EU External Environmental Governance - Policy Promotion, Learning, Emulation and Adjustment

Policy promotion and cooperation with third countries are part of the European Union’s (EU) external governance toolbox. They can complement and support other tools such as multilateral negotiations and coercive measures. This paper investigates the EU’s external environmental policy promotion and cooperation efforts. It analyses the effects of these efforts on the United States (US) and China. EU external governance describes the effects of EU policy and activities on extra-EU jurisdictions. It insinuates EU intentionality of influencing policy change in extra-EU jurisdictions. External effects of EU policy can also occur without intentional EU activities as demand-driven processes in which extra-EU jurisdictions take over EU policy based on their independent decision. Such external effects are not instances of external governance. This paper assesses to what extent external effects of EU environmental policy can be attributed to EU external governance efforts. It addresses the questions of intentionality and steerability. The results of this analysis are considered in the light of the broader spectrum of EU external governance tools.