European climate pact citizen volunteers: strategies for deepening engagement and impact

Abstract

The European Climate Pact is one constitutive element of the European Green Deal, which has the ambition of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral by 2050. It is a particularly intriguing measure since it is designed as a format for volunteering, known as European Climate Pact Ambassadors, whom the EU Commission expects to inform members of their communities and networks about climate change and to inspire and support climate action. Each Pact Ambassador is presented on a dedicated website hosted by the EU Commission, which means that this programme is highly personalized. With this paper, we address Pact Ambassadors who do not work as policy professionals and strive to offer them guidance on navigating their mandate. In essence, we invite them to personalize the mandate and to assume those roles and carry out those activities that they feel comfortable with and which align with the overarching goals and principles of the ambassadors’ programme.

Keywords:

• Ambassador model
• communication
• climate action
• climate change
• European Union
• volunteering

1. Introduction

The European Union (EU) has been committed to sustainable development for a long time. As early as 1972, the EU adopted its first Environment Action Programme, which established that polluters should pay for the environmental harm they cause and that environmental harm should be prevented rather than removed (Delreux and Happaerts 2016, 17). The EU’s policy agenda has undergone continuous updating and expansion since then, culminating in December 2019 in the European Green Deal. This multi-sectoral action plan aims to transform the EU into a competitive economy in which net greenhouse gas emissions approach zero by 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use; important is that all persons and places should benefit from these developments (Buylova et al. 2022; Dupont, Oberthür, and Homeyer 2020; Dupont and Jordan 2021).

The European Climate Pact (ECP) is part of the European Green Deal and represents a procedural policy tool (see, e.g. Bali et al. 2021). With the ECP, the Commission has launched a bottom-up format to facilitate climate action across the EU. At its heart lie the European Climate Pact Ambassadors (henceforth: Pact Ambassadors), who – according to the EU Commission – are people who are willing to “inform, inspire and support climate policy and action in their communities and networks” (European Commission 2022a).

The launch of the ECP and the ambassadors’ programme can be seen as the next step in measures taken previously by the EU Commission to increase the involvement of citizens in EU politics and therefore to remedy claims of the EU’s democratic deficit (see, e.g. Kratochvíl and Sychra 2019). The EU has implemented tools of participatory democracy, such as public consultations and dialogue with civil society organizations since the 2000s (Greenwood 2019). Then the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force in December 2009, introduced the European Citizens’ Initiative, which became operational in 2012. This instrument marked a new stage in EU citizen participation, as it enables EU citizens to call directly on the Commission to propose a legal act in an area where the member states have conferred policymaking powers on the EU (Greenwood 2019; Tosun, Béland, and Papadopoulos 2022).

Compared to the previous measures, including the European Citizens’ Initiative, the ambassadors’ programme is much more personalized: it concerns individual citizens who volunteer as ‘change agents’ (Mintrom and Rogers 2022) to engage with their communities and networks. This represents both a chance and a challenge: the former because recognition of each individual Pact Ambassador on the European Commission’s website can motivate them to perform their role with dedication and therefore more effectively; the latter because the individuals who volunteer for this role could lack experience with such formats, and consequently may be overwhelmed by the EU Commission’s expectations of them.

Pertinent research has shown that such ambassador programmes function better if the participants receive training which empowers them to act in this capacity (Solly et al. 2022). The Commission does not offer such a dedicated training programme, at least not yet. In its absence, the guidelines presented here are supposed to help Pact Ambassadors to navigate their mandate and facilitate a positive experience of the programme for them. Conversations with Pact Ambassadors gave us the impression that they would appreciate some hands-on guidelines on how to fulfill their mandate. Our recommendations are based on our interpretation of and reflection on analytical concepts from public policy and the literature on volunteering. Consequently, the target audience of this piece are Pact Ambassadors; in particular, we strive to address those who do not work as policy professionals, that is, policymakers or public managers (see Wu, Ramesh, and Howlett 2015).

Considering that the ambassadors’ programme is highly personalized, our overall recommendation to the volunteers acting in this capacity is that they personalize the mandate, too. We encourage them to define their roles and activities in such a manner that they align with the mandate and are likely both to have an impact and produce personal benefits.

The remainder of this article unfolds as follows. First, we examine the ‘job description’ for Pact Ambassadors, then we make concrete suggestions for how Pact Ambassadors can make an impact as well as reap personal benefits from this programme. The final section summarizes our main recommendations and offers some concluding remarks.

