ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) undoubtedly has been very active in the international environmental arena. This chapter explores the evolution of role studies and the applicability of the concept of role to a collective actor, the nature of the EU's role in international environmental affairs, with a particular emphasis on climate change, and one notion in line with a general query on the impact of role conceptions on behavior, namely role entrapment. 'Role theory in International Relations (IR) concentrates on the roles that individuals, states, and other international actors enact on the international scene'. The concept of role has been applied to the EU since mid-2000, particularly in the context of security issues and relations with Eastern Europe. The regulatory politics model applies equally well to member states and the EU. EU action in that area has a dual basis such as its environmental and foreign policy.
