Dissertation 10000 word

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Literature Review: Impact of European Union (EU) Cooperation in the Environmental Field

Nayef Alkhalifa

University Of Westminster

20-11-2022

Literature Review: Impact of European Union (EU) Cooperation in the Environmental Field

Research question

What are the roles of the EU in protecting the global environs and heartening member states to safeguard the environment?

Literature review

The EU is one of the world's leading supporters of environmental revolution. The Union has engaged in various efforts and interventions to help deal with the negative implications of climate change or revert the changes and create a better living environment for all (Lindsey & Dahlman, 2020; Rehbinder & Stewart, 2020). Through its member states and collaboration with other nations, the Union has a substantial role in the worldwide environmental field. It calls for formulating policies and standards that aid nations in dealing with the negative implications of climate change. This literature review discusses the role of the EU in the environmental field, which mainly touches on climatic changes that affect human beings. Today, the world faces various issues that affect people and the planet, like pollution, green gas emissions, and many more.

The European Union has set clear objectives that guide its environmental policies towards 2050 through research programs, funding, and legislation. The Union aims to safeguard, protect and augment its natural assets, act as a resource-competent, reasonable low-carbon economy and precaution the Union's environmental-linked burdens (Bigerna & Polinori, 2022). Lönegren (2019) establishes that around 80% of Europe's citizens live in towns, making the region more urbanized than ever. The situation brings up the issues of climate change and global warming, which is a threat globally. The conversation around the majority of the European people living in towns and its impacts on the environment sets the stage for promoting robust environmental actions by the European Union. It also shows the need for other cities to engage in robust environmental protection approaches.

An effective way to deal with environmental issues is through legislation. The EU has the uppermost global environmental principles developed over decades. The policies and legislation help the region develop more environmentally approachable by protecting its natural assets and the well-being and wellness of individuals in the EU. The Union's policies protect natural habitats, ensure practical waste disposal mechanisms, enhance know-how about toxic chemicals, and aid businesses in attaining a sustainable economy. The European Union’s environmental policies are founded on articles 11 and 191-193 of the agreement on the operations of the trade bloc (Kozien & Kozien, 2018; Tvarnø, 2020). Article 191 of the Union regards climate change as an objective of the EU environmental policy. This shows the Union's commitment to high-level safeguard and enhancement of the eminence of the environs.

Understanding the various legislations or policies enacted by the European Union helps comprehend the Unions’ acts as a mirror towards the region's commitment to deal with environmental issues (Gulac et al., 2019). It helps understand why the European Union works with other nations to enact policies that protect and conserve the environment. Cifuentes-Faura, (2022) establishes that many nations are facing worrying environmental situations hence their efforts and dealings to lessen the negative environmental controls. The EU has been the most vigorous in conservation safeguard through policies. However, the Union needs to find more amicable solutions to major issues like climate change, emission of pollutant gases, unsustainable production and consumption, and the scarcity of natural resources. Understanding various policies helps develop a further understanding necessary to develop sustainability so that establishments can adopt people and government institutions to achieve a more sustainable world (Angheluta et al., 2019). Sustainability will helps deal with issues like the emission of polluting gases and climate change through various policies like the Green Deal and Circular Economy.

Having looked at the European Union's commitment to environmental protection and the reasons behind this undertaking, it is essential to understand how it creates awareness about this issue. Creating awareness enhances the participation of EU member states in environmental conservation (Koehler & Lowther, 2022). The Union involves actors like local communities and non-governmental organizations to complement direct guideline, enhancing public environmental cognizance through effective campaigns and facts gathering (Bager, Persson & dos Reis, 2021; Vince & Hardesty, 2018). The outcomes help shape public opinion and lobby the governments to endorse stricter ecological legislations that influence customers and markets to engage in approaches that favor the green deal. The European Union uses these actors as politicians and regulators who have yet to address environmental issues effectively.

The Union has developed approaches known as 'new environmental governance. It involves collaboration between the public, non-government and private stakeholders in setting environmental means convoyed by 'proceduralisation’ of legislations that elevate open-ended conservational principles and more involvement of the stakeholders in decision-making processes (Jänicke & Jörgens, 2020; Lawson, 2019). The approach has led to an evolution of a new phase where the essential features are supervisory suppleness and meta-guideline through plural regulation and concerted authority. The various approaches have made nations like Germany, among the leading European Union members, advocate for environmental protection (Heinelt, 2018). Through legislation, it enhances environmental measures and pulls other members in the same direction.

The success of the European Union's efforts toward environmental protection is influenced by global collaboration and partnership with entities and governments. The European Union, through its policies, offers a benchmark model that other nations can enumerate. The other trade blocks can use these structures in the fight for global environmental conservation. The global efforts impact the EU determinations in conservation to reduce global warming, environmental dilapidation, and contamination. Yakubu (2017) argues that the EU and member states, through their green deal, show the bloc's ambitions in the fields of climate, agriculture, biodiversity, zero-pollution, and industry.

