The Dutch and European Contribution to International Climate Policy: building blocks for a viable stratergy

Experiences at the Copenhagen Climate Sum
mit of December 2009 illus
trate the importance
attached to climate change in contemporary international politics. At the same time, the event
clearly demonstrated the difficulties of agreeing
to an ambitious international climate policy.
Much has been said about the role of the EU ahead and during the Copenhagen Summit. This paper will not make a systematic analysis of what happened, but aims to look ahead.

Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that for some aspects the Copenhagen Summit was a test case for the viability of the EU’s approach tointernational climate policy. These aspects willbe referred to where appropriate.

This paper will look at international climate policy in the context ofinternational relations. The focus is on what the EU and the Netherlands could do to further their internationalclimate policy objectives.