Wind of Change? The European Green Deal and the Practice of EU Climate Diplomacy - ESPOL - École Européenne de Sciences Politiques et Sociales
Conference Papers Year : 2024

Wind of Change? The European Green Deal and the Practice of EU Climate Diplomacy

Abstract

The European Green Deal (EGD), first published in 2019, represents a series of policy priorities and proposals charting a path to climate neutrality across the European Union (EU). The EGD has been heralded as a critical juncture in the Union’s response to climate change. With the high-level political support for the EGD and its push to integrate climate concerns into all areas of EU policymaking, it is logical to assume that this critical juncture would also extend to the EU’s foreign policy. The question thus arises how the EGD has transformed how the EU pushes for its climate policy objectives internationally, a responsibility traditionally held by a set of experts and officials within the European Commission, Council of the EU, and European External Action Service (EEAS). Yet, the multiplicity of actors and institutions involved, as well as the associated bureaucratic politics, present significant barriers to shifting how the EU conducts its climate diplomacy. Building on original interviews with EU actors working on climate diplomacy across institutions between 2021 and 2022 this paper examines how EU actors have adapted their work in response to the EGD. It answers the following research questions: To what extent has the European Green Deal represented a critical juncture for the practice of climate diplomacy? What factors can explain this (lack of) change? In answering these questions, this paper examines how the European Green Deal has concretely shaped (or not) the EU’s foreign policy and sheds light on the adaptability of the EU’s diplomatic system to changing priorities. In doing so, it provides an updated assessment of the functioning of the EU climate diplomacy apparatus and its responsiveness to changing priorities in the midst of the climate crisis.
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Dates and versions

hal-04697743 , version 1 (14-09-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04697743 , version 1

Cite

Joseph Earsom, Franziska Petri. Wind of Change? The European Green Deal and the Practice of EU Climate Diplomacy. UACES Annual Conference, Sep 2024, Trento, Italy. ⟨hal-04697743⟩
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