The issue of climate change is now widely recognised as one of the major challenges for mankind in the 21st century, not only because it may ultimately affect many areas of our environment, nature and human activity but also because its mitigation may have far reaching consequences for almost all sectors of the economy where energy conversion takes place. Although climate change is firmly positioned on the political agenda and some initial targets have been agreed within a global framework, we are still far away from a mature political and practical policy which may deliver timely and appropriate results .to tum the tide. This is partly due to the complex nature of a possible global climate change regime, the still early stage of the development of effective and efficient instruments and the wide variety of possible ramifications for individual countries and economic sectors. But it is also due to the complexity of the negotiation process, and the lack of effective international or even global governance and leadership to tackle a multi-dimensional problem of this size and nature. This book is the first broad attempt to address the issue of leadership by one of the major parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the ongoing international debate and negotiations towards such a policy which inevitably has to be constructed on a global scale.

Inhalt
I The EU and Leadership in International Climate and Environmental Regimes: Learning from Experience.- 1. Climate change, leadership and the EU.- 2. Leadership.- 3. The complicated development of EU climate policy.- 4. The role of the EU in climate negotiations.- 5. Perceptions of the EU's role.- 6. The EU in international environmental regimes and the Energy Charter Treaty.- II Socio-Economic Analysis of Climate Policy Strategies.- 7. Socio-economics of policy formation and choices.- 8. The economics of coalition formation.- 9. Issue linkages to the sustainability agenda.- 10. Economic dimensions of the Kyoto Protocol.- III Implementing EU Commitments on Climate Change.- 11. Competence and subsidiarity.- 12. Emission reductions in EU countries.- 13. Implementing EU Commitments under Kyoto.- IV Global Strategies and Scenarios.- 14. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the EU.- 15. Leadership scenarios.- 16. Implementing European leadership.- References.- Annex I: Target differentiation and the 'European Bubble'.