The trade block works closely with other entities as their policies have a far-reaching impact at the global level. For instance, the EU works with UNEP to tailor its national plans and attain investments for the Green Deal (Smol, 2022; Potts, 2021). UNEP and the EU are active partners in implementing, evaluating, and establishing global environmental policies. The member states strive to enact multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The agreements act as facilitators for negotiations and implementation of the global agreements on various primary environmental agreements. UNEP has hastened the processes by enacting various agreements like the climate change convention and Kyoto protocol, the Basel, and Stockholm agreements, and many more. The EU ensures that its partners lead in setting global environmental agendas and enhances the coherent implementation of various dimensions of sustainable development with the United Nations. The Union also engages biennially with its members in meetings held by the United Nations environment assembly (Mayr-Harting, 2019). This is the optimal body that makes an environmental decisions and sets priorities for international policies and the creation of environmental legislation. Other global approaches include financial contribution. For instance, in 2019, the EU offered financial aid to the environment fund. The member states have also ranked as the top donors for earmarked funding engagements.

The literature review helps understand the various approaches used by the European Union in its efforts to ensure environmental protection. It furthers the understanding by looking at the trade blocs’ environmental policies, which play an essential role in understanding the environmental system management taken by the Union’s member states. It helps understand the awareness of management policies and standards that promote the well-being of the members and global population. Most of the approaches, domestic or international, have offered positive outcomes in terms of environmental conservation. However, further research on the specific contributions of each member state in this journey is needed. Also, there needs more research on the hindrances the Union faces in its efforts toward environmental conservation.

References

Alberton, M. (2012). Environmental protection in the EU member states: changing institutional Scenarios and trends.  L'Europe en Formation, (1), 287-300.

Angheluta, S. P., Burlacu, S., Diaconu, A., & Curea, C. S. (2019). The Energy from Renewable Sources in the European Union: Achieving the Goals.  European Journal of Sustainable Development,  8(5), 57-57. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2019.v8n5p57

Bager, S. L., Persson, U. M., & dos Reis, T. N. (2021). Eighty-six EU policy options for reducing imported deforestation.  One Earth,  4(2), 289-306.

Bigerna, S., & Polinori, P. (2022). Convergence of KAYA components in the European Union toward the 2050 decarbonization target.  Journal of Cleaner Production,  366, 132950.

Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2022). European Union policies and their role in combating climate change over the years.  Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 1-8.

Gulac, O., Dubchak, L., Iarmolenko, I., & Yanchuk, J. (2019). Cooperation of Ukraine and the European Union in the ecological sector: directions and prospects.  European Journal of Sustainable Development,  8(1), 22-22. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2019.v8n1p22

Heinle, H. (2018). European Union environment policy and new forms of governance: a study of the implementation of the environmental impact assessment directive and the eco-management and audit scheme regulation three member states: a study of the implementation of the environmental impact assessment directive and the eco-management and audit scheme regulation in three member states. Routledge.

Jänicke, M., & Jörgens, H. (2020). New approaches to environmental governance. In  The ecological modernization reader (pp. 156-189). Routledge.

Koehler, L., & Lowther, J. (2022). Policy making for sharks and the role and contribution of non-governmental organizations in fulfilling international legal obligations.  Marine Policy, p. 144, 105228.

Kozien, E., & Kozien, A. (2018). THE SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT UNDER THE REGULATIONS IN FORCE OF THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION AND THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION–LEGAL AND ECONOMIC VIEW.  Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 402-412.

Lawson, A. (2019). A conceptual framework for exploring voluntary stewardship programs for land managers as a tool of New Environmental Governance.  Australasian Journal of Environmental Management,  26(2), 137–155.

Lindsey, R., & Dahlman, L. (2020). Climate change: Global temperature.  Climate. Gov,  16. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature

Lönegren, L. (2019). The European Green Capital Award-Towards a sustainable Europe?

Mayr-Harting, T. (2019). Representing the European Union at the United Nations: The Security Council Dimension. In  Elected Members of the Security Council: Lame Ducks or Key Players? (pp. 153-175). Brill Nijhoff.

Potts, A. (2021).  European Cultural Heritage Green Paper "Putting Europe's shared heritage at the heart of the European Green Deal." Europa Nostra.

Rehbinder, E., & Stewart, R. (2020). Environmental protection policy. In  Environmental protection policy. De Gruyter.

Small, M. (2022). Is the green deal a global strategy? Revision of the green deal definitions, strategies, and importance in post-COVID recovery plans in various regions of the world. Energy Policy,  169, 113152.

Tvarnø, C. D. (2020). EU Climate Law and Public-Private Partnerships.  CBS LAW Research Paper, (20–06).

Vince, J., & Hardesty, B. D. (2018). Governance solutions to the tragedy of the commons that marine plastics have become.  Frontiers in Marine Science, pp. 5, 214.

Yakubu, O. H. (2017). Addressing environmental health problems in Ogoniland through implementing United Nations environment program recommendations: environmental management strategies.  Environments,  4(2), 28.