IMPULS Bela Galgoczi A New Climate: EU’s strategic approaches under Trump 2.0 Climate, energy and industrial policy in an rea of disruptive power politics At a glance The European Union finds itself in a delicate situation when it comes to balancing between two superpowers, the United States and China, which fight for global he­gemony and employ strategies that are similarly coer­cive in nature while pursuing diverging objectives. This policy paper identifies the main elements of this double dependence by outlining the drifting and often inconsist­ent character of EU climate, energy and industrial poli­cies over the past years in order to illustrate how difficult it is to maintain transatlantic cooperation under these conditions. The paper then concludes that given the dis­ruptive role of the current US government, it is critical to strengthen the resilience of international climate protec­tion and defend EU economic interests and development prospects. Adhering to the ambitious EU climate policy targets is not just a moral obligation, but vital for the EU’s international credibility and competitiveness. Strate­gic coalitions should be developed with like-minded mid­dle powers and the rest of the G20 countries. The EU needs to articulate a more credible approach of how to deal with the Global South and strengthen clean trade and just energy transition partnerships. 1. Introduction Addressing the climate crisis is a textbook case for a col­laborative global effort. This can only succeed through close multilateral co-operation. Since the second Trump ad­ministration took office in January 2025, the world’s largest economy and military superpower, responsible for the greatest share of historical greenhouse-gas emissions, has abandoned multilateralism and launched direct attacks on the international rules-based order. In January 2026, a memorandum issued by the White House announced the withdrawal of the United States from 66 multilateral agree ­A New Climate: EU’s strategic approaches under Trump 2.0 1