AUTHORS: Amalia Tuchmann, Paloma Biessy, Irene Chiocchetti and Pierre Leturcq

On 10 June, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), together with the Green Economy Coalition, organised an event to discuss the critical role of trade and investment partnerships in shaping sustainable and inclusive global solutions to the triple planetary crisis.

The event began with a presentation by Irene Chiocchetti (IEEP) of the European Green Deal Barometer 2025, IEEP’s annual expert consultation that has run since the launch of the European Green Deal (EGD) to assess the delivery progress of the Green Deal files. The fifth edition has a special focus on the external dimensions of the EGD and looks at understanding the opportunities and challenges, including spillovers, that the Green Deal presents to countries outside the EU.

Chris Hopkins (Green Economy Coalition) presented the Global Attitudes to Green Economy Survey, which features perspectives from citizens in the Global South and emerging economies on the green transition, including some EGD policies. Some key findings from the study include that there is underappreciated support from the Global South for the EU Green Deal, and that citizens in the Global South want to see more leadership from their own governments on sustainable policies. In his presentation, he emphasised that we should be focusing on targeted mitigations for policies with negative spillovers where there are household-level, individual cost impacts, and that we should be having a conversation about how the EU and the EU Green Deal can empower Global South national governments to set high ambition agendas.

A number of interventions and a panel discussion followed the two presentations. Rim Behrab, Senior Economist at the Policy Center for the Global South, said that the Green Deal’s reach now extends well beyond EU borders, reshaping trade frameworks, investment priorities, and industrial standards around the world. This is particularly evident in Africa, where countries are increasingly engaging with both the opportunities and challenges posed by this new landscape. She then spoke about the ways in which African nations are responding to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), such as South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan and Morocco’s effort to implement renewable energy into industrial production, with 42% of installed capacity already renewable. However, she stressed that ongoing dialogue with the EU is important to ensure these efforts are appropriately recognised within CBAM implementation. She also highlighted the growing recognition that a more coordinated African response to the Green Deal could help ensure that trade, climate, and development objectives are aligned, and mentioned that the drafting of a Green Trade Protocol under the African Continental Free Trade Area holds real promise in this regard. She concluded by saying that the Green Deal opens real opportunities for structured cooperation across trade, investment, and technology that can support decarbonisation and inclusive growth. However, realising the synergies will require open dialogue, mutual recognition of national efforts, and a commitment to partnership frameworks that reflect both climate ambition and development realities.

The panel discussion was moderated by Pierre Leturcq (IEEP) and featured reactions from Seutame Maimele (Sustainable Growth Economist at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies), Bruno Capuzzi (Policy Leader Fellow at the School of Transnational Governance), Perrine Fournier (Trade Campaigner at FERN), and Antoine Oger (IEEP).

Seutame Maimele discussed the impact of the EU Green Deal on the South African economy and proposed that South African entities should be allowed more time to adapt to and prepare for EU regulations. Bruno Capuzzi focused on the  EU Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and said that its delay should not be seen as a step back but rather as an opportunity to improve it and foster cooperation with third countries. He acknowledged the positive aspects of regulations announced under the EGD framework but highlighted the need for better regulation of supply chains outside of the EU.

Perrine Fournier spoke about the current state of global forest governance. She emphasised that what was formerly a multi-stakeholder dialogue through the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan has shifted to a business-to-business approach, where the obligation to comply lies only on companies in the supply chain. With no channel to foster partnerships and dialogue between the EU and third countries, governance based on mutual respect has shifted to an increasing unilateral approach. She recommended national initiatives such as national certification schemes to address the root causes of deforestation. Lastly, Antoine Oger spoke about the progress the EU is making with the Ecodesign Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which has a a long-term, very structured policy development process and a clear recognition of steps, actors, sectors, and products involved, allowing foreign stakeholders to engage in conversation. However, he stressed that there is still much work to be done on the EU’s side to better advertise platforms where foreign partners can express their concerns about ESPR, and for better proactive monitoring of these platforms to promote an inclusive, continuous dialogue.

The event was  also the opportunity to launch a new IEEP publication, “Addressing the spillovers of the EU Green Deal: A matter of global leadership,” which expands upon many of the topics discussed during the panel session and presentations. The report analyses the impact of the CBAM, the EUDR and the ESPR on countries in the Global South, with a focus on the African continent. It advocates for a multidimensional approach involving greater integration of policy objectives across the EU’s domestic and external actions, and for enhanced synergy between trade and investment policy, cooperation programmes, and the EU’s international climate strategy.

Key recommendations

• Double down on engagement with the G20: Leverage ongoing negotiations with G20 countries to work towards a plurilateral declaration calling for a moratorium on sectoral “green equivalents”.
• Build consensus before COP30: Ease tensions before landing in Belem and work with Global South partners towards establishing a CBAM revenue recycling mechanism, while avoiding granting pure exemptions under CBAM, EUDR and ESPR.
• Make the most out of new partnerships: Make CTIPs and SIFAs coincide with investment governance reform; Support tailored cooperation mechanisms for co-developing green industrial strategies; Expand investment beyond the Global Gateway.
• Reinforce strategic coherence across EU institutions: This could materialise through dedicated interservice sessions and a systematic involvement of these Directorate Generals in the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) processes ahead of the conclusion of any partnership.

Photo by Adrian Siaril on Unsplash