The Role of Europe in Global Challenges: Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Online Workshop – 15 & 16 June 2020

The new UACES-funded research network « The Role of Europe in Global Challenges: Climate Change and Sustainable Development » started its work this spring with the organisation of its first workshop on 15-16 June 2020. Imposed by the current COVID-crisis across the continent, the workshop took of course place online, which not only allowed to widen the outreach but at the same time fitted well with issues of carbon footprint. Project leaders Rosa Fernandez, Thomas Hoerber & Jonas Schönefeld were satisfied with these starting discussions and look forward to developing the network further: ‘We can say that running the workshop online was a success and enables more people to join us than anticipated. We would like to thank all the participants for their insightful contributions. The feedback received has been really positive, and we are excited about upcoming events (in Germany and France) and future collaborations.’ The workshop programme is available here (pdf)  

A UACES Research Network since 2020.

This UACES Research Network brings together academics in different stages of their careers, practitioners and policymakers, to lead scholarly debates on sustainability and climate policy in the EU and beyond. It intends to promote interdisciplinary research looking at the role of the EU as a global actor. The declaration of climate emergency in several countries, and the engagement of younger generations in climate activism, cannot be ignored. Changes in the global landscape require questions to be asked: How will the EU respond to this new environment if it is to remain a leader in the climate and sustainability debate? How will the EU reconcile its international commitments with the national interests of Member States, in a climate of populism and Euroscepticism? How are citizens’ demands incorporated into the new climate policy agenda? The network will address these questions looking at the Who, How and Where of policymaking decisions and upcoming initiatives. Click here to see the project page The network has also set up its twitter account under @clim_eu