Francis McGowan

Towards a European regulatory state

This article explains why regulation has come to the fore as an instrument in contemporary policy-making in many European states, as well as within the European Union (EU). On the basis of case study material, it considers whether some of the traditional problems associated with regulation, specifically those of regulatory capture and of implementation gaps, have arisen in the case of EU regulation. Drawing on the experience of the Eftan states and the central and east European countries, the article also examines a new challenge associated with the EU itself, that of regulatory alignment, the process by which prospective member states adapt to both the form and the content of European rule-making.

Controlling the greenhouse effect The role of renewables

Abstract Renewable energy sources can play an important part in controlling and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. However, at present they make only a modest contribution to energy balances and receive a small proportion of research and development budgets. This paper examines the role which renewables could play in cutting CO 2 emissions and considers how the barriers to their development might be overcome. It assesses policies towards these technologies in two countries, the UK and Denmark, particularly in the light of increasing environmental concerns.

Regulating innovation: European responses to shale gas development

The interplay between regulation and innovation is examined through the case of the development of shale gas, by comparing the regulatory context that facilitated the diffusion of shale gas techniques (in the United States) with the responses to its potential development in different European settings (the national cases of Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland and the EU institutions). The US regime has favoured its development, transforming the energy economy but raising concerns about environmental impacts. In Europe, different economic and political contexts have resulted in divergent responses amongst the countries examined, making an effective EU response difficult to achieve.

Putting energy insecurity into historical context: European responses to the energy crises of the 1970s and 2000s

Recent discussions on the development of European Union (EU) energy policy have become dominated by a discourse of insecurity relating to the questions of energy dependence and relations with energy suppliers, echoing the debate during the energy crises of the 1970s. This article compares the two periods, analysing the way in which the EU (and the European Community in the 1970s) reacted to disruptions to energy supply. The article critically applies the concept of securitization, arguing that while the salience of energy increased in both periods, the Europeans neither faced an “existential threat” nor adopted “extraordinary measures” in responding to the crises.

The single energy market and energy policy: conflicting agendas?

Abstract This paper examines the prospects for European energy policy in the light of the European Commissions proposals for an internal energy market. It reviews the history of attempts to create a common energy policy, concentrating on the 1980s. It considers whether or not there is a conflict between the traditional objectives of energy policy — limiting vulnerability to energy shocks — and the goals of the internal energy market — which would open the sector to market forces — by illustrating how the two agendas for energy policy address specific energy issues.

Introduction: climate policy is energy policy

Avoiding dangerous climate change is the defining challenge for humanity in the twenty-first century. Since the energy system is both the primary cause of climate change and the primary means of mitigation, the future evolution of energy policy is of critical importance. But energy policy is undergoing significant change for other reasons, including unstable and substantially higher oil and gas prices, conflict and instability in key producing regions such as the Middle East, fears of the economic consequences of declining world oil production and a rising perception of energy insecurity, especially within industrialised countries. While there are precedents for managing these developments, effective response to them all while at the same time redically reducing carbon emissions requires a major rethink of conventional assumptions and practices.

International regimes for energy: finding the right level for policy

The recent revival of interest in energy policy is driven by a combination of concerns about the security of future sources of energy supply and also about the consequences of using those resources, particularly their contribution to climate change. Yet the ability of energy policy makers to address these problems faces major challenges. This is partly because the energy economy is the aggregate outcome of the choices of millions of energy consumers, whether individual citizens or firms, and also because many aspects of that energy economy are outside national control. If anything, it is national energy policies that have been subject, in different ways and to differing extents, to international constraints and pressures.

The UK and EU Energy Policy: From Awkward Partner to Active Protagonist?

This chapter examines the way in which the British government has shifted its stance on the details and scope of a common energy policy in the European Union (EU). That shift has been highly significant: more or less from the moment of membership, British politicians and officials were wary of transferring authority over energy matters to the European level. A combination of domestic political divisions over its participation in the European Community and the desire to retain control over the resources of the North Sea meant that British governments were quite hostile to the development of a more coor-dinated European approach to energy matters. This reluctance to engage persisted over the subsequent decades with regard to most aspects of energy policy, the principal exception being in the area of market liberalization (a policy innovation where the United Kingdom [UK] was an early adopter). In an echo of the UK’s traditional “economistic” motivation for participating in European integration, Conservative—and later Labour—governments were forceful sup-porters of the European Commission proposals to increase competition in the energy sector (though other Member States were, at least initially less enthused).

Ideology and Expediency in British Energy Policy

Energy policy in the UK has undergone some dramatic changes over the last fifteen years. More so than any other European country, the government has adopted the rhetoric of promoting market forces over state intervention in the energy sector and has followed this up in policy terms with significant initiatives in the fields of privatisation and liberalisation. The changes have been such as to lead some to allege that the UK no longer has an “energy policy” and that short-termist myopia has replaced the longer term strategic vision which characterised UK energy policy in the past (and which arguably persists in other countries). However, while the changes of the last decade and a half have been substantial, they should not be regarded as demonstrating an unequivocal commitment to the market or as marking a disengagement from political intervention and interference. While the government gives much greater emphasis to considerations of efficiency - as a result of its ideological preoccupation with the market - there is some evidence that expediency or pragmatism has often prevailed in the shaping of policies. If policy is myopic it stems as much from short term political calculations as from the market-place.

The development of Orimulsion and Venezuelan oil strategy

Abstract This paper analyses the origins of, and the prospects for, Orimulsion, a new power station and industrial fuel developed by Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), based on their massive reserves of extra heavy crude oil. After examining the importance of oil for the Venezuelan economy, the paper discusses the attempts by PDVSA to exploit these resources and the problems they have encountered. The paper then charts how Orimulsion was developed and assesses the potential for its use. In conclusion the paper considers the new fuel in the context of PDVSAs wider strategy of diversification.