Originally a mere side-product of economic integration in the first decades of European integration, European Union (EU) environmental and climate policy has evolved towards a comprehensive and dense regulatory framework. A complex set of rules, standards and procedures to protect the environment is in force in all major subfields of environmental policy, including water and air pollution, nature conservation, chemicals and the fight against climate change. Moreover, in environmental and climate policy, the EU prides itself on being an international leader.
Biedenkopf, K., & Delreux, T. (2023). European Integration, the Environment and Climate Change. In Segers, Mathieu, Van Hecke, Steven (ed.), The Cambridge History of the European Union (p. p. 418-441). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108780865.017