EU ETS VS. CORSIA A neoliberal institutionalist study of European emission reduction policy

Abstract

Since 2012, the European aviation sector is covered by the European Union Emission Trading Scheme, (EU ETS). A global counterpart, which is currently being developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the name CORSIA, is due to enter into force in 2021. Over 70 countries, including the EU member states, have announced their participation in the scheme. CORSIA has, however, been criticised for its voluntary nature and weak environmental standards. Drawing on neoliberal institutionalist assumptions, this study will provide an understanding of why the European Commission has decided to support a transition from the EU ETS to CORSIA, despite the risk that this would undermine the EU’s common environmental targets. In addition to providing an understanding of the Commission’s standpoint, this study will seek to contribute to the further development of neoliberal institutionalism. By applying a neoliberal institutionalist framework in combination with the method of qualitative concept analysis on the empirical data, consisting of different materials produced by the Commission, the study shows that the Commission’s support for a transition from the EU ETS towards CORSIA could be explained by neoliberal institutionalist assumptions about mutual interests and interdependence. However, this study suggest that to make the theoretical framework better fit for this study and similar studies, the analytical framework must recognise both state and non-state actors and take the temporal aspect of interests into account.