Governing renewable energy in the EU: Confronting a governance dilemma

Summary, in English

Promoting renewable energy sources (RES) has been addressed a key strategy for mitigating climate change, the governing in which has turned out a challenging and protracted task for the EU. There is often an implicit assumption that concern for climate change drives energy policy, but a closer look at the development of European RES policy indicates how EU governors have had to confront a range of governance dilemmas in trying to balance various objectives and conflicting interests. Therefore, while energy security and environmental concerns have provided a rationale for crafting renewable energy as a specific EU policy domain, the main driver for RES policy coordination has been internal market concerns, and not the concern about an impending climate catastrophe. More recently, rising concerns about energy insecurity and climate change have forced the EU to seek greater policy coordination in the context of more integrated energy markets. Although seemingly propitious for further harmonisation, it is doubtful whether the Member States and their citizens are yet prepared to accept new efforts towards deeper integration of European energy policy.

• Author: Roger Hildingsson; Johannes Stripple; Jordan Andrew
• Department/s: Department of Political Science; BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
• Publishing year: 2012
• Language: English
• Pages: 18-30
• Publication/Series: European Political Science
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.8
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Topic: Political Science
• Status: Published
• Research group: Miljöpolitik
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1682-0983