2. The EU Commission’s conception of Pact Ambassadors

The ambassadors’ programme was only launched in 2020 but has already undergone a comprehensive redesign. This is important to state since at the time of writing (July 2022), 872 individuals held a mandate as Pact Ambassadors, of which almost all were appointed on the basis of the original eligibility criteria, which was very inclusive and comprised any individual interested in taking climate action, whether residing within or outside the EU (Tosun 2022). In August 2022, the Commission modified the programme by formulating more restrictive eligibility criteria.

With the new criteria, the Commission states that “community, civil society, NGOs, organisations, education, arts, youth, and student group leaders as well as influencers and opinion leaders, with a commitment to climate action and advocacy” are eligible for the mandate. Another group of individuals eligible for becoming Pact Ambassadors are “mayors, parliamentarians, policymakers, and other public office holders with a commitment to climate action and ambition” (European Commission 2022a). Individuals who are willing to engage with the ECP but do not meet the eligibility criteria can become ‘Friends of the Climate Pact’.

All Pact Ambassadors must make a pledge on behalf of their (informal) group or organization. The pledges must go beyond existing legislation and either represent ambitious actions that contribute to greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement (North Star pledges) or represent a wide range of climate-friendly activities that can be seen as a first commitment to climate action (Pathway pledges) (European Commission 2022c). In addition, all Pact Ambassadors must respect the ECP’s values. In the original programme, a Pact Ambassador was appointed for a fixed term of one year, which could be renewed (Tosun 2022). The updated information on the Commission’s website does not provide information on this aspect anymore, but it is likely that the previous rule continues to apply.

The Commission assigns Pact Ambassadors three roles, which guide the activities they are expected to carry out:

• to lead by example;

• to inspire others to take action;

• to connect with others.

The Commission suggests that Pact Ambassadors organize activities related to environmental and climate action, such as planting trees, as well as testing climate solutions and assessing how they can be best replicated and diffused. A second line of action includes raising awareness of the causes and impacts of climate change. Furthermore, Pact Ambassadors are expected to promote climate action in their networks, participate in private and public events, and organize events and discussions with policymakers. Another aspect of the Pact Ambassadors’ mandate is to connect local climate activists with other relevant networks and stakeholders and to facilitate peer-to-peer learning through knowledge exchange (European Commission 2022a).

Given the eligibility criteria, we can distinguish between two main groups of Pact Ambassadors: policy professionals on the one hand, and lay volunteers on the other. As the name already suggests, policy professionals are individuals who can be expected to be familiar with climate action and will not need any guidance to make sense of their mandate. Lay volunteers, on the other hand, are likely to appreciate guidance, especially since all Pact Ambassadors are presented on the EU’s website with pictures, contact details, and statements concerning their motivation to act in this capacity. Individuals volunteering as Pact Ambassadors are thus identifiable, which can both motivate them to deliver on their mandate but also put them under pressure.

According to the Commission, the publication of the public profile is part of the benefits one receives in return for serving as a Pact Ambassador. Other benefits stated by the Commission are recognition and access to networks, resources, toolkits, materials, events, and policy experts. It also explicitly states that Pact Ambassadors will have opportunities to make their climate action visible and to exercise advocacy (European Commission 2022a).

However, this should not detract from the fact that Pact Ambassadors act in their personal or professional capacity and not on behalf of the European Commission, and that they do not receive any organizational or financial support from the European Commission (European Commission 2022a). This means that they invest their time, skills, and resources; in return they will not only reap various benefits but also incur costs, as with any other volunteering format (see Hallmann and Zehrer 2016).

The Commission’s guidance on the roles and activities of Pact Ambassadors is both accommodating and ambiguous. We strive to make lay volunteers aware of the most important characteristics of their situation as Pact Ambassadors and offer them advice so that they can have a positive experience when serving their term.

3. Making sense of the Ambassadors’ programme

In analytical terms, lay Pact Ambassadors are volunteers who have attracted continuous attention from researchers. This is because volunteering represents an important civic activity without which certain services could not be provided to a sufficient degree, even in affluent societies. Volunteering is the provision of helping activities over a given period of time without expectation of financial reward or other compensation (Kragt and Holtrop 2019). Research on volunteering brings together disciplines as diverse as economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. The focus on individuals provides an ideal complement for public policy literature and especially studies dealing with policy design, which are effectively interested in how individuals make decisions and chose actions (see, e.g. Wu, Ramesh, and Howlett 2015).

