Why policy coherence in the European Union matters for global sustainability

The global economy is producing unequal economic exchanges between countries, including illegitimate transfer of wealth from low-income countries, which ultimately undermine efforts towards securing robust social welfare systems. This puts policies on trade and finance, corporate governance and circular economy at the centre of the global development puzzle. Policy coherence for development must be understood in the context of the tension between the overarching societal goal of achieving sustainability and the functioning of the global economy. In this article, we focus on the political and legal challenges this puzzle presents, using the case of European Union policies on business, finance and circular economy, which have global impacts. We see these as core areas of law and policy where advances are made but which need to be better positioned within an overarching aim of sustainability.