The European Union, an actor in global energy policy for sustainable development? - Interregional energy policy co-operation between the European Union and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
HÄMÄLÄINEN, OUTI (2007)
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HÄMÄLÄINEN, OUTI
2007
Aluetiede - Regional Studies
Kauppa- ja hallintotieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Economics and Administration
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2007-01-26Tiivistelmä
The research considers EU’s role in the global energy policy. During the last decade energy has entered the global arena as a crosscutting issue within the frame of “energy for sustainable development”. The frame emphasises the important role that energy plays in ensuring global environmental, economic and social sustainable development. The main objective of the research is to analyse and ponder the possibility of the EU to develop as a global actor in energy policy for sustainable development.
The research aims to find out if the global frame of “energy for sustainable development” has entered EU’s policies. In other words, the aim is to find out if EU’s interpretation of energy in relation to sustainable development is coherent and consistent with the global interpretation within the frame of “energy for sustainable development”. Basically, the research analyses if EU’s policy documents link energy to the global environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainable development. Case research on the EU’s interregional co-operation with the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) confirms if the global interpretation of energy in relation to sustainable development has been, de facto, adopted as part of the EU’s foreign policy.
Methodologically the research is based on deductive qualitative content analysis. Theoretical background includes theories on global actorness and entrance of the “energy for sustainable development” frame on the global arena. The EU and other social structures in the global community are seen through the theory of social constructivism. The analysis on the EU’s global actorness concentrates on its ability to identify policy priorities and to formulate coherent policies. The analytical framework of the research is created from the conceptual frame of “energy for sustainable development”. The empirical material is collected from the EU's documentation on sustainable development, environment, energy, development, trade and competitiveness and on its Ministerial Meetings (AEMM) and interregional co-operation with the ASEAN. The documents analysed are selected from the years between 2000 and 2006.
According to the findings of the research, the “energy for sustainable development” frame has been included relatively well into the EU’s policy documents analysed, especially after the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. In the future, it is important for the EU to turn its policy declarations into practice through effectively implementing external partnerships and projects that aim at promoting energy for sustainable development. The EU’s competence in matters of energy policy is still, in practice, restricted by the fact that the Member States have the main decision-making power on energy policy. In March 2006 the European Union launched the Green Paper “A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy”, which started a process aiming at creation of a comprehensive European policy on energy.
Keywords: energy for sustainable development, global actorness, interregionalism
The research aims to find out if the global frame of “energy for sustainable development” has entered EU’s policies. In other words, the aim is to find out if EU’s interpretation of energy in relation to sustainable development is coherent and consistent with the global interpretation within the frame of “energy for sustainable development”. Basically, the research analyses if EU’s policy documents link energy to the global environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainable development. Case research on the EU’s interregional co-operation with the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) confirms if the global interpretation of energy in relation to sustainable development has been, de facto, adopted as part of the EU’s foreign policy.
Methodologically the research is based on deductive qualitative content analysis. Theoretical background includes theories on global actorness and entrance of the “energy for sustainable development” frame on the global arena. The EU and other social structures in the global community are seen through the theory of social constructivism. The analysis on the EU’s global actorness concentrates on its ability to identify policy priorities and to formulate coherent policies. The analytical framework of the research is created from the conceptual frame of “energy for sustainable development”. The empirical material is collected from the EU's documentation on sustainable development, environment, energy, development, trade and competitiveness and on its Ministerial Meetings (AEMM) and interregional co-operation with the ASEAN. The documents analysed are selected from the years between 2000 and 2006.
According to the findings of the research, the “energy for sustainable development” frame has been included relatively well into the EU’s policy documents analysed, especially after the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. In the future, it is important for the EU to turn its policy declarations into practice through effectively implementing external partnerships and projects that aim at promoting energy for sustainable development. The EU’s competence in matters of energy policy is still, in practice, restricted by the fact that the Member States have the main decision-making power on energy policy. In March 2006 the European Union launched the Green Paper “A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy”, which started a process aiming at creation of a comprehensive European policy on energy.
Keywords: energy for sustainable development, global actorness, interregionalism