In the five years since the EU agreed its 2020 objectives for energy and climate policy, there has been a concerted effort to re-set the agenda, effectively shifting the trajectory and priorities of the Union’s activities in this area. While the goal of a near-zero carbon economy by 2050 remains in place, affordability and competitiveness concerns have been invoked to scale back the ambitions of future legislation, calling into question whether that long term target can be achieved. This paper seeks to explain the factors which have driven this change in policy. Drawing upon the agenda-setting literature and particularly the concept of framing contests, the paper explores the strategy and tactics of protagonists on both sides of the policy debate.
