scholarly journals Religion: A resource in european climate politics? An examination of faith-based contributions to the climate policy discourse in the EU

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Klinkenborg ◽  
Doris Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Climate Policy ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
European Climate ◽  
Specific Meaning ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

AbstractRecent research has considered the contribution of faith-based actors (FBAs) and religious norms to global sustainability and climate governance. However, as yet, it has paid little attention to the relationship between religion and climate politics in the EU. The EU is supposedly a secular body. Nevertheless, FBAs participate in its climate policy discourse, and, therefore, their normative contributions are of interest. In this article, therefore, we explore the role of FBAs in the EU climate discourse with respect to two specific questions: what, if any, specific normative arguments and claims do the FBAs contribute to the EU’s climate policy discourse; and, can or do the relevant normative arguments and claims serve as a basis for collaboration or are they a source of normative conflict between different FBAs or between FBAs and non-FBAs? To answer these questions, we draw on the EU’s transparency register and a content analysis of a specific dialogue between FBAs and the EU’s institutions. On this basis, we identified a range of active FBAs within EU climate politics and demonstrated that they contribute to the European climate discourse by adding deep-rooted values. One way this is achieved is through the connection of climate values to “creation” and the divine command to mankind which can give specific meaning to one’s understanding of nature and fellow humans, as well as one’s sense of responsibility towards both. Furthermore, we find a basis for both agreement and conflict in references to religious norms and ideas. Many actors from different faiths and secular backgrounds emphasize the compatibility of faith-based and other norms. However, other actors highlight differences in perspectives and challenges to climate governance that arise from “conservative” religious norms.

scholarly journals Sustainable development, climate policy and environmental transformation of the Baltic region economies: a comparative analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 03055
Author(s):  
Anatoly Stepanov ◽  
Alexander Burnasov ◽  
Maria Ilyushkina ◽  
Yury Kovalev ◽  
Gulnara Nyussupova
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Improve Energy Efficiency ◽  
Ranking Scheme ◽  
Environmental Transformation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
National Economies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

The article considers the climate policy of the Baltic region countries. The reasons and factors for reducing CO2 emissions in the period 1990-2018 are analyzed, the relationship between the processes of decarbonization and the ecological transformation of farms are demonstrated. The EU influence on the climate policy of individual countries is studied. The features of evolution and the modern structure of the RES sector are explored. The assessment of measures to improve energy efficiency of national economies is given. According to the degree of climate policy efforts and the depth of the ecological transformation of national economies, a ranking scheme for the region countries is proposed.

scholarly journals Polish Climate Policy Narratives: Uniqueness, Alternative Pathways, and Nascent Polarisation

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Biedenkopf
Keyword(s):  
Climate Policy ◽  
Alternative Pathway ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Alternative Pathways ◽  
Policy Narratives ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

European Union (EU) climate politics have polarised over the past decade. Poland especially stands out as the EU member state that has most vehemently opposed numerous decisions to increase the EU’s level of ambition, stirring some turbulence in EU climate politics. Yet, with the publication of the European Green Deal (EGD) in 2019, the European Commission has likewise created turbulence in the Polish parliament’s climate debate. This article analyses those debates and identifies three distinct policy narratives: <em>Poland is in a unique situation</em>, <em>Poland pursues an alternative pathway</em>, and <em>climate policy endangers competitiveness</em>. The <em>alternative pathway</em> narrative, which advocates for the continued use of coal while capturing emissions, faded at roughly the same time when the EGD was proposed at the EU level. Simultaneously, the <em>unique situation</em> narrative, which calls for recognition of Poland’s uniqueness in combination with increased (financial) support, became stronger. The analysis confirms the dominance of the governing party’s narratives, but contrary to previous studies, detects nascent polarisation on climate policy between the right-wing political parties, on the one hand, and the centre-right and centre-left parties, on the other.

7. Challenging EU action or inaction

2019 ◽  
pp. 312-355
Author(s):  
Elspeth Berry ◽  
Matthew J. Homewood ◽  
Barbara Bogusz
Keyword(s):  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Locus Standi ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complete Series ◽  
Explanatory Text ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Primary Materials ◽  
The Eu

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter discusses the role of the Court of Justice in ensuring that the rule of law in the EU is observed both by Member States and EU Institutions. The chapter examines infringement actions under Article 258 TFEU, and financial penalties for Member States under Article 260 TFEU. The discussion of judicial review considers acts that may be challenged; who can bring an action under Article 263 TFEU; permissible applicants under Article 263 TFEU; non-privileged applicants; reforming the criteria for locus standi for non-privileged applicants. The chapter also explains the grounds for annulment; the effect of annulment; the plea of illegality; failure to act; and the relationship between Article 263 TFEU and Article 265 TFEU.

