Transcript INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Exploratory Workshop on “European Climate
Change Governance – Towards New Alliances?”
in Hull on 2nd – 3rd July 2012
“New Climate Change Alliances at the EU level:
Environmental NGOs”
Rudi Wurzel and James Connelly
(Department of Politics and International Studies,
University of Hull)
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Trajectory of Brussels-based ENGOs:
• 1970s: European Environmental Bureau (EEB) (1974)
• 1980s: Friends of the Earth (FoE), Greenpeace and
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
• Since the 1990s: More specialised ENGOs such as
 Bird Life International
 European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
 Health and Environmental Alliance (HEAL)
 Transport & Environment (T&E)
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Alliances and coordinating groups:
• G4:
EEB, CEAT/FoEE, Greenpeace and WWF
• G10:
BirdLife International, CAN Europe,
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
Bankwatch Network, EEB, FoE, Friends
of Nature International (NFI),
Greenpeace, HEAL, T&E, and WWF
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Main reasons for cooperation between Brussels-based ENGOs
1) Division of labour and pooling of resources
2) ‘Highest common factor principles’ (Long, 1998):
 (Brussels-based) ENGOs have similar goals (despite
their heterogeneity)
3) Alliances represent larger number of members/supporters
 Taken more seriously by the media, EU decision makers
and opponents (e.g. businesses)
 Greater legitimacy
4) Competition for funding less intense on EU level compared
with member state level
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Brussels-based ENGOs active on climate change issues:
• Four key players within the G10:
 CAN Europe, FoE Europe, Greenpeace and WWF
• Large ENGO umbrella groups:
 CAN Europe, EEB, HEAL, T&E
• Large European ENGO networks groups:
 FoE Europe, Greenpeace and WWF
• Small ENGOs active on specific EU climate issues:
 Client Earth, E3G, Bellona
• New specialised ENGOs:
 CDM Watch, Sandbag
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
• Think tanks and/or research Institutes:
 Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Ecofys,
Ecologic, IEEP, IDDR, Öko Institut, The Centre
• Foundations which provide funding for ENGOs:
 European Climate Foundation (ECF)
 Oak Foundation
• NGOs other than ENGOs which are active on EU climate
change policy issues:
 Development NGOs: Aprodev, Christian Aid, CIDSE,
Oxfam
 New alliances
 New policy discourse?
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
• Alliances between ENGOs and businesses?
 For example, ENGOs and renewable energy producers
• Possible barriers for alliances between Brussels-based
EU-wide ENGOs and businesses?
 Weak European/EU-wide umbrella groups. This is
particularly true for business umbrella groups
 Preferences for different policy instruments:
 ENGOs: regulation and/or eco-taxes
 Businesses: voluntary agreements, informational
instruments and emission trading
 Cooperation between ENGOs and businesses on climate
change issues may be easier on the national level?
 For example, Greenpeace and Renault
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Ecological modernisation:
• Rejects the (neoliberal and radical environmentalist)
view that there is inevitably a trade off between
environmental protection and economic growth:
• Core assumptions:
 Ambitious environmental policy measures can be
beneficial for the environment and the economy
 Low carbon economy => win-win strategy
• ‘... A cleavage begins to open up not between
business and environmentalists, but between
progressive, environmentally aware business on the
one hand and short-term profit takers on the other‘
(Weale, 1992, p.31)
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Leadership or entrepreneurship:
1) ENGOs press for the EU to act as a leader in
international climate change politics:
 Time to lead (CAN Europe, FoE, Greenpeace and
WWF)
2)ENGOs as whistle blowers:
 ENGOs can press member states for ‘enforced
leadership’ (Jänicke). EU may limit the scope for
‘cost-free leadership’ (Liefferink and Birkel)
3)ENGOs lobby for the transfer of successful policy
measures elsewhere
EU as a Leader in International Climate Change Politics
1) ENGOs can offer structural leadership:
• Large membership and supporter base
• Moderate staff and financial resources
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ENGOs can offer entrepreneurial leadership:
ENGOs representatives as part of national delegations
Draft treaties: A Copenhagen Climate Treaty (2009)
Think tanks and foundations: CEPs, Client Earth, ECF,
E3G, The Centre
Research institutes: IEEP, Ecologic
3) ENGOs can offer cognitive leadership:
• Ability to change policy discourse:
 Low carbon economy as ‘win-win’ strategy
 Emissions trading: ‘hot air’
• Most trusted source of information for the public
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
ENGOs and multi-level governance:
• Venue shopping:
 Lobbying at different levels of climate change
governance (international, EU, national and regional) is
difficult even for large ENGOs
ENGOs influence tends to be highest at:
• (1) the beginning of the policy/treaty making cycle:
 Agenda setting:
 (Re)framing of issues (e.g. trading ‘hot air’)
• (2) the end of the policy/treaty making cycle
 Implementation (e.g. through ‘whistle blowing’)
Lesser degree of influence during:
• (Policy/treaty) agreement phase
• (Policy/treaty) decision-making phase
New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs
Policy-making cycle/Treaty agreement process
Agenda setting
Decision-making
Revision
Implementation