Keynote by Mr. Diederik Samsom, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans – European Green Deal, and Commissioner for Climate Action Policy

Video recording of the event on 15 September 2021

The Keynote given by Mr. Diederik Samsom, with Claire Dupont as discussant and  moderated by Sebastian Oberthür took place on 15 September 2021. It marked the opening of the GOVTRAN final event series. Mr. Samsom gave a 30-minute presentation on where Europe stands today and where it is heading internally and at the international level, especially regarding the work leading up to COP26. The speech was followed by a comment by Claire Dupont and then by a lively Question and Answer session. The duration of the video is 1 hour.

 

 

 

On the event:

The European Commission released its legislative proposals for implementing the EU’s enhanced greenhouse gas emission reduction target of at least 55% by 2030 in July 2021 – also known as the “Fit for 55 package”. These will amend and complement the major cornerstones of the EU’s existing climate and energy legislation, including the emissions trading system, emission standards for cars and vans, land use/forestry, renewable energy and energy efficiency. This legislative package will complement the European Climate Law adopted in spring 2021 and also provide the baseline for the subsequent consideration of the EU’s further emission and policy trajectory towards achieving climate neutrality by 2050 (and negative emissions thereafter).
This keynote will reflect on the broader repercussions of the legislative package and the EU’s move to climate neutrality in times that are characterised by increasing turbulence in Europe and beyond. What are the implications of the Fit for 55 package for existing socio-political divisions across Europe and for the broader legitimacy challenges that the EU is facing? What are the possible/likely effects on the EU’s broader role in the world in the face of continuing geopolitical shifts and rising great-power competition? What features of the Fit for 55 package are key so that EU climate governance can best help address these broader internal and external challenges?

Speaker

Diederik Samsom, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans – European Green Deal, and Commissioner for Climate Action Policy, European Commission

Discussant

Claire Dupont, Assistant Professor of European and International Governance, Ghent University

Moderator

Sebastian Oberthür, Director of the Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy, Brussels School of Governance – Vrije Universiteit Brussel & Professor of Environmental Policy and Law at the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland

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