Environmental protection and external economic policies – recent developments in the EU

UNA Europa Research Project: ImprovEUorGlobe

The EU is proposing herself as a major actor on the international scene by systematically founding her approach to the reform processes of rules and procedures of the global economic governance on the realizations of the SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda. The EU trade policy thus appears the most articulated, complete and innovative at world level, producing most advanced free trade agreements with highly relevant trade and sustainable development chapters combining free trade and investment promotion with environmental protection, the respect of fundamental rights, forestry, biodiversity, the fight against climate change and the attention to gender and cultural diversity issues, while developing unilateral tools as the due diligence proposal, the carbon border adjustment mechanism, the deforestation regulation, and tabling most innovative sustainability documents at the WTO reform process. Together with the EU Green Deal and the reform initiatives proposed for the Energy Charta Treaty, the EU is also facing the huge challenges of the economic sanctions against Russia and the energy and food crisis. ImprovEUorGlobe provides a critical interdisciplinary overview of the SDGs oriented EU trade policy, constantly considering the participation of civil society to the shaping and implementation of the EU trade policy and tools.

Speakers and topics:

• Andrew Lang (University of Edinburgh): The emergence of climate clubs
• Ana Maria Daza Vargas (University of Edinburgh): The withdrawal from the ECT
• Injy Johnstone (Victoria University Wellington, visiting researcher University of Edinburgh): An assessment of the CBAM proposals
• Filippo Fontanelli (University of Edinburgh): A new era: EU’s current approach to trade and investment

This event is online only. 

Register to attend virtually.