmental policy measures that are binding on the Union’s Member States, their populations and their industries shows that a relatively high level of environmental protection can be combined with an equally high level of economic development and growth. These policies are shaped, adopted and implemented through a complex governance system including various actors, different legal procedures and political practices, and multiple levels of governance.
In this course, we will analyse the state of play of the EU’s environmental governance as well as the political dynamics behind it. We will look at how environmental policy developed in the EU, and study the main institutions and actors that are (formally and informally) involved in the policy-making processes. In terms of policy fields, we will analyse the EU’s activities in the traditional domains (e.g. clean air policy and water policy), and also in the ‘new’ environmental domains (e.g. climate change and sustainable development). Finally, we will also look at the role of the EU in global environmental politics.
The course aims to provide a topical overview on environmental governance in the EU. It serves also as an introduction to broader topics, like sustainable development, policy integration, strategic policy-making etc. In terms of students’ competences, the ability to argue and develop own positions will be strengthened.
Session 1: Introduction to EU environmental governance
Session 2: History of EU environmental governance
Session 3: EU actors and environmental policy instruments
Session 4: EU environmental policy-making and implementation
Session 5: EU sectoral environmental policy
Session 6: EU climate change policy
Session 7: Sustainable development in the EU
Session 8: EU in global environmental governance
Session 9: The future of EU environmental governance
