Help your neighbor, help yourself: The drivers of European Union's climate cooperation in trans‐governmental networks with its neighbors

Abstract

AbstractClimate change mitigation and adaptation are among the policy areas covered by the European Union (EU) in trans‐governmental cooperation with the neighboring countries. Although this cooperation is open to all European Neighborhood Policy countries and Russia, there is significant cross‐country variance. This article maps the EU's climate networks in the neighborhood and, building on time‐series cross‐sectional data analysis, explains the cross‐country differences. The study contributes to Europeanization and network governance literatures by demonstrating that the main driver of EU engagement in climate networks in the region is interdependencies stemming from geographic proximity. Meanwhile, state capacity is an important condition for establishing climate cooperation: climate cooperation develops more with closer neighbors that have stronger state capacity. Importantly, contrary to the logic of its international climate commitments, climate vulnerabilities do not define the extent of the EU's engagement in climate networks with its neighborhood.