European Union in global climate politics

Dragišić Milica (Fakultet političkih nauka, Beograd), milicadragisic7@gmail.com

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. The European Union (EU) has long sought to act as a leader in global climate policy, both by shaping international institutional arrangements and developing policies and measures to reduce its own and global greenhouse gas emissions. The EU generally has difficulty determining whether it is an “actor” in the true sense of the word, given that, in various areas, decision‐making power is divided among multiple institutions, member states, and societal actors. That raises doubts about its ability to become a leader in this area. The paper focuses on the analysis of EU actorship, as well as the types of leadership that the EU exercises internationally. In this regard, a separate section of the paper examines the phases of EU climate policy and its role in international climate change negotiations.

Keywords: Climate change, EU, actorship, leadership, climate negotiations