One of the topics that has received enhanced attention in the pertinent literature is the question of how volunteering can be made sustainable, that is, how to avoid that volunteers withdraw from this activity and become disengaged. While the existing literature offers various solutions, it agrees that making a volunteering experience positive increases the chances of someone participating in voluntary work in the future (Hallmann and Zehrer 2016). Keeping volunteers engaged for long periods of time is generally beneficial but even more so with climate change, which is evolving gradually and will therefore require sustained climate action (Joshi, Agrawal, and Lie 2022). Research on volunteering has shown that the satisfaction of volunteers depends on the impact they can make with regard to what they volunteer for and the personal benefits they can reap from it (Binder and Freytag 2013; Hallmann and Zehrer 2016).

In what follows, we provide recommendations for nonprofessional Pact Ambassadors on how to achieve the expected impacts as well as on how to experience personal benefits. In this regard, the first guidance we want to give is that pursuing personal benefits with the mandate is legitimate as long as these do not conflict with the mandate or divert energy and resources away from the overarching goal of achieving the expected impacts. Pact Ambassadors should be aware that they invest personal resources when acting in this capacity and that they can expect benefits in return for it, as we will explain in detail in the subsequent sections.

Following Kragt and Holtrop (2019), our guidelines are organized along the distinct, yet interconnected stages of the individual’s journey as a Pact Ambassador. These stages are i) applying for and becoming a Pact Ambassador, ii) acting as a Pact Ambassador, and iii) approaching the end of one’s term as a Pact Ambassador. This framework has the advantage that we offer a blend of recommendations originating from the literatures on volunteering and public policy.

4. Becoming a Pact Ambassador

Few individuals will need advice from us on whether they should apply to become a Pact Ambassador. The fact that at the time of writing 872 were serving their mandates and others had already completed their terms shows that there has been great interest in this participatory format. An inspection of the Pact Ambassadors’ profiles shows that they are based in different countries (including many who reside outside the EU, which was possible with the original format), belong to different age and professional groups, and that the representation of men and women is about equal. When inspecting the personal profiles more closely, we can identify a wide range of different motivations for serving as a Pact Ambassador. Some of them stress their scientific background and that they want to provide their knowledge to inform more ambitious climate action. Others explain that they are emotionally concerned with climate change and therefore want to take action.

We consider it useful for the next stages of the mandate for Pact Ambassadors to be aware of their motivations for volunteering and to reflect on them. This exercise can be helpful to understand which of the three possible roles they want to embrace and how to ‘personalize’ their mandate, that is, which activities they want to focus on and how they want to carry them out. The Commission’s presentation of the roles and activities of Pact Ambassadors may suggest that they all have to be met. We advise Pact Ambassadors to choose just one role and carry out its corresponding activities (European Commission 2022b), that is, to develop a personal interpretation of the mandate.

Motivations are a key research interest of the literature on volunteering. For example, Dolnicar and Randle (2007) differentiate between six types of volunteers. Of these, “classic volunteers” are individuals who want to do something meaningful, receive personal satisfaction from doing it, and help others. “Dedicated volunteers” perceive each one of the motives for volunteering as relevant and are motivated by a less focused range of reasons. “Personally involved volunteers” become engaged in volunteering because they know someone in the organization; in the case of the ECP it could be that the volunteers know other Pact Ambassadors or people who are involved in other types of climate action. “Volunteers for personal satisfaction” are mostly egoistically motivated as they want to help others for the sake of personal satisfaction, whereas “altruists” primarily wish to help others. “Niche volunteers” have fewer and more specific motivations, for example, to gain work experience.

All of these motivations are legitimate for volunteering as a Pact Ambassador. There is nothing wrong about using the mandate to gain experience in how to implement climate action, for example. Similarly, becoming a Pact Ambassador because one’s friends or colleagues have already held the mandate is also valid. The better the individuals understand why they apply for the ambassadorship, the more authentic they will come across when interacting with their audiences, and the more impact they should have (see, e.g. Gardner et al. 2011). Likewise, we can expect Pact Ambassadors with a clear understanding of the motivations driving them to take action that produces personal benefits to them and gives them a positive experience.