14. Interest Groups and the European Union

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-218
Author(s):  
Rainer Eising
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Group System ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group Structures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the role of interest groups in European Union (EU) politics. It also considers the way in which the EU institutions influence interest group structures and activities. The chapter begins with an overview of the relationship between the EU institutions and interest groups and examines the steps taken thus far to regulate that relationship. It then looks at the evolution and the structure of the interest group system, focusing in particular on two salient aspects: the difference between national and EU organizations; and the difference between specific and diffuse interests.

scholarly journals EUROPEAN-LED CLIMATE POLICY VERSUS GLOBAL MITIGATION ACTION: IMPLICATIONS ON TRADE, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENERGY

2013 ◽  
Vol 04 (supp01) ◽  
pp. 1340002 ◽  
Author(s):  
ENRICA DE CIAN ◽  
ILKKA KEPPO ◽  
JOHANNES BOLLEN ◽  
SAMUEL CARRARA ◽  
HANNAH FÖRSTER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Policy ◽  
Model Comparison ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
European Climate ◽  
Mitigation Action ◽  
Emf Model ◽  
The Eu

This paper examines how changes in an international climate regime would affect the European decarbonization strategy and costs through the mechanisms of trade, technology, and innovation. We present the results from the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) model comparison study on European climate policy to 2050. Moving from a no-policy scenario to an existing-policies case reduces all energy imports, on average. Introducing a more stringent climate policy target for the EU only leads to slightly greater global emission reductions. Consumers and producers in Europe bear most of the additional burden and inevitably face some economic losses. More ambitious mitigation action outside Europe, especially when paired with a well-operating global carbon market, could reduce the burden for Europe significantly. Because of global learning, the costs of wind and especially solar-PV in Europe would decline below the levels observed in the existing-policy case and increased R&D spending outside the EU would leverage EU R&D investments as well.

scholarly journals Climate Change Politics in Canada and the EU—from Carbon Democracy to a Green Deal?

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-28
Author(s):  
Markus Lederer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
State Agents ◽  
Climate Change Politics ◽  
Descriptive Level ◽  
The Eu

The idea of a green deal transforming industrialized societies’ climate policies in a sustainable manner has become highly popular in various countries. The study takes up this notion focusing on climate policy initiatives in Canada and the EU, raising three interrelated issues: (i) on a descriptive level, the study asks where we stand and what has so far been achieved regarding climate policy; (ii) analytically, the study provides a theoretical explanation of why progress has been slow in the EU and hardly visible in Canada, making use of the concept of carbon democracy; (iii) on a prescriptive level, the study explores what will be needed to make a green deal successful, arguing that one has to accept that a green deal is a deeply political project that will create winners and losers and that not all losers can be compensated under the label of a “just transition”. The argument advanced is that the EU and Canada represent a form of carbon democracy in which the extensive use of carbon laid the foundation for establishing democratic institutions and strongly shaped them. The paper shows that the extensive influence of carbon-related activities not only empowers specific non-state agents but is rather deeply enmeshed in the societal and political genome of both regions’ polities. The claim that follows is that climate politics in Canada and the EU will have to be deeply transformative and therefore disruptive in order to be successful.  

