Despite the rise of far-right parties in the European Parliament, climate action is here to stay. A strong climate foreign policy is crucial to maintain European competitiveness and global leadership in climate action. The new EU political cycle is the right moment for the EU to carry out essential institutional reforms to strengthen its climate foreign policy. Without these reforms, the EU risks losing its position in the global clean economy.
It’s fair to say that far-right parties are typically no friends of climate action. In the run-up to this year’s European Parliament election, climate action was overshadowed by other priorities, and right-wing and far-right parties intensified efforts to create a backlash against it. While environmental protection and climate action were at the centre of political debates in 2019, this time, concerns over competitiveness, economic security and international conflicts stole the spotlight.
But make no mistake: it's precisely in these troubled times that the EU needs to integrate climate action into all policy areas, particularly into foreign policy. Otherwise, the EU runs the risk of lagging behind China and the US by failing to secure essential supply chains for developing its clean economy. On a global scale, European foreign policy is also crucial in supporting partners to meet their climate goals and moving the world towards a more sustainable, 1.5-degree-aligned pathway. To ensure that the EU remains a leader in global climate action, the next Commission must further integrate climate into all foreign policy channels.
The political guidelines announced by President von der Leyen for the next Commission indicate a promising step in the right direction. The initiatives in the political guidelines such as the Clean Industrial Deal, the Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships, the 90% emission reduction target for 2040 and the recommitment to Global Gateway and green diplomacy show how climate action and competitiveness could go hand in hand.
But what exactly can the EU do to maintain its international climate leadership and boost competitiveness? In our latest report, we present an array of institutional reforms with a high potential for impactful change.
The 2019-2024 Von der Leyen Commission set out to be a geopolitical commission, highlighting climate action as a key priority. As a result, medium- and long-term climate targets were firmly enshrined in the European Climate Law. In parallel, China’s growing influence prompted the launch of the EU’s infrastructure investment framework, Global Gateway, which includes climate as one of its key pillars. Certainly, the EU has made some progress on integrating climate into foreign policy over the last five years. Weaving climate into the EU’s external relations is now crucial to ensuring that the EU remains competitive in a multipolar world and global clean economy, as well as reaching its climate targets.
Despite this progress, major barriers remain that prevent all external policies and actions from being fully climate-proof. Below are some potential ways to solve these challenges.
#1 Empower the EU Commission to fully lead on climate foreign policy
The EU needs a clearer leader for climate diplomacy. Previous High Representatives, who lead the EU’s diplomatic services, have not prioritised climate action enough. Meanwhile, the Commissioners on Climate Action can tend to focus on domestic issues, making it challenging to give international climate issues the attention it needs.
Who should lead on climate diplomacy then? If approved by the Parliament, the next EU top diplomat will be Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian Prime Minister, who has been very vocal about the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. Given that this issue seems to be on the top of her political agenda, there might be limited time for Kallas to focus on climate diplomacy. We thus recommend that the Commission leads on climate diplomacy. The President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, should empower the next climate Commissioner with the necessary mandate and resources to push climate foreign policy forward. In the current right-leaning political cycle, it is also crucial to expand the climate Commissioner’s portfolio mandate to cover strategic areas like competitiveness in addition to climate. This expansion will enhance their agenda-setting power and enable a more integrated approach to climate diplomacy.
#2 Lay the groundwork through a long-term strategy
The EU needs a comprehensive long-term vision on climate diplomacy that guides the work of all bodies and teams working on external action, including top political positions, Directorate-Generals, and institutions like the European External Action Service and the European Investment Bank. While the Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions provide an annual short-term overview of the EU’s political priorities on green diplomacy for the coming year, they fall short of offering a long-term vision. Additionally, the Conclusions lack a monitoring mechanism to track the implementation of outlined action items and priorities.
The absence of an overarching strategy calls into question the EU’s credibility and undermines consistency and coordination among its institutions. It also risks inefficient resource management by lacking a geographical focus and spreading efforts too thin, ultimately weakening its climate diplomacy. Establishing such a grand strategy should involve all EU institutions, Member States, and public consultations with external stakeholders. This common vision document could be modelled after the European Consensus for Development.
#3 Strengthen “Team Europe” with Green Diplomacy hubs
Member States play a significant role in enabling effective climate diplomacy. The EU’s Team Europe approach pools EU and Member State expertise and resources to maximise impact. However, there is a greater need for coordination on climate diplomacy. The Foreign Affairs Council 2024 Conclusions on Green Diplomacy suggest a solution: Green Diplomacy Hubs. But they provide little guidance on how to operationalise these hubs.
While extensive coordination between Brussels and the Member States‘ capitals is required, such local informal hubs could play a significant role in in-country coordination. These hubs could improve communication and coordination between the EU’s diplomatic services and Member States’ embassies by pooling their resources to enhance EU outreach. They would also provide a forum for diplomats and officers to collaborate on advancing climate diplomacy in the region. The EU can launch these hubs in strategic regions where it seeks to develop climate partnerships or strengthen existing relationships.
The current global context requires changes in the EU’s institutional set-up to address Europeans’ concerns on foreign policy, on the economy and on climate, as recent polls show that these are among the most important issues for EU citizens. Now is the time for the EU to fulfill its citizens’ hopes and expectations by integrating climate ambition into these key areas of concern.
Written by Ines Paiva
