ABSTRACT
Global environmental problems have taken centre stage in European and international politics. Since the second half of the 1980s, the EU has assumed a clear leadership role in international environmental and climate governance and has, over the years, considerably improved its leadership record and its recognition as a global actor. The Union has enhanced the organisation and coordination of its foreign environmental policy, which has contributed to greater EU unity and enhanced capacity for outreach to other parties. Progress in the development and implementation of internal climate and energy policies helped to reduce the credibility gap between international positions and domestic action of the EU. However, a number of challenges remain. Internally, far-reaching legislative proposals presented by the European Commission in 2007 and 2008 need to be enacted and further measures are required to improve policy coherence across policy domains. Externally, an enhanced coordination of EU environmental diplomacy holds significant promise. Also, the EU needs to adapt to a changing and expanding international environmental and climate agenda, and preserving a still precarious EU unity constitutes a constant challenge. Finally, the impacts of EU enlargement pose a particular challenge. Despite these challenges, the EU can be expected to remain a progressive force in global environmental governance for some time, given recent overall political developments (energy security, high political salience) and the advances of its domestic climate and energy policies.
