The EU Should Merge Energy and Environmental Policy to Achieve Energy Independence from Russia
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THE EU SHOULD MERGE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
TO ACHIEVE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE FROM RUSSIA
STEPHEN SEWALK*
I. INTRODUCTION
Recently, Russia has seen considerable time in the international policy
spotlight, sending shock waves throughout the international community with its
military support during the para-military led annexation of Ukraine's Crimea
peninsula in March.1 The European Union's (EU) energy dependence on Russia
has hindered its ability to effectively execute sanctions against Russia for its bold
and aggressive behavior.2 These recent events underline the serious vulnerabilities
of the EU's energy policy and demonstrate how energy dependence has translated
itself into both economic and political dependence.3 The EU should merge its
energy and environmental policy together by abandoning its ineffective European
Union-Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and adopt a Carbon Tax with
Reinvestment (CTR), reclaiming its autonomy and ensuring the stability of its
multinational economy, while simultaneously ensuring its ability to meet and
exceed its Kyoto commitments.4
In this article, I begin by discussing the history of Russian and European
foreign relations, focusing on the energy policy dynamics and their effect on these
relations. I then examine how Russia's energy policy is a key element to its
foreign relations strategy. Then, the implications of the EU's dependence on
Russian natural gas are discussed, examining the seemingly conflicting interests
between Europe's climate and energy security goals. Finally, I demonstrate how a
* Stephen Sewalk, Ph.D., J.D., is an Assistant Professor for the Bums School of Real Estate and
Construction Management, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver. The author wishes to
thank Paul Chinowsky, Kenneth Strzepek, Frank Barnes, Lorenzo Trujillo, Ved Nanda, Lakshman
Guruswamy, Fred Cheever, Mark Vogel and Rick Leaman for insights on civil, environmental and
power engineering, tax, and environmental law. Further, the author wishes to thank Vincent Buscarello
for his outstanding research assistance.
1. See William W. Burke-White, Crimea and the International Legal Order, 4 SURVIVAL:
GLOBAL POLITICS AND STRATEGY 65-80 (4th ed.2014).
2. See Chi-Kong Chyong & Vessela Tchemeva, Europe's vulnerability on Russian gas,
EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 1, 6 (Mar. 17, 2015) [hereinafter Chyong & Tchemeva].
3. See id.
4. EU ver-achieved first Kyoto emissions target, on track to meet 2020 objective, EUROPEAN
COMMIssION: CLIMATE CHANGE, (Oct. 9, 2013),
http://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/articles/news2013100901 en.htm. EU emissions since 1990 have
declined 18%, by 2020 the EU committed to reducing emissions by 20%. Id.
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The EU Should Merge Energy and Environmental Policy to Achieve Energy Independence from Russia
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