EU climate action is increasingly political. As with migration after the 2015 surge in refugee arrivals inthe European Union, and health cooperation as the covid-19 crisis intensified in 2020, climate policyis no longer the preserve of ministers in its thematic Council formation – the Environment Councilconfiguration (ENVI). Rather, the issue makes ever more regular appearances on the agendas ofheads of state and government.

This is because the European Green Deal is a high-risk, high-reward gambit. Member states areawaiting the European Commission’s legislative package for implementing the deal. They know that,if they fail to transform their economies and societies to promote ambitious climate action globally, itwill become much harder for the international community to limit global warming to 1.5oC above preindustriallevels. However, if Europeans reduce their carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 in asocially just way, this could provide a platform for the EU to become a global leader on climate normsand green technology.