ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to assess if and to what extent the positions and
policies of the European Union (EU) against global warming (GW) can
help to define Europeans’ political identity and to strengthen the legitimacy
of the European institutions. To this end, after a brief description of the
politically relevant characteristics of GW, I will assess, first of all, whether
and to what degree European policies against climate change, which are
described in section 2, are the expression of values and principles (sections 3
and 4); and second, the level of awareness among European citizens of what the Union is doing in this field and of the reasons and values underlying or
implied in this action (section 5).
