The European Elections in June 2024 will define the power balance in the next European Parliament, which will then elect the new EU Commission President. The incoming European Commission in turn will set the agenda for the rest of the “critical decade”. Forging strong partnerships with other nations is important for catalysing and enhancing climate ambition. At the same time, this new Commission will oversee the implementation of key Green Deal legislation with extraterritorial impacts (i.e., the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the Green Deal Industrial Plan (GDIP)). Commission officials will have the delicate task to explain and communicate these policies to other countries while creating new alliances in a complex geopolitical landscape. To be successful, the EU must make climate diplomacy a key foreign policy priority and mobilise and coordinate all its institutional structures towards driving more international climate ambition. 

The main goal of the project is to facilitate recommendations for reforms to the institutional structure of the European Commission and associated agencies to highlight climate action considerations across all channels of the European Union’s foreign policy. The primary focus will be on analysing processes and decision-making procedures within the diverse EU Institutions, including associated bodies, as well as fostering coordination among these institutions and between the EU and its Member States.