Rudi Wurzel and James Connelly

1. Exploratory Workshop on “European Climate Change Governance – Towards New Alliances?”in Hull on 2nd – 3rd July 2012 “New Climate Change Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs” Rudi Wurzel and James Connelly (Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Hull)

2. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Trajectory of Brussels-based ENGOs: • 1970s:European Environmental Bureau (EEB) (1974) • 1980s:Friends of the Earth (FoE), Greenpeace and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) • Since the 1990s:More specialised ENGOs such as • Bird Life International • European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) • Health and Environmental Alliance (HEAL) • Transport & Environment (T&E)

3. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Alliances and coordinating groups: • G4: EEB, CEAT/FoEE, Greenpeace and WWF • G10: BirdLife International, CAN Europe, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Bankwatch Network, EEB, FoE, Friends of Nature International (NFI), Greenpeace, HEAL, T&E, and WWF

4. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Main reasons for cooperation between Brussels-based ENGOs • Division of labour and pooling of resources • ‘Highest common factor principles’ (Long, 1998): • (Brussels-based) ENGOs have similar goals (despite their heterogeneity) • Alliances represent larger number of members/supporters • Taken more seriously by the media, EU decision makers and opponents (e.g. businesses) • Greater legitimacy • Competition for funding less intense on EU level compared with member state level

5. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Brussels-based ENGOs active on climate change issues: • Four key players within the G10: • CAN Europe, FoE Europe, Greenpeace and WWF • Large ENGO umbrella groups: • CAN Europe, EEB, HEAL, T&E • Large European ENGO networks groups: • FoE Europe, Greenpeace and WWF • Small ENGOs active on specific EU climate issues: • Client Earth, E3G, Bellona • New specialised ENGOs: • CDM Watch, Sandbag

6. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs • Think tanks and/or research Institutes: • Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Ecofys, Ecologic, IEEP, IDDR, Öko Institut, The Centre • Foundations which provide funding for ENGOs: • European Climate Foundation (ECF) • Oak Foundation • NGOs other than ENGOs which are active on EU climate change policy issues: • Development NGOs: Aprodev, Christian Aid, CIDSE, Oxfam • New alliances • New policy discourse?

7. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs • Alliances between ENGOs and businesses? • For example, ENGOs and renewable energy producers • Possible barriers for alliances between Brussels-based EU-wide ENGOs and businesses? • Weak European/EU-wide umbrella groups. This is particularly true for business umbrella groups • Preferences for different policy instruments: • ENGOs: regulation and/or eco-taxes • Businesses: voluntary agreements, informational instruments and emission trading • Cooperation between ENGOs and businesses on climate change issues may be easier on the national level? • For example, Greenpeace and Renault

8. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Ecological modernisation: • Rejects the (neoliberal and radical environmentalist) view that there is inevitably a trade off between environmental protection and economic growth: • Core assumptions: • Ambitious environmental policy measures can be beneficial for the environment and the economy • Low carbon economy => win-win strategy • ‘... A cleavage begins to open up not between business and environmentalists, but between progressive, environmentally aware business on the one hand and short-term profit takers on the other‘(Weale, 1992, p.31)

9. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs Leadership or entrepreneurship: • ENGOs press for the EU to act as a leader in international climate change politics: • Time to lead(CAN Europe, FoE, Greenpeace and WWF) • ENGOs as whistle blowers: • ENGOs can press member states for ‘enforced leadership’(Jänicke). EU may limit the scope for ‘cost-free leadership’(Liefferink and Birkel) • ENGOs lobby for the transfer of successful policy measures elsewhere

10. EU as a Leader in International Climate Change Politics 1) ENGOs can offer structural leadership: • Large membership and supporter base • Moderate staff and financial resources 2) ENGOs can offer entrepreneurial leadership: • ENGOs representatives as part of national delegations • Draft treaties: A Copenhagen Climate Treaty (2009) • Think tanks and foundations: CEPs, Client Earth, ECF, E3G, The Centre • Research institutes: IEEP, Ecologic 3) ENGOs can offer cognitive leadership: • Ability to change policy discourse: • Low carbon economy as ‘win-win’ strategy • Emissions trading: ‘hot air’ • Most trusted source of information for the public

11. New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOs ENGOs and multi-level governance: • Venue shopping: • Lobbying at different levels of climate change governance (international, EU, national and regional) is difficult even for large ENGOs ENGOs influence tends to be highest at: • (1) the beginning of the policy/treaty making cycle: • Agenda setting: • (Re)framing of issues (e.g. trading ‘hot air’) • (2) the end of the policy/treaty making cycle • Implementation (e.g. through ‘whistle blowing’) Lesser degree of influence during: • (Policy/treaty) agreement phase • (Policy/treaty) decision-making phase

12. Decision-making Agenda setting Implementation Revision New Alliances at the EU level: Environmental NGOsPolicy-making cycle/Treaty agreement process