Andrew Jordan is Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. He is interested in the governance of environmental problems in different political contexts, but especially the European Union. He is a managing editor of the journal Environment and Planning C and has published numerous books, including Environmental Policy in the EU, 2nd edition (Earthscan, 2005), The Coordination of the EU (with A. Schout, Oxford University Press, 2006), and Governing Sustainability (with N. Adger, Cambridge University Press, 2009). Dave Huitema is a senior researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He specializes in public administration and public policy and has 15 years of experience in analyzing environmental policy. His current focus is on adaptive governance and the institutional prescriptions that this entails. His most recent book focuses on policy entrepreneurs and their role in accomplishing transitions in water management (Edward Elgar, 2009). Harro van Asselt is a researcher in the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and research fellow with the Global Governance Project. He has published extensively on issues related to global climate governance, focusing on the interplay between climate and trade issues, and the Kyoto Protocol's flexibility mechanisms. He is managing editor of the journal International Environmental Agreements, and associate editor of the Carbon and Climate Law Review. Tim Rayner is a senior researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. He is a political scientist by training and has a long-standing interest in environmental policy, particularly its formulation and evaluation. Prior to joining the Tyndall Centre, he lectured in environmental policy at the London School of Economics and held research posts at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. Frans Berkhout is Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He has extensive research and management experience across a number of fields. His early research was concerned with the nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management. His more recent work has been concerned with technology, policy and sustainability, with a special emphasis on the links between technological innovation and environmental performance.

Perspective on the EU's ability to maintain a leading position in climate change politics, and challenges of mitigation and adaptation.

Foreword; Preface; List of contributors; List of abbreviations; Part I. Introduction and Overview: 1. Climate change policy in the European Union: an introduction Andrew Jordan, Dave Huitema and Harro van Asselt; Part II. The Evolving Governance Context: The European Union: 2. Governing the European Union: policy choices and governance dilemmas Andrew Jordan, Dave Huitema, Tim Rayner and Harro van Asselt; 3. The evolution of climate policy in the European Union: an historical overview Andrew Jordan and Tim Rayner; Part III. Climate Policy in the European Union: Understanding the Past: 4. Burden sharing: distributing burdens or sharing efforts? Constanze Haug and Andrew Jordan; 5. Renewable energies: a continuing balancing act? Roger Hildingsson, Johannes Stripple and Andrew Jordan; 6. Emissions trading: the enthusiastic adoption of an 'alien' instrument? Harro van Asselt; 7. Adapting to a changing climate: an emerging European Union policy? Tim Rayner and Andrew Jordan; 8. Adaptation in the water sector: will mainstreaming be sufficient? Eric Massey, Dave Huitema, Andrew Jordan and Tim Rayner; 9. The evolution of climate change policy in the European Union: a synthesis Andrew Jordan, Dave Huitema, Harro van Asselt and Tim Rayner; Part IV. Climate Policy in the European Union: Future Challenges: 10. Exploring the future: the role of scenarios and policy exercises Frans Berkhout, Constanze Haug, Roger Hildingsson, Johannes Stripple and Andrew Jordan; 11. Governance choices and dilemmas in a warmer Europe: what does the future hold for the European Union? Johannes Stripple, Tim Rayner, Roger Hildingsson, Andrew Jordan and Constanze Haug; Part V. Climate Policy in the European Union: Retrospect and Prospect: 12. Governing climate change in the European Union: understanding the past and preparing for the future Andrew Jordan, Dave Huitema, Harro van Asselt, Tim Rayner and Frans Berkhout; Index.

The European Union (EU) has emerged as a leading governing body in the international struggle to govern climate change. The transformation that has occurred in its policies and institutions has profoundly affected climate change politics at the international level and within its 27 Member States. But how has this been achieved when the EU comprises so many levels of governance, when political leadership in Europe is so dispersed and the policy choices are especially difficult? Drawing on a variety of detailed case studies spanning the interlinked challenges of mitigation and adaptation, this volume offers an unrivalled account of how different actors wrestled with the complex governance dilemmas associated with climate policy making. Opening up the EU's inner workings to non-specialists, it provides a perspective on the way that the EU governs, as well as exploring its ability to maintain a leading position in international climate change politics.