The global dimension of the European Green Deal: the EU as a green leader?

The global dimension of the European Green Deal: the EU as a green leader?

Download PDF 3.01 MB

Grimm, Sven / Wulf Reiners / Niklas Helwig / Marco Siddi / Louis Mourier
External Publications (2021)

in: DIE-FIIA-KAS Series on 'The external dimension of the European Green Deal - prospects of cooperation with (re)emerging powers'

The European Green Deal can be considered as a roadmap of key policies for the EU's climate agenda, based on which the Commission has started, and will continue to develop, legislative proposals and strategies from 2020 onwards. The European Green Deal aims at transforming the EU’s economy towards sustainability and carbon neutrality. First and foremost, it defines internal plans and strategies for the EU that will also have global effects. Directed at internal transformation, this ambitious plan can make Europe a role model and a global leader, but it also involves domestic and external challenges. For promoting the global public good, the EU will need partners to jointly work with. This paper provides an overview of the core elements of the Green Deal and connects them to concepts of EU leadership. On this basis, it examines the need and entry points for EU cooperation with major global partners and (re)emerging economies, including China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. The authors argue that the success of the European Green Deal depends on close coordination with these powers and finds that the legitimacy and credibility of the EU's climate leadership can only be ensured by engaging intensively with actors from the Global South and with the various centres of an increasingly multipolar world.

About the authors

Grimm, Sven

Political Science

Grimm

Reiners, Wulf

Political Science

Reiners

Further experts

Baumann, Max-Otto

Political Science 

Berger, Axel

Political Science 

Bergmann, Julian

Political Science 

Dang, Vy

Political Science 

Erforth, Benedikt

Political Science 

Friesen, Ina

Political Science 

Furness, Mark

Political Science 

Hackenesch, Christine

Political Science 

Haug, Sebastian

Political Science 

Janus, Heiner

Political Science 

Keijzer, Niels

Social Science 

Klingebiel, Stephan

Political Science 

Koch, Svea

Social Science 

Löpelt, Sarah

International relations and Sustainability policy 

Pegels, Anna

Economist 

von Haaren, Paula

Development Economics 

Wisskirchen, Alma

Political Science