Arctic climate governance via EU law on black carbon?

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12241
• Author: Seita Romppanen
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Arctic climate governance via EU law on black carbon?

Seita Romppanen

Correspondence

Email: seita.romppanen@uef.fi International cooperation, environmental protection and climate change are the key

elements of the European Union’s (EU) Arctic policy. The EU’s interest in the Arctic

has increased gradually over the last decade, and the policy has been streamlined

over the years to better respond to the needs of the Arctic region in the context of

international cooperation. Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), especially black car-

bon emitted close to the Arctic region, present a growing threat to the Arctic cli-

mate. SLCPs are both dangerous air pollutants and climate forcers, but black carbon

is particularly detrimental in the Arctic context. The EU controls black carbon emis-

sions through legislation on air pollution and quality, albeit without specific refer-

ence to concerns over Arctic warming. Based on an analysis of the relevant EU

laws, the article examines how the EU can have a concrete input in respect of Arctic

climate governance, and through this strengthen its Arctic reach. In the EU context,

exposing the lack of synergies between climate change and air pollution policies in a

specific Arctic context could offer a potential first step.

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INTRODUCTION

The European Union (EU) has been developing its Arctic policy since

2008.

1

International cooperation and sustainability in the context of

environmental protection and climate change have been identified as

the overall objectives of the EU’s revised Arctic policy.

2

The EU is

now eager to deepen its engagement in the Arctic. However, the

future development of the EU’s Arctic reach needs to be carefully

tailored to complement existing regional governance.

It has been argued that in the Arctic context the EU should focus

on areas of policymaking where it has clear priorities and established

capabilities, such as the environment and climate change.

3

In these

areas, the EU has the possibility to contribute positively to Arctic

policymaking and to the state of the Arctic environment. The argu-

ments put forward by this article are built on the presumption that

the EU’s Arctic policymaking should be directed towards an exclusive

framework of activity where the EU has competence to provide a

concrete input that has clear and complementary benefits for the

region. In this specific context, this article identifies a potential plat-

form for further EU–Arctic engagement that is located within the

explicit framework of international cooperation, environmental pro-

tection and climate change. This platform is to be found in the EU’s

statement that alongside its climate action for 2030 and 2050, it

should contribute especially to international efforts to limit the emis-

sions of so-called short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), such as

black carbon.

4

Black carbon is a climate forcer as well as an air pollutant that is

formed during the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels.

Black carbon emissions originating from Europe are particularly detri-

mental in the Arctic context.

5

This article analyses how the EU con-

tributes to, and complements, Arctic climate governance through its

internal law on black carbon emissions. The scope of the article is

limited to black carbon as a SLCP from an Arctic perspective. The

article considers the EU legislation of key relevance in this context,

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1

Commission (EU), ‘The European Union and the Arctic Region’(Communication) COM

(2008) 763 final, 20 November 2008.

2

Commission (EU), ‘An Integrated European Union Policy for the Arctic’(Joint communica-

tion) JOIN(2016) 21 final, 27 April 2016, 4.

3

A Ste

zpie

n and T Koivurova, ‘The Making of a Coherent Arctic Policy for the European

Union: Anxieties, Contradictions and Possible Future Pathways’in A Ste

zpie

n, T Koivurova

and P Kankaanp€

a€

a (eds), The Changing Arctic and the European Union (Brill 2015) 54; A Air-

oldi, ‘The European Union and the Arctic: Developments and Perspectives 2010–2014’

(Nordic Council of Ministers 2014) 63–64.

4

Commission (n 2) 7.

5

PK Quinn et al, ‘AMAP Assessment 2015: Black Carbon and Ozone as Arctic Climate For-

cers’(Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) 2015) 1–6.

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12241

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