Climate Politics and Policy in the European Union

The EU has long claimed to be a leader in international climate policy. Dating from the early 1990s, its policy activities in this area have had enormous influence within the continent and beyond. Policies and targets, which are increasingly distinct from national ones, comparatively ambitious, and sometimes globally innovative, have emerged. They encompass a wide array of instruments, covering an ever-widening range of sectors. However, overall progress has been uneven, and emissions have not been brought down as rapidly as long-term targets demand, particularly in ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors. Acute challenges to policy coherence and effectiveness remain in a Europe that remains polarised between more and less environmentally conscious Member States, apparently more susceptible to populism, faced with an unpredictable international system, and under pressure to recover quickly from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenge is made more complex still by the need to improve resilience to climate impacts at the same time as dramatically reducing emissions. This section invites proposals for panels and papers that address this evolving political and policy landscape in the era of the European Green Deal, critically exploring the range of contemporary challenges and new dilemmas facing EU policy makers.