Sebastian Oberthür – författare

The Performance of the EU in International Institutions marks one of the first attempts to systematically analyse the subject. It focuses on the role of the EU in decision-making within international organizations and regimes as a major locus of global governance. The book unpacks the concept of EU performance into four core elements: effectiveness (goal achievement); efficiency (ratio between outputs accomplished and costs incurred); relevance (of the EU for its priority stakeholders); and financial/resource viability (the ability of the performing organization to raise the funds required). Based on the case studies herein, the findings presented in this book relate to the identified core elements of performance with a particular emphasis on the dimensions of 'effectiveness' and 'relevance'. Most notably, the EU appears, on balance and over the past two decades, to have become much more relevant for its member states when acting within international institutions. The book highlights four particular factors explaining EU performance in international institutions: the status of relevant EU legislation and policies, the legal framework conditions including the relevant changes that the Lisbon Treaty has brought about, domestic EU politics, and the international context.This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration

This book analyses the status and prospects of the global governance of Access Benefit Sharing (ABS) in the aftermath of 2010’s Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD’s initial 1992 framework of global ABS governance established the objective of sharing the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources fairly between countries and communities. Since then, ABS has been a contested issue in international politics – not least due to the failure of effective implementation of the original CBD framework. The Nagoya Protocol therefore aims to improve and enhance this framework. Compared to the slow rate of progress on climate change, it has been considered a major achievement of global environmental governance, but it has also been coined a ‘masterpiece of ambiguity’. This book analyses the role of a variety of actors in the emergence of the Nagoya Protocol and provides an up-to-date assessment of the core features of the architecture of global ABS governance.This book offers a central resource regarding ABS governance for those working on and interested in global environmental governance. This is achieved by focusing on two broad themes of the wider research agenda on global environmental governance, namely architecture and agency. Furthermore, individual chapter contributions relate and link ABS governance to other prominent debates in the field, such as institutional complexes, compliance, market-based approaches, EU leadership, the role of small states, the role of non-state actors and more.Partly due to its seeming technical complexity, ABS governance has so far not been at the centre of attention of scholars and practitioners of global environmental governance. In this book, care is taken to provide an accessible account of key functional features of the governance system which enables non-specialists to gain a grasp on the main issues involved, allowing the issue of ABS governance to move centre-stage and be more fully recognised in discussions on global environmental governance.

Contributing to the emerging literature on the geopolitical and foreign policy implications of decarbonisation and energy transition processes, this book sheds light on the future of the European Union’s (EU) external relations under decarbonisation.Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted in 2015, governments are committed to phasing out the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over the coming decades. This book addresses the many questions around this process of decarbonisation through detailed analyses of EU external relations with six fossil-fuel exporting countries: Nigeria, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Qatar, and Canada. The authors systematically examine the six countries’ varying dependence on fossil fuels, the broader political and security context, current relations with the EU, and the potential for developing these towards decarbonisation. In doing so, they put forward a series of findings that should hold across varying circumstances and provide a steppingstone to enrich and inspire further research on foreign policy, external relations, and international relations under decarbonisation. The book also makes an important contribution to understanding the external implications of the 2019 European Green Deal.This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of European environmental and climate policy, climate diplomacy, energy policy, foreign policy, and climate/energy geopolitics.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/ 9781003183037, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Contributing to the emerging literature on the geopolitical and foreign policy implications of decarbonisation and energy transition processes, this book sheds light on the future of the European Union’s (EU) external relations under decarbonisation.Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted in 2015, governments are committed to phasing out the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over the coming decades. This book addresses the many questions around this process of decarbonisation through detailed analyses of EU external relations with six fossil-fuel exporting countries: Nigeria, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Qatar, and Canada. The authors systematically examine the six countries’ varying dependence on fossil fuels, the broader political and security context, current relations with the EU, and the potential for developing these towards decarbonisation. In doing so, they put forward a series of findings that should hold across varying circumstances and provide a steppingstone to enrich and inspire further research on foreign policy, external relations, and international relations under decarbonisation. The book also makes an important contribution to understanding the external implications of the 2019 European Green Deal.This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of European environmental and climate policy, climate diplomacy, energy policy, foreign policy, and climate/energy geopolitics.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/ 9781003183037, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The authors examine how far internal policies in the European Union move towards the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 80-95 per cent by 2050, and how or whether the EU's 2050 objective to 'decarbonise' could affect the EU's relations with a number of external energy partners.

The Performance of the EU in International Institutions marks one of the first attempts to systematically analyse the subject. It focuses on the role of the EU in decision-making within international organizations and regimes as a major locus of global governance. The book unpacks the concept of EU performance into four core elements: effectiveness (goal achievement); efficiency (ratio between outputs accomplished and costs incurred); relevance (of the EU for its priority stakeholders); and financial/resource viability (the ability of the performing organization to raise the funds required). Based on the case studies herein, the findings presented in this book relate to the identified core elements of performance with a particular emphasis on the dimensions of 'effectiveness' and 'relevance'. Most notably, the EU appears, on balance and over the past two decades, to have become much more relevant for its member states when acting within international institutions. The book highlights four particular factors explaining EU performance in international institutions: the status of relevant EU legislation and policies, the legal framework conditions including the relevant changes that the Lisbon Treaty has brought about, domestic EU politics, and the international context.This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration

