Mainstreaming Climate Change in Development Cooperation: Theory, Practice and Implications for the European Union

Climate change, development and development cooperation are, individually and jointly, three politically sensitive, complex issues, especially in the context of relations between developed and developing countries. This book tackles these issues by combining theoretical, political, and practical perspectives, analysing the dominant paradigms and exploring the meaning of the concept of mainstreaming. At the practical level, it presents the results of case studies focusing on assistance provided by the European Union and key member states and the climate needs articulated by developing countries. At the political level, it highlights the sensitivities between developed and developing countries and examines the mainstreaming debate in various fora. This book is valuable for policymakers, academics, politicians and non-state actors working in the fields of development studies, international law, politics, international relations, economics, climate change, and environmental studies.

Nicolien van der Grijp is a senior researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she co-ordinates the European Law and Policy cluster. Her research interests are related to environmental law and policy at the international, EU and national level. In her present work, she focuses on issues of integration, implementation and interaction at the various levels. She has worked on several projects focusing on developing countries, including the UNEP project on global product chains, the EU climate change leadership project, and the EU sustainability labelling project.

Joyeeta Gupta is Professor of Climate Change Law and Policy at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and of Water Law and Policy at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft. She is editor-in-chief of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics and is on the editorial board of the journals Carbon and Law Review, International Journal on Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Policy, and International Community Law Review. She was a lead author of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. She is on the scientific steering committees of many different international programmes including the Global Water Systems Project and the Earth System Governance Project. She has published several books on climate change, including The Climate Change Convention and Developing Countries: From Conflict to Consensus? (1997), and Our Simmering Planet: What to Do About Global Warming (2001). Her edited books include The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water (2009, with J. Dellapenna), Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol: The Role of Institutions and Instruments to Control Global Change (2003, with M. Faure and A. Nentjes), Issues in International Climate Policy: Theory and Policy (2003, with E. Van Ierland and M. Kok), and Climate Change and European Leadership: A Sustainable Role for Europe (2000, with M. Grubb).