The EU¡¯s Green Energy Strategy: The Policy Response to Renewable Energy and Climate Change

This paper surveys the evolution and key contents of the EU¡¯s policies on renewable energy and climate change. These two policy areas can be termed the ¡°green energy policy,¡± which has become a keyword in sustainable development.
The EU is currently adopting the most advanced policies on renewable energy and climate change and trying to set global standards. These measures also aim at maintaining the EU¡¯s leadership position in the fast-growing market for green industries. The EU¡¯s policy stance is expected to have crucial implications for other countries and international regimes regarding these issues. The EU case is pertinent to countries without adequate fossil fuel resources because the EU¡¯s policies on renewable energy and climate change reflect the measures that could be used to overcome supply crises by strengthening indigenous production through technology. However, a careful survey of the historical evolution and key contents of the EU¡¯s policies also reveals some problems and challenges. With strong momentum and urgent necessity shared by the member states, the renewable energy and climate change policies certainly represent an opportunity for the EU to enhance its energy security and political visibility as well as influence in the global society. However, because of the modality of the policy response, the challenge for the EU is to implement the policies without jeopardizing the integrity of the common target. The uneven energy mix among the member countries and different domestic situations affecting national targets may provoke conflicts between the EU¡¯s common objectives and the primacy of the national policy.