This book analyses the status and prospects of the global governance of Access Benefit Sharing (ABS) in the aftermath of 2010’s Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD’s initial 1992 framework of global ABS governance established the objective of sharing the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources fairly between countries and communities. Since then, ABS has been a contested issue in international politics – not least due to the failure of effective implementation of the original CBD framework. The Nagoya Protocol therefore aims to improve and enhance this framework. Compared to the slow rate of progress on climate change, it has been considered a major achievement of global environmental governance, but it has also been coined a ‘masterpiece of ambiguity’. This book analyses the role of a variety of actors in the emergence of the Nagoya Protocol and provides an up-to-date assessment of the core features of the architecture of global ABS governance.This book offers a central resource regarding ABS governance for those working on and interested in global environmental governance. This is achieved by focusing on two broad themes of the wider research agenda on global environmental governance, namely architecture and agency. Furthermore, individual chapter contributions relate and link ABS governance to other prominent debates in the field, such as institutional complexes, compliance, market-based approaches, EU leadership, the role of small states, the role of non-state actors and more.Partly due to its seeming technical complexity, ABS governance has so far not been at the centre of attention of scholars and practitioners of global environmental governance. In this book, care is taken to provide an accessible account of key functional features of the governance system which enables non-specialists to gain a grasp on the main issues involved, allowing the issue of ABS governance to move centre-stage and be more fully recognised in discussions on global environmental governance.

The Handbook on European Union Climate Change Policy and Politics provides a wide-ranging and in-depth assessment of current and emerging challenges facing the EU in committing to and delivering increasingly ambitious climate policy objectives. It traces the development of climate and energy policies since the early 1990s and examines their continued evolution in the context of the 2019 European Green Deal.With contributions from leading international scholars, it describes the key dynamics driving policy developments and the role of key actors in climate and energy-related policy processes. Covering topics that have previously been relatively neglected, or have recently gained greater significance, such as finance and investment, ‘hard to abate’ sectors and negative emissions, this timely Handbook offers an up-to-date and unrivalled exploration of the complexities of climate policymaking.It will be of primary interest to academics researching EU politics, and environmental politics, policy, regulation and governance more widely. It will be especially pertinent to students and researchers who require more specialized knowledge of EU climate policy and politics.

The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997 was a major achievement in the endeavour to tackle the problem of global climate change at the dawn of the 21st century. After many years of involvement in the negotiation process, the book's two internationally recognised authors now offer the international community a first hand and inside perspective of the debate on the Kyoto Protocol. The book provides a comprehensive scholarly analysis of the history and content of the Protocol itself as well as of the economic, political and legal implications of its implementation. It also presents a perspective for the further development of the climate regime. These important features make this book an indispensable working tool for policy makers, negotiators, academics and all those actively involved and interested in climate change issues in both the developed and developing world.

The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997 was a major achievement in the endeavour to tackle the problem of global climate change at the dawn of the 21st century. After many years of involvement in the negotiation process, the book's two internationally recognised authors now offer the international community a first hand and inside perspective of the debate on the Kyoto Protocol. The book provides a comprehensive scholarly analysis of the history and content of the Protocol itself as well as of the economic, political and legal implications of its implementation. It also presents a perspective for the further development of the climate regime. These important features make this book an indispensable working tool for policy makers, negotiators, academics and all those actively involved and interested in climate change issues in both the developed and developing world.

Dieses Buch erscheint zur rechten Zeit. Zu Beginn des neuen Jahrhunderts präsentieren zwei international bekannte Experten aus Deutschland eine um­ fassende und präzise Darstellung der internationalen Klimapolitik. In der Form erscheint diese Darstellung wie ein Kommentar zum Kyoto-Protokoll, einem der wohl wichtigsten Verträge, die jemals geschlossen worden sind. Lassen Sie uns ein paar Fakten in Erinnerung rufen. Seit Beginn der In­ dustrialisierung hat sich die Menschheit in ein Experiment ungeahnten Aus­ maßes begeben - die Änderung der Zusammensetzung unserer Atmosphäre. Schon vor über 100 Jahren wurde das erste Mal über den Treibhauseffekt bestimmter Spurengase spekuliert und heute wissen wir es sehr sicher: die Freisetzung von Kohlendioxid durch die Verbrennung fossiler Brennstoffe und andere Treibhausgase bedrohen unsere Zivilisation und das Leben von Millionen Menschen auf diesem Planeten. Die Erhöhung des Meeresspiegels wird viele Menschen zu Umweltflüchtlingen machen und einige tiefliegende Inselstaaten ganz zum Verschwinden bringen. Gewaltige Stürme können Landstriche verwüsten und Wasserknappheit wird weitere Millionen Men­ schen vertreiben. Die Herausforderung ist klar: bis zur Mitte des 21. Jahrhunderts muss der Ausstoß an Treibhausgasen weltweit um ca. 50% reduziert werden, um die Klimaveränderungen in einem tolerablen Rahmen zu halten. Dies ist eine gigantische Aufgabe für uns und die nächsten Generationen, aber es kann geschafft werden. Zusammen mit Amory Lovins und L. Hunter Lovins habe ich in meinem Buch "Faktor 4" fünfzig Beispiele dafür geliefert, wie eine Effizienzrevolution aussehen könnte. Die Lösung liegt in der klugen Verbin­ dung von erneuerbaren Energiequellen, Effizienzsteigerungen und der Ent­ deckung neuerGenügsamkeit (Suffizienz).