Political Commitment to Climate Policy Integration at EU Level: The Case of Biodiversity Policy

Abstract:     
The extensive literature on policy integration lists many potential enabling and explanatory factors for the level of policy integration on the ground. This paper examines just one of these factors – the phenomenon of political commitment – and applies it to the study of climate policy integration in the EU in four steps. First, I conceptualise “climate policy integration” by drawing on a review of the rich literature on environmental policy integration. Second, I outline the theoretical framework, based on general theories of European integration, used for this study of climate policy integration. Third, I take the case of EU biodiversity policy and discuss its historical development alongside the development of EU climate policy in four time phases. Fourth, I examine statements of political commitment and leadership in the European Council and in the Council of the Environment Ministers during these time periods to establish evidence of political commitment to climate policy integration (and the development of this political commitment). This leads to the finding that political commitment to climate policy integration in the biodiversity sector is slowly developing, but it is a particularly recent phenomenon. The paper concludes with a short summary and recommendations for further research.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 19

Keywords: Climate change, European Union climate policies, climate policy integration, environmental policy integration, European Union biodiversity policies

working papers series