Work

Winds of change? The impact of the European Green Deal on the practice of EU climate diplomacy

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: With its emphasis on integrating climate concerns into all areas of EU policy making and reinforcing the EU’s role as a global climate leader, the European Green Deal (EGD) likely carries significant implications for the EU’s climate diplomacy. This paper therefore asks: How has the practice of EU climate diplomacy changed since the 2019 European Green Deal? Based on an analysis of 46 interviews with EU and EU member state officials involved in multilateral and bilateral climate diplomacy, it finds that the practice of ‘traditional’ climate diplomacy in both bilateral and multilateral settings has remained relatively stable despite the EGD. Nonetheless, the EGD appears to have introduced new actors into the climate diplomacy ecosystem and in several cases empowered them to take ownership of climate-adjacent issues.

Source: Journal of European Integration

DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2025.2498732

Authors: Joseph Earsom, Franziska Petri

Institutions: Université Catholique de Lille, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: European Union Policy and Governance

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek