The environmental issue is at the very heart of present-day global concern. However, a consistent paradigm on environmental governance has not yet been agreed upon. More particularly, the effective role of transnational/‘regional’ actors has hardly been integrated in the overall model. We are giving attention to the EU's policy strategy in this particular field and how it affects the EU's political-institutional profile and the reflection on multi-level governance as a relevant conceptual framework. Considering the issue in a global perspective, most of the attention towards environmental governance has been caught by the global challenges and the implementation of policies on the domestic, i.e. national and local, level. It has been called the two-levels game and, despite all efforts, no generally accepted taxonomy on vertical linkages exists at this stage. Norichika Kanie approaches global environmental governance in terms of vertical linkages, highlighting the multiple forms of interaction and the barriers between the international and the local levels. This interactive diplomacy is conceptualized as interaction between like-minded countries and NGO's, business and industry communities. As empirical analysis has proven (Kanie and Haas), not only a wide array of new actors has emerged, but also a variety of governance functions can be distinguished. The EU has come to the fore with its ‘20—20—20 plan’, aiming at reducing carbon emissions by at least 20% within the time horizon of 2020. All EU efforts refer to the UN principles, priorities and institutional setting. In European eyes, the UN system is indeed the legitimate and effective overarching sphere of action in this policy field. Although the EU is ‘constitutionally’ defined as an emanation of Member States, it is also, especially from the outside world, perceived as a global actor. We are arguing that from an organizational viewpoint, the EU should be seen as an intermediate actor, mediating between state interests and worldwide regulation. Since grand theorizing is not appropriate (yet), we suggest an elaborated version of the paradigm of multi-level governance (Gary Marks) as a meaningful conceptual framework. It refers to the growing interdependence between governments and non-governmental actors at various territorial levels. The paradigm of multi-level governance is not only offering a scheme of reference vis-à-vis the many actors detected via empirical analysis. It could add an important dimension to the profile of the EU, complementing the internal integration process with its current ambitions as a global actor.