Perceptions of the EU’s Global Energy Governance and Energy Diplomacy in the light of the Paris agreement
Michèle Knodt/ Natalia Chaban
Abstract
Paris has written history. The initiation of an internationally binding climate agreement serves as a wake-up call for a rapid transformation of the world's energy system (UNFCCC 2015). The implementation exposes Europe and especially Emerging Powers to a challenge, which requires a globally coordinated solution. While climate and energy policy had been treated separately in the past, Paris irretrievable interlinked these topics. New forms of political cooperation at the climate & energy nexus between the EU and Emerging Powers such as Brazil, India, China or South Africa (BICS) are required. Yet, reality tells a different story: the EU's energy and climate policy until now were carried out separately, the EU's geographical focus in energy policy remains on adjacent countries in the European neighbourhood and on issues related to energy security. Despite being Strategic Partners and engaging in climate and energy dialogues, it seems that the EU is lacking strategic vision and is not perceived as a major actor in energy cooperation with the BICS. Thus, political momentum for energy cooperation and joint governance of scarce resources is vanishing. This paper gives evidence on the mutual perceptions of the EU and four Emerging Powers (Brazil, India, China and South Africa (BICS)). We aim to identify, understand and compare mutual perceptions the EU and the Emerging Powers have in energy policy.
Keywords: European Union, Perceptions, BRICSIntroduction