Episode #22: External EU Climate Action:

 Insights from policymaking

We end our series on the external dimension of EU climate governance with reflections from policymaking itself. Jacob Werksman, Principal Adviser to the European Commission on international aspects of EU climate policy, shares his insights on how science meets politics and economics in EU climate policy, how changes in the international system impact it, and what we can expect from global and EU climate policy in the coming years.

About the guest

Jacob Werksman has, since 2012, served as Principal Adviser to the Directorate General for Climate Action in the European Commission, where his work focuses on the international aspects of European climate policy.  His responsibilities include leading aspects of the European Union negotiations under the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and advising the Commission with regard to international partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including under the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances and the International Civil Aviation Organization. He supports the Commissioner responsible for European climate change policy and the European External Action Service in strengthening bilateral relationships between the EU and major economies, including the United States, China and India and other international partners.

Werksman is an international lawyer, specialising in international environmental law and international economic law.  He has provided legal and policy advice to developed and developing country governments, NGOs and international institutions in the context of the multilateral negotiations on climate change, biosafety and trade.  He has taught and published widely on the international legal dimensions of climate policy, including on the design of compliance mechanisms, climate finance and on the relationship between carbon markets and international trade and investment agreements. 

Prior to joining the Commission, he held posts at the World Resources Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, and the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) in London.

Listen to the podcast from July 1st onwards, on

About the podcast series

The von der Leyen I Commission set out to put the EU on a pathway toward a sustainable, low-carbon future with the launch of the European Green Deal. However, the Green Deal quickly found itself in rough waters as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine risked derailing it all. 

To help you understand what the EU aimed at doing in the European Green Deal, how it is impacted by changing times, and what we can expect from the second von der Leyen Commission, GreenDeal-NET created a How Green Deal? In 20- to 30-minute episodes, host and researcher Jana Gheuens talks with leading climate experts about their views on the EU's climate transition. Topics include everything from carbon pricing, the role of climate activism and NGOs, to how to integrate climate action in all the EU’s policy measures.

If you like the podcast, please leave us a review wherever you listen.

Click here to see the full series