This book presents an overview of the field of environmental law and policies within the European Union. It is a valuable resource for students, researchers and policymakers working in environmental law and policies, environmental economics, climate science and environmental sociology.

Part 1: EU Climate Policy and Air Quality 1. An Update on EU Climate Policy 2. The Right to Clean Air in the European Union Part 2: Waste Management 3. The Dilemma of EU Waste Policy and Circular Economy 4. The European Governance of Radioactive Waste Part 3: Agriculture 5. The Tense Relation Between the European Common Agricultural and Environment Policies 6. Agriculture and Biodiversity in Europe Part 4: Chemicals and Nanotechnology 7. EU Chemicals Regulation 8. EU Environmental Risk Regulation Part 5: Reconciling Environmental Concerns with Market Imperatives 9. At the Crossroads of Trade and Environment 10. Cleaning up the Mess? The EU’s Answer to Environmental Conflicts Within and Beyond its Borders

"This book illustrates how Europe has taken up its global role as a laboratory for environmental governance, with great success. It started with the revision of the Treaty of Rome in 1986 in Maastricht when the environment was introduced as a new chapter, resulting in the Green Deal of the new EU Commission. A fascinating journey!" -- Jos Delbeke, Professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and at the KU Leuven, Belgium"This interdisciplinary book explores the EU governance system and the major challenges arising from environmental governance at both the regional and global levels. The expert input provided in this book by both academics and practitioners will contribute to developing much-needed informed policies and to specialized teaching and research activities. It is an indispensable source of knowledge for anybody interested in environmental matters (researchers, students, NGOs, law- and policy-makers, professionals, etc.) and a valuable addition to university libraries from all over the world." -- Stefania Negri, Associate professor of International Law, University of Salerno, Italy"Written by practitioners and academics, this pathbreaking book throws a distinctive light on how the EU deals with complex environmental challenges such as climate, biodiversity, air quality, waste management, chemicals, and nanotechnology. Assessing the impact of recent events from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to the 2019 European Green Deal and Brexit, it convincingly displays the EU as both an advanced supranational environmental governance system and a laboratory for multilateral environmental action." -- Franck Petiteville, Professor of Political Science, University of Grenoble Alps, France