EU GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN TERMS OF CLIMATE CHALLENGES*

Abstract

The study of the global leadership of the EU considering the climate challenges is a relevant theme of research in view of the dynamism of modern international challenges and threats related to both the direct problems of climate change (being the consequence of industrial activity) and the purposeful creation of climate issues to achieve absurd goals, which we currently see in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, i.e., using the climate as a weapon, creating large-scale environmental problems, etc. It was found out that global leadership is interpreted as the efforts aimed at changing the limitations and opportunities obtained from social interaction, the direction by one subject of the behavior of others over a long period of time, and the social role formed in the process of interaction between the leader and the followers. The EU has recognized climate change as a global challenge and has shown global leadership precisely in solving climate change issues. This resulted in the adoption by the EC of the European Green Deal (EGD) course in 2019, the main objective of which is to achieve climate neutrality and the new European strategy Global Gateway in 2021, which is implemented through the projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific region, as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the Global Gateway is to unite the world via investment and partnership. The carried out studies showed that the EU has the potential for global leadership of a mixed type with a clearly expressed projection of the practical application of leadership, that is, via precise effective actions. The dominant types of the EU leadership are the exemplary (e.g. EGD) and the entrepreneurial (e.g. Global Gateway). The EU has the capacity, experience and legitimacy to influence the external players.