EU environmental policies [What Think Tanks are Thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

Environmental protection is a comprehensive and well-established policy in the European Union. The environmental standards set by the Union are among the strictest in the world and the development of a sustainable economy is treated as a priority. Despite efforts to water down standards or renationalise policy, EU legislation has established more than 130 environmental targets and objectives to be met between 2010 and 2050. The EU is the world leader in efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change.

This note offers links to commentaries, studies and reports on the topic from major international think tanks on EU environmental policies.  More publications on the EU role in securing an agreement in Paris last year on handling climate change can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking.’

Reports on Paris Agreement on climate change

Green taxes in a post-Paris world: Are millions of nays inevitable?
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Development, June 2016

Die Rolle von Allianzen in der internationalen Klimapolitik nach Paris
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, May 2016

Musterschüler? Frankreich, Deutschland und Europa in den Verhandlungen über das Paris-Abkommen zum Klimaschutz
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, May 2016

EU and China: Leadership after COP21
Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy, March 2016

After Paris: What is next for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)?
NewClimate Institute for Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, March 2016

Challenges and lessons learned in the preparation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)
NewClimate Institute for Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, March 2016

Dans les coulisses de la COP21
La Vie des Idées, February 2016

Conditionality of intended nationally determined contributions
NewClimate Institute for Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, February 2016

Other papers

The importance of cities and regions in delivering the Paris objectives and scaling up climate ambition
Heinrich Böll Foundation, September 2016

Carbon dating: When is it beneficial to link ETSs?
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Development, August 2016

Understanding the circular economy in Europe, from resource efficiency to sharing platforms: The CEPS framework
Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2016

Renewables, allowances markets, and capacity expansion in energy-only markets
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Development, July 2016

Moving towards a circular economy: Europe between ambitions and reality
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, June 2016

Urban air pollution: Local response to a global challenge
Friends of Europe, June 2016

Germany on the road to a circular economy?
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, June 2016

Governing climate change in the Mediterranean: Fragmentation in dialogue, markets and funds
Institute for European Studies, May 2016

Inclusion of consumption into Emissions Trading Systems: Legal design and practical administration
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, May 2016

Rethinking power markets: Capacity mechanisms and decarbonisation
Overseas Development Institute, May 2016

Learning the lessons of the greening of the CAP
Institute for European Environmental Policy, April 2016

EU transition towards green and smart mobility
Clingendael, March 2016

Study to analyse differences in costs of implementing EU policy across Member States
Institute for European Environmental Policy, March 2016

Conclusions and recommendations on fighting environmental crime more effectively
Ecologic Institute, European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime, March 2016

Brexit: The Implications for UK environmental policy and regulation
Institute for European Environmental Policy, March 2016

Finance et climat: Quels enjeux?
Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques, March 2016

Installation entries and exits in the EU ETS industrial sector
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, March 2016

Something worth fighting for: The evolution of lobbying coalitions in the Emissions Trading System
College of Europe, March 2016

Circular economy: Silver bullet for the EU’s competitiveness and sustainability?
Friends of Europe, February 2016

An overarching policy mix for fostering sustainable consumption and production: Synthesis of potential impacts
Ecologic Institute, February 2016

Time to connect the dots: What is the link between climate change policy and the circular economy?
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2016

Study on assessing the environmental fiscal reform potential for the EU28
Eunomia, January 2016

Resource efficiency indicators for policy-making
Centre for European Policy Studies, November 2015

Reaching for blue gold: How the EU can rise to the water challenge while reaping the rewards
European Policy Centre, November 2015

Towards a sustainable European economy
European Policy Centre, October 2015