The case for an EU grand climate strategy

(EurActiv, 10 Jun 2021) Following the fiasco of the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, the EU adapted its engagement in international climate politics to take better account of emerging economies, write Sebastian Oberthür and Claire Dupont. Now, it should upgrade its policy to a “grand climate strategy,” combining the domestic and external dimensions, they argue.

Sebastian Oberthür is the Director of the Research Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy at the Brussels School of Governance and Professor of Environmental Policy and Law at the University of Eastern Finland. Claire Dupont is Assistant Professor of European and International Governance in the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University.

The time has come for the EU to move its international climate leadership to the next stage and upgrade the external dimension of the European Green Deal by developing an integrated EU grand climate strategy.

The EU has an impressive record of international climate leadership. In parallel with progressing its domestic policy framework and reducing its emissions, it has over the years consistently – and with some success – pushed for ambitious international climate action. In doing so, it has learned from past failures. Following the fiasco of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, where the EU had limited influence, the EU adapted its engagement in international climate politics to take better account of the rise of the emerging economies and the resulting turn to multipolarity. It successfully developed its new “leadiator” approach (leader cum mediator), pursuing modestly ambitious policy objectives through intensified coalition and bridge building.

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EurActiv, 10 Jun 2021: The case for an EU grand climate strategy