The Shift in Power in the European Union and Its Consequences for Energy and the Environment

Abstract

Control over environmental regulation has become remarkably centralized in the European Union, with power shifting over the past few decades from Member States to EU institutions in Brussels. This chapter, part of a forthcoming ABA book -- International Environmental Law: The Practitioner's Guide to the Laws of the Planet -- analyzes both the causes and the effects of that policy centralization. It focuses on EU energy and climate change policy, including the Emissions Trading System, and also discusses EU legislation on toxic chemicals and product policy.

Keywords: climate change, energy, toxics, European Union, Brussels, emissions trading