The second reflection exercise concerns the Pact Ambassadors’ expectations regarding their impact and the personal benefits. The expectations should be realistic about what they can achieve in this position. Having expectations that are too high can result in dissatisfaction and a negative volunteering experience (see, e.g. Kragt and Holtrop 2019). Naturally, the expected personal benefits will concur with the motivations of individuals seeking to become Pact Ambassadors. Nonetheless, it appears fruitful not to limit the reflection process to the motivation side but to encourage Pact Ambassadors to spell out what they expect in terms of the impact they will have and the personal benefits they will experience.

To summarize, individuals volunteering in the ambassadors’ programme should ask themselves the following two questions to prepare adequately for their mandate: Why do I want to do this? What can I realistically expect to achieve?

5. Acting as a Pact Ambassador

Much like any other type of volunteer, Pact Ambassadors offer an important service to the community. However, how exactly they serve depends on how they define their role, which, in turn, depends on their motivations and expectations, as discussed above. It also depends on the resources Pact Ambassadors have in terms of their knowledge, skills, and other personal characteristics (human capital), as well as the social relationships they possess (social capital) (Kragt and Holtrop 2019). To be effective in terms of achieving an impact, ambassadors should personalize their mandate by choosing one specific role and carrying out the corresponding activities.

The Commission distinguishes between three basic ways in which Pact Ambassadors can have an impact. The first one is to lead by example, which the Commission defines as showcasing one’s dedication to tackling climate change by means of climate action and environmental protection (European Commission 2022a). We regard Pact Ambassadors acting in this capacity as similar to scientists who participate in policymaking as ‘honest brokers’ (Pielke 2014), since they adopt a certain pro-climate behavior and in this way demonstrate that behavior change is possible as well as provide a realistic option. In other words, by leading through example, Pact Ambassadors would change their own behavior and have a potential impact by demonstrating that this behavioral option exists, but they would not directly ask their audiences to change their behavior, too. If Pact Ambassadors represent formal organizations, leading by example would entail that the organizational practices are changed. The target audiences of Pact Ambassadors identifying with this role would predominantly be individuals, communities, and organizations.

With the second role, inspiring others to take action, the same audiences would be targeted. However, this time, the approach would be more direct and correspond to adopting suitable strategies for promoting pro-climate behavior as identified by the literature on behavioral psychology. In this context, Ferguson and Schmitt (2021) state that a promising strategy would be to appeal to an individual’s motivation to engage with climate change by stressing the need for action and appealing to their pro-climate values by evoking emotions vis-à-vis climate change. This could be achieved, for example, by discussing with people how the landscape has changed because of climate change or measures taken to limit climate change, such as the installation of wind turbines.

A second strategy consists in informing network members of the social norms of climate action in order to facilitate pro-climate behavior. Social norms are unspoken rules that define what is considered acceptable in a society. Changing social norms is very hard, but Pact Ambassadors can inform people about how climate-related social norms have changed. For example, it is now common for people to participate in meetings online rather than travel (by plane) to a meeting venue, as this reduces their carbon footprint. Especially after the COVID pandemic and its multi-dimensional impacts on politics and society (see, e.g. Capano et al. 2022), one could argue that this is a new social norm that Pact Ambassadors could bring to people’s attention.

A third strategy for fulfilling the second role centers on overcoming individual resistance to climate action by sharing (new) information, for example. This latter strategy entails the need for Pact Ambassadors to communicate with people in a non-judgmental manner that does not make them feel rebuked. Attempts to overcome manifest resistance is certainly the most difficult goal a Pact Ambassador can set herself, and focusing on this aspect alone may be less personally rewarding than adopting the first two strategies.

However, the Commission explicitly states that this second role, inspiring others to take action, is not limited to individuals, communities, and organizations but involves encouraging local, regional, and national governments to take climate action (European Commission 2022a). Exercising influence in personal networks or in organizations to which one belongs is one thing, but influencing public policy is another. Oliver and Cairney (2019) provide detailed and helpful advice to academics who strive to influence policy, which can, in an adapted form, also guide Pact Ambassadors who are eager to do this. For instance, Pact Ambassadors willing to embrace this role are well advised to understand policy processes at the level of government which they seek to influence. They should be accessible to policymakers and build stable relationships with them. In fact, Pact Ambassadors may find it more impactful to ask people in their networks with better skills and contacts to influence policymaking, while they provide the contents for policy advocacy.

