European Union leadership in biofuels regulation: Europe as a normative power?

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:32

Article

Afionis, Stavros¹  Stringer, Lindsay C.¹ 

[1] Univ Leeds, Sch Earth & Environm, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire, England

关键词: Biofuels;    Sustainability;    Trade;    Environment;    Economy;    Society;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.03.034

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The rapid emergence of the European Union (EU) as a leader in global environmental politics has led many scholars to argue in favour of the EU being a 'normative power' in international relations. This paper critically examines the EU's biofuels policy and evaluates whether its attempts to lead by example and shape international practice in this field could support such arguments. Europe's biofuel policies are evaluated through a sustainable development lens, so as to determine the extent to which it has embraced a holistic approach to sustainability. While not dismissing that the identity of the EU is indeed an explanatory factor and that normative intentions may well be regarded as a motivating force, this study argues that an interest-based perspective on international environmental regulation offers a supplementary view of how an actor's preferences for an international regime are shaped. By erecting barriers aimed at shielding its own inefficient domestic biofuels production the EU is in essence placing trade competitiveness and economic growth above environmental protection, thus permitting sustainability concerns to be addressed only in part. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free