ABSTRACT
The Conclusion starts from the premise of the European ‘environmental conscience’ as it has developed since the late 1960s (Hoerber, 2013). This historical perspective emphasises that the need to develop a common energy policy has been at the heart of the European integration process from the very outset. National prerogatives in the energy sector have always prevailed over this European logic, until the point when energy policy meets environmental concerns. The argument in Hoerber (2013) was that the problem of the lack of a common European energy policy will be solved through its combination with environmental policy, i.e. if the European Union (EU) wants to fulfil its objectives of sustainable development, such as climate change objectives, it has to be able to regulate the European energy sector, because the energy sector remains one of the main polluters. Building on the thesis of a growing European environmental ‘conscience’, the present book has shown examples of this increased conscience, which ultimately amounts to a new ideology, a system of ideas and ideals forming the basis of political theory and policy. The term European Sustainabilism will be used for this new developing ideology, which contributes to the progress of European integration and perhaps even to a European identity. This argument was supported by the findings in the chapters by Tomasz Braun (2021: in this book), Marjorie Tendero (2021: in this book) and Joel Kuenzer (2021: in this book).