If Pact Ambassadors decide to use their position to influence public policy, they should be aware of the opportunities and challenges the EU’s multi-level system offers. Relationships with local policymakers are unlikely to have an impact on national let alone European policymaking. The EU level in particular would be very difficult to address for nonprofessional Pact Ambassadors, and therefore they should consider carefully whether it would be worth the effort. In our view, local policymaking would offer the most feasible setting for policy advocacy, and we encourage Pact Ambassadors to explore this option first and to consider the national or the EU level only when they have forged excellent connections with influential policymakers there. At the local level, there are several participatory formats which Pact Ambassadors could consider, such as local climate change planning (see, e.g. Cattino and Reckien 2021).

Pact Ambassadors could also decide to participate in the policy process by concentrating on the implementation of climate policies adopted at the European or national level. While it is clear that Pact Ambassadors cannot act as implementing actors in the narrow sense (these are usually public managers), they could contribute to a more effective or even efficient implementation by providing information on policies and attempting to increase the public’s acceptance of these.

The third role the Commission assigns to Pact Ambassadors is to connect with others (European Commission 2022a). In our view, this role is necessary for being able to carry out the other two roles: without networking, Pact Ambassadors can neither have an impact by leading through example nor by inspiring others to engage in climate action. However, we consider it important to state that networking can also represent the main role Pact Ambassadors choose for themselves. Bringing behavioral change as indicated by the second role is very challenging. Moreover, if addressed inadequately it can also backfire (Gifford, Kormos, and McIntyre 2011). Therefore, regarding oneself as a professional communicator to disseminate information about the causes and consequences of climate change is an important role by itself and should be valued as such.

The above considerations referred to the question how Pact Ambassadors can have an impact. We now turn to the question of how they can personally benefit from this volunteering experience. Most importantly, they can do this by strengthening their human capital through gaining new knowledge and skills as well as by accumulating social capital, that is, by expanding and strengthening their personal networks. We encourage Pact Ambassadors to make use of any inputs provided by the Commission in order to increase their personal human and social capital. In addition, they should be open to redirecting their own definition of their role depending on how satisfied they are with their mandate. It is perfectly acceptable to start the ambassadorship with one role definition then redefine it during the mandate if this will provide a more positive experience and greater satisfaction.

The guiding questions for this phase are: Which role(s) do I want to perform? Which strategies align with the role(s)? How can I strengthen my human and social capital and be (more) satisfied with the mandate?

6. Terminating one’s term as a Pact Ambassador

Pact Ambassadors are appointed for a limited period of time. Individuals who feel comfortable with this role can renew their appointment, although it is not clearly communicated by the EU Commission at this point how many times a renewal is possible. However, despite the possibility of prolonging the engagement, it will come to an end one day, and Pact Ambassadors should be prepared to reflect on the degree to which their expectations regarding impact and personal benefits were met.

Based on the assessment of their experience, Pact Ambassadors will choose whether to withdraw or continue their engagement in climate action – either by renewing their ambassadorship or by choosing an alternative format. There are various options for the latter. To structure these, we follow Nielsen et al. (2021, 133), who distinguish between different social roles and stress that each of these roles entails opportunities for climate action (see also (Whitmarsh et al., 2015):

• Consumers

• Producers/investors

• Participants in organizations

• Members of communities

• Citizens

Pact Ambassadors may wish to continue their engagement in climate action simply by acting as responsible consumers. In this regard, they could, for example, reduce their meat consumption or drive battery-only electric passenger cars. Alternatively, they could act as a producer of renewable energy, for example, by installing solar panels on their roofs. The main characteristic of this form of engagement – as consumers, producers, or even investors – is that the actions hinge on the individuals’ own behavior and are not necessarily oriented toward changing the behavior of others. To some individuals, shifting the focus from influencing others during their mandate as a Pact Ambassador to undertaking climate action as a consumer or producer/investor could be an attractive perspective. And it would certainly be equally meaningful as acting as a Pact Ambassador.

Of course, former Pact Ambassadors could choose to continue their engagement by seeking to change the behavior of others, such as their co-workers’. They could also continue to provide information on climate change to their colleagues and suggest modifications to daily routines, such as reducing energy consumption. Alternatively, former Pact Ambassadors could liaise with the leadership of the organization they work at or which they attend (e.g. universities), and suggest measures or activities to improve the organization’s climate performance. For example, they could suggest installing solar panels, charging equipment for plug-in electric cars, or replacing old appliances with new, eco-friendly ones. Larger companies often have sustainability offices, and former Pact Ambassadors may consider collaborating with them to make an organization-wide impact.