scholarly journals Extremism and toxic masculinity: the man question re-posed

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 1251-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Pearson
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Masculinity Studies ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Theoretical Position ◽  
Initial Question ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract It is more than 20 years since Marysia Zalewski and feminist scholars posed ‘the man question’ in International Relations, repositioning the gaze from female subjectivities to a problematization of the subjecthood of man. The field of masculinity studies has developed this initial question to a deep interrogation of the relationship between maleness and violence. Yet public and policy discourse often reduce the complexity of masculinities within extremism to issues of crisis and toxicity. Governments have prioritized the prevention of extremism, particularly violent Islamism, and in so doing have produced as ‘risk’ particular racialized and marginalized men. This article asks, what are the effects of the toxic masculinity discourse in understanding the British radical right? It argues that current understandings of extremism neglect the central aim of Zalewski's ‘man’ question to destabilize the field and deconstruct patriarchy. They instead position Islamophobia—which is institutionalized in state discourse—as the responsibility of particular ‘extreme’ and ‘toxic’ groups. In particular, the article outlines two ways in which ‘toxic masculinity’ is an inadequate concept to describe activism in the anti-Islam(ist) movement the English Defence League (EDL). First, the term ‘toxic masculinity’ occludes the continuities of EDL masculinities with wider patriarchal norms; second, it neglects the role of women as significant actors in the movement. Using an ethnographic and empathetic approach to this case-study, the article explores how Zalewski's theoretical position offers a route to analysis of the ways in which masculinities and patriarchy entwine in producing power and violence; and to a discussion of masculinities that need not equate manhood with threat.

scholarly journals Future Design Approaches for Energy Poverty: Users Profiling and Services for No-Vulnerable Condition

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Boeri ◽  
Valentina Gianfrate ◽  
Saveria Olga Murielle Boulanger ◽  
Martina Massari
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The State ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Future Design ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Analyzing data from the Energy Poverty Observatory in Europe, it emerges that more than 50 million households in the EU live in energy poverty (people that cannot heat their homes during winter; cannot make their homes comfortable during the summer; pay their energy bills late). Research studies realized in the last 20 years highlight that making energy demand efficient and effective is the more significant and socially important the more it is able to involve users who are unable to sustain energy demand. The evolution of the research sees a narrowing of the field of investigation by focusing on the user dimension of energy poverty, stressing the role of citizens not only as consumer but also as producers of solutions to tackle energy poverty, real energy communities of agents. The paper aims to provide a systematic literature review highlighting the major findings of the topic, investigating the relationship between spatial and social issues, and looking at the state of energy poverty by addressing the profiling of users and consequently of services useful to overcome their current vulnerable condition. The paper is structured in two core sections. The first one gives the results of a systematic literature review on the energy/fuel poverty topic, the second one deepens the role of communities and individuals need, crucial in defining new design approaches for supportive solutions to tackle energy poverty.

scholarly journals The Road Not Taken – the CJEU Sheds Light on the Role of Fundamental Rights in the European Copyright Framework – a Case Note on the Pelham, Spiegel Online and Funke Medien Decisions

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1176-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thom Snijders ◽  
Stijn van Deursen
Keyword(s):  
Great Majority ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Road ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
European Court ◽  
Exceptions And Limitations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Abstract On 29 July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgments in three eagerly awaited cases, Pelham, Spiegel Online and Funke Medien, which all relate to the relationship between copyright and (other) fundamental rights. Specifically, an issue arising in these cases is whether the EU copyright acquis allows for fundamental rights to be invoked as an autonomous ground for limiting a copyright, outside of the mechanisms incorporated in the Copyright Directive for that purpose. In its judgments, the Court rejects this possibility and instead locates the role for fundamental rights in the interpretation and implementation of the exceptions and limitations of the Directive. We argue that – while this may render satisfactory results in the great majority of cases – in exceptional cases the CJEU’s approach towards balancing copyrights and fundamental rights could be at odds with the approach of the European Court of Human Rights, which might reduce the legal certainty sought after by the CJEU. Lastly, we consider the implications of that potential tension for the judicial authorities and other actors within the domestic legal orders of the EU Member States.

THE CHANGING ROLE OF CARBON PRICING IN THE EU

2020 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. R13-R24
Author(s):  
Milan Elkerbout
Keyword(s):  
Climate Policy ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Policy Mix ◽  
Carbon Pricing ◽  
International Climate Policy ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation Policy ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Changing Role ◽  
The Eu

Carbon pricing has been the most prominent climate change mitigation policy for the EU since the launch of its emissions trading system (ETS) in 2005. Since then, the context of international climate policy as well as of the socio-political and economical context of decarbonisation has changed considerably. The 2015 Paris Agreement engages virtually every country unlike its predecessor, while non-carbon pricing policies have led to rapid cost reductions in renewables, even if other sectors (particularly in energy-intensive industry) have not seen similar developments. This paper examines how the role of carbon pricing in the EU climate policy mix has evolved from its beginnings as a means to help achieve modest targets under the Kyoto Protocol, to a policy instrument increasingly augmented by a wider policy mix aimed at reaching no net emissions of greenhouse gases by mid-century.

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