Exnovation in the Brussels Capital Region – What Effective Governance Power Does the Brussels Capital Region Have?

One of the most pressing societal challenges to be faced in the twenty first century is the environmental, societal and cultural impact of outdated traditions. Addressing this issue requires rethinking the place and effectiveness of traditional solutions and assessing the role of every level of government in the path towards a sustainable society. Given the persisting nature of challenges to sustainability, a novel way of ‘innovating’ can be pursued by ‘sustainably transitioning’, or departing, from set habits. This is also known as “exnovation”. The Brussels Capital Region (BCR) is at the cutting- edge of exnovation, with the establishment of a Low Emission Zone and proposal to levy city toll and kilometer charges on polluting vehicles. The competences of the Brussels Capital Region to enact such measures are however contingent on the legislative powers granted by the EU and Belgian rules on the division of competences. The purpose of this working paper is to shed light on the exnovation competences of the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) in accordance with the EU and Belgian legal and constitutional framework.