The Govtran ‘coffee-break’ interview podcast series consists of six short interviews with scholars focusing on European Climate and energy Policy from different angles. They were recorded during the GOVTRAN workshop on ‘Appraising the EU’s 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework’ held at the Erik Castrén Institute, Helsinki, on 8-9 July 2019.
1. Diarmuid Torney – EU2030, the Paris Agreement and the Irish declarations
Dr. Diarmuid Torney, assistant professor in Dublin City University, Ireland, discusses whether and to what extent the EU’s 2030 framework is aligned to the Paris Agreement, what steps the EU can take to signal its climate leadership at the international level as well as to step up its ambition and, finally, a number of recent recommendations and declarations made by the Irish government creating new momentum on the climate change issue in Ireland.
2. Stephen Minas – EU in relation to the world and EU towards MS
Dr. Stephen Minas, assistant professor at the School of Transnational Law at Peking University in China, reflects on the potential of the EU 2030 framework to serve as an example for other countries to follow, and on the capability of the EU to fully implement the framework: while the EU has shown a high level of commitment, much of the framework’s success will depend on whether member states take up their responsibilities, as well as on the EU’s capacity to respond to pushes from citizens and the private sector and, finally, on whether it will be able to turn ambitious targets into reality.
3. Hasselt University delegation – Innovation, instruments and Implementation of EU2030
Bernard Vanheusden, Professor of Environmental and Energy Law; Theodoros Iliopoulos, Doctoral Researcher in Energy Law; and Matteo Fermeglia, Post-Doctoral Assistant in Environmental and Administrative Law reflect on the high ambition level of the EU 2030 framework. The interviewees stress its main innovative aspects and the difficulties faced by member states to effectively implement it, as well as the potential of smaller-scale instruments such as net metering to incentivize the use of renewable energy sources among citizens.
4. Katrien Steenmans – The EU’s approach to climate finance
Dr. Katrien Steenmans, lecturer in law at Coventry University, discusses the different instruments though which the EU provides international climate finance and the steps that should be taken in order to increase the EU’s contribution to climate finance in light of the ambitious targets set by the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework.
5. Annalisa Severesi – The LULUCF’s strengths and weaknesses
Annalisa Severesi, lecturer of environmental law at the University of Stirling, explains why the LULUCF regulation introduced by the EU is important for climate policy and what are the odds it will work as a guidance for other countries to follow. While the LULUCF regulation can to an extent be an example for others, its success will depend on how well the rules will be integrated and implemented in other systems.
6. Alessandro Monti – Innovative aspects of EU2030
Alessandro Monti, from the University of Innsbruck, looks into some of the most innovative aspects of the EU 2030 Climate and Energy Framework. With its bottom-up and flexible approach, the framework promises to be inclusive and successful. However, without the good will of the member states to cooperate with each other, there is no real possibility to achieve its ambitious targets.
Interviews by Bradlie Martz-Sigala, University of Eastern Finland.
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