Individuals who acted as Pact Ambassadors have experience in interacting with respective communities, which can be social, cultural, or religious groups. When ending their term as a Pact Ambassador, these individuals can continue their engagement with such groups, which scholars are increasingly recognizing as playing an important role for climate action in their capacity as climate intermediaries (see, e.g. Hague and Bomberg 2022). They can also initiate or participate in collective action at the community-level, which can take many different forms, such as projects initiated and run by neighborhood residents or citizen organizations (see, e.g. Joshi, Agrawal, and Lie 2022).

Alternatively, former Pact Ambassadors can continue to or begin to influence policymaking, which can be done in different ways. Political parties aggregate the climate-related preferences of their membership and articulate them during the policy process – they represent the classic climate intermediaries in democratic systems (Hague and Bomberg 2022). Consequently, individuals who want to continue their political engagement for climate action could consider joining a political party and participate in the party’s internal preference-formation process. A more drastic step would be to run for an electoral office and to shape climate policies directly by holding an electoral mandate.

In addition to joining political parties or running as a candidate, former Pact Ambassadors can choose alternative forms of political engagement. For example, they can participate in the citizens’ initiatives at the subnational, national, or European level. Individuals who have developed intense relationships with stakeholders while acting as Pact Ambassador could find this option more feasible and perhaps also more attractive than attempting to shape climate action by joining a party. Former Pact Ambassadors can also consider joining a social movement in order to express their concerns and call for a different approach, such as Scientists for Future, which is a movement comprising academic who call for swift and ambitious policy action to tackle climate change (Delmestri et al. 2021).

As shown above, there are several forms of future climate action open to former Pact Ambassadors. Consequently, the guiding question for this phase of their journey should be: Which of the existing options appeal to me given my previous experience as a Pact Ambassador?

7. Summary and conclusion

The EU has embraced an ambassadors’ program to foster climate action. This is a laudable step for several reasons. One of them is that the EU hereby encourages individuals to become involved in climate action directly instead of treating them as the target audience of climate policies only. This grants individuals a level of ownership over the measures that need to be launched in order to achieve the overarching goals of the Green Deal (Buylova et al. 2022; Dupont, Oberthür, and Homeyer 2020; Dupont and Jordan 2021).

While the EU Commission needs to be recognized for launching such an innovative format, we want to stress that it only works if individuals volunteer to act as Pact Ambassadors. With this piece we wanted to bring to the current and future Pact Ambassadors’ attention that they are important figures in the EU’s new approach to governing climate change. Likewise, they should be aware that they invest personal resources when acting in this capacity. Like any other resource, it is important that these are not overused since this can have negative personal effects and may even counteract the purpose of an ambassador model.

In light of this, in this article we offered suggestions aimed at facilitating a positive volunteering experience for nonprofessional Pact Ambassadors. In line with the literature on volunteering, we contended that Pact Ambassadors are most likely to have a positive experience if they make an impact as well as reap personal benefits. We distinguished between three different phases of the Pact Ambassadors’ journey to provide them with hands-on guidance on how to fulfill their mandates.

First, it is important for the volunteers to understand their motivation for becoming Pact Ambassadors and to develop expectations about what they can realistically achieve during their term and what personal benefits they might experience. Since the ambassadors’ programme is highly personalized, our primary recommendation for both this phase and in general is to personalize the mandate.

During their mandate, Pact Ambassadors should develop strategies to perform those roles and activities that align with their interests, skills, and capabilities. In other words, to undertake personalized action. Pact Ambassadors should not feel obliged to adopt all potential roles the European Commission assigns them but to select the one(s) they feel most comfortable with and then act accordingly. In other words, we consider a focused approach to acting as an ambassador as likelier to yield better outcomes. This does not exclude the possibility of changing focus during the mandate or of adopting a different or an additional focus when the mandate is renewed. Pact Ambassadors should also feel comfortable with experimenting with different foci initially, knowing that they should choose one at a later point.

Lastly, Pact Ambassadors need to be aware that the term for serving in this capacity is fixed and that they can and should use the ambassadorship to devise a roadmap for future engagement, which can take many different forms. Each of the forms discussed is important and will contribute to achieving the overall goal of the European Green Deal, which is to implement a trajectory for the EU to be climate neutral by 2050.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for research assistance by Henriette Gaus, Niklas Kühnberger, and Mina Trpkovic, and constructive comments by two anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Jale Tosun acknowledges financial support from the DeepDCarb Project funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant [Grant Number: 882601] and the Jean Monnet Network Green Deal-NET. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the EU nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.