The european union’s new climate change diplomacy: Innovating in foreign policy

Abstract

Fighting climate change constitutes an area in which the EU has shown considerable global leadership over the last decades. The EU has a mandate to represent its Member States internationally on climate affairs and is equipped with economic and diplomatic instruments essential in climate action. Given the urgency of climate action and the disengagement of some main polluters, in recent years the EU sought to consolidate its position as an international climate actor. In order to achieve this goal, the EU resorted to a set of foreign policy instruments meant to engage key climate players, such as China, but also American states and cities (to compensate for the lack of climate action at the US federal level). In the use of these instruments the EU showed creativity, flexibility, and ability to innovate diplomatically.