The European Union in its pursuit of being a global leader in climate neutrality

Abstract

This contribution examines the most important actions taken by the European Union (EU) to improve the global climate. Positioning itself as a leader in climate action, the EU has adopted the European Green Deal (EGD) strategy, in which it has defined the long-term goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Moreover, one of the aims of EU climate leadership is to influence external partners, which takes various forms (e.g., participation in conferences under the auspices of the United Nations, financial support for partner countries, and political dialog). However, the soft power instruments used by the EU to combat climate change are encountering a number of challenges conditioned by events both within the EU (e.g., farmers' protests) and outside its borders (e.g., Russian aggression against Ukraine). They require greater coordination and preventive efforts to reduce the impact of potential new crises and to strengthen the EU's strategic autonomy.