Why Has the EU Been Leading the World against Climate Change?* —Explanations from the Perspective of International Trade

Xie Laihui
China Center of Global Governance and Development (CCGGD), Central Compilation & Translation Bureau, Beijing, China

 
Abstract: Since the United States refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, the European Union (EU) has prominently become the leader in global climate politics. However, since fighting climate change is an issue of providing global public goods and each country has incentive to free ride, why has the EU chosen to lead the fight against climate change? This paper reviews three major explanations in existing literature, which includes special moral and risk preferences, political strategy and comparison of mitigation benefits and costs. Borrowed from Thucydides’ honor, fear, and interest argument, this paper provides a comprehensive explanation for the incentives affecting a country’s behavior. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of climate change, a country’s climate strategy should be understood through analyzing its position in world economy. Therefore, the EU’s enthusiasm in global climate politics can be explained by its dependence on foreign fossil fuels, pressure from other member countries during the EU’s integration process and its competitive advantage on non-fossil fuel energy. For these reasons, this paper argues that trade position is a key factor in understanding Europe’s climate strategy.
Key words: European Union, climate change, world economy, leadership

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