The internal dimension of EU climate governance amidst societal and political challenges

EU climate policy development has taken place in a context of a 'polycrisis'. The EU has faced a range of internal social and political challenges such as the 2009 financial and economic crisis, the rise of far-right and populist parties, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this module, you will explore the impact these challenges have had on the development of EU climate and energy policy.

The module consists of two reading exercises:

a text excerpt outlining a number of crisis trends the EU faces;
an article about populism and climate change in the EU. At the end of the module, you will be able to discuss the EU's internal crisis trends, and you will have gained a nuanced understanding of the role of populism in climate governance.

Module outline

Introduction brief: Excerpt from "EU climate and energy governance in times of crisis: towards a new agenda” by Ingmar von Homeyer, Sebastian Oberthür & Andy Jordan.
A quiz on the introduction brief.
Reading exercise: “Is populism a challenge to European energy and climate policy? Empirical evidence across varieties of populism” by Huber et al.
A reflection exercise on the reading.
Further supporting materials (optional).

Concepts relevant to Module 5:

Anti-elitism, Climate policy integration, Decarbonisation, Democratic myopia, Depoliticization, EU scepticism or Euroscepticism, European Green Deal (EGD), Input legitimacy, Just transition, Output legitimacy, Paris Agreement, People-centrism, Polycrisis, Populism, Post factualism, Status quo bias, Technocracy, Turbulence

Brief: EU climate and energy governance in times of crisis

READING EXERCISE

The following excerpt from the article "EU climate and energy governance in times of crisis: towards a new agenda” by Ingmar von Homeyer, Sebastian Oberthür & Andrew Jordan, introduces Module 5. It identifies five 'crisis-trends' ranging from growing socio-political divisions to wider geopolitical shifts that could have influenced the development and evolution of EU climate and energy policy. The excerpt will be followed by a quiz.

The full version of the paper can be found here, and forms the introduction to the Special Issue: 'EU climate and energy governance in times of crisis'. published in the Journal of European Public Policy. The article and the Special Issue are freely available.

Read the brief

Quiz

This quiz is based on the text you've just read. Write down the answer(s) you think is/are correct. The results can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

1. According to the reading, what are some of the factors contributing to growing socio-political divisions in the EU? (multiple answers possible)

A) Decreasing economic inequality.
B) Shift towards an industrialised economy.
C) Ongoing globalisation.
D) Generational value change and a backlash against cosmopolitan and liberal values.
E) Socio-economic transformations.

2. What characterizes post-factual communication? (multiple answers possible)

A) High visibility of scientists well-regarded in their field.
B) Conspiracy theories, myths and emotion-based disinformation.
C) Immediate and emotionally appealing talking points, images and ‘fake news’.
D) Rigorous fact-checking.
E) Disregarding of facts.

3. What factors constrain national governments’ capacity to act? (multiple answers possible)

A) Proliferation of international institutions.
B) High public trust in government.
C) Sufficient financial resources to implement policies.
D) Intensified international competition for investment and employment.

4. Which one of the five crisis trends identified is not directly linked to an increase in Eurosceptic, populist discourse?

A) The rise of post-factual forms of political communication.
B) Growing socio-political divisions.
C) Growing legitimacy challenges.
D) Increasing constraints on the effectiveness of governance.
E) Wider geopolitical shifts.

Is populism a challenge to European energy and climate policy?

READING EXERCISE

In this part of the module, we zoom in on one of the internal challenges the EU faces: the rise of populism and how it has impacted EU climate and energy policy.

When discussing populism and climate change, issues such as President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017 and the increased deforestation of the Amazon under the Presidency of Bolsonaro in Brazil, come to mind. Traditionally the focus has been on right-wing populism, neglecting other types of populism on the left side of the political spectrum, for example, the populist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.

Therefore, we invite you to read the text ‘Is populism a challenge to European energy and climate policy? Empirical evidence across varieties of populism’ by Robert Huber, Tomas Maltby, Kacper Szulecki and Stefan Ćetković. The article assesses the climate and energy discourse and political behaviour of six European populist parties in Austria (FPÖ), Czechia (ANO 2011), Greece (Syriza), Italy (M5S), Poland (PiS), and Spain (Podemos) along the right-left political spectrum. In doing so, the authors show the variety in populism in the EU, and the different relationships of types of populism with climate and energy policy.

Read the article

After reading the text, we invite you to reflect on the article's approach and findings.

Source: Huber, R. A., Maltby, T., Szulecki, K., & Ćetković, S. (2021). Is populism a challenge to European energy and climate policy? Empirical evidence across varieties of populism. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(7), 998–1017. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1918214.

The article was published in 2021 in the Journal of European Public Policy as part of a Special Issue on EU climate and energy governance in times of crisis.

Reflections

As you have now read the text, take some time to reflect on how it approaches populism and its findings. In particular, think about:

Do you agree with the authors’ conceptualization of populism? Did anything surprise you about how they view populism?
What is the relationship between populism and the crisis trends identified in the excerpt?
Do you see populism as a threat or a challenge to climate policy? Why/why not?

Further material

This module explored the internal crisis trends the EU is facing, with a particular focus on the rise of populism. If this piqued your interest, and you would like to dig deeper into the topic, you can have a look at the following additional material:

1. Additional reading on the challenges EU climate and energy policy faces:

2. Additional reading on populism and climate change:

3. Other materials that were produced during the GreenDeal-NET project and after the launch of the MOOC

Tosun (2025). Climate Action in the Framework of the European Green Deal
Podcast Episode 5: Leaving some people behind? The social dimension of the Green Deal with Amandine Crespy
Podcast Episode 10: Climate activism in the EU: From the streets to a seat at the table with Louisa Parks
Podcast Episode 14: Climate justice for all: Intersectionality and climate movements with Eugene Nulman and Daniela Chironi

Answer key to the quiz

1C-D-E, 2B-C-E, 3A-D, 4E

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Overview page

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Module 5: The internal dimension of EU climate governance