New SWP Comment: “The International Dimension of European Climate Policy: A Strategy for Integrating the Internal and External Dimensions” with Ole Adolphsen and Jule Könneke.

The EU faces significant challenges in aligning its domestic climate policies (the “inner core”) with new measures that have significant implications for international partners. Structural inefficiencies, overlapping responsibilities and a lack of clear strategic prioritisation in EU climate policy hamper the effective integration of these two dimensions of EU climate policy. Given the growing importance of competitiveness and geopolitical constellations, as well as the policy shift on climate issues in the US, there is a window of opportunity for a new strategy process.

We recommend:

1️⃣ The Commission should initiate a broader strategy process, using the experience from Germany’s climate foreign policy strategy as a reference and source of ideas. The newly created Task Force on Inter­national Carbon Pricing and Carbon Market Diplomacy following the 2040 target recom­mendation could, in turn, be the starting point for another task force with a broader mandate.

2️⃣ The EU must address fragmented responsibilities by enhancing collaboration within and between its institutions, such as the European Commission (DG Climate Action, DG Trade, and the European External Action Service,EEAS), the European Parliament (across committees AFET, ENVI, ITRE, and INTA, and the *Council*. A high-level coordinating body or task force dedicated to climate diplomacy could facilitate streamlined decision-making and policy alignment.

3️⃣ Establish a monitoring instrument to provide an overview of member states’ for­eign climate policy activities and examine them for synergies and any contradictory activities and political priorities. A foreign climate policy dimension could be added to the National Energy and Cli­mate Plans (NECPs), which should be regularly up­dated.

4️⃣ Enhance Global Partnerships through the Global Gateway and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIP) can serve as platforms for fostering international alliances. These frameworks should be designed to align dis­parate EU interests in the areas of trade and investment with development and climate goals.

https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/the-international-dimension-of-european-climate-policy