European Green Deal | European Union Center

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an international hub for research in science and technology, and the EU Center is helping to extend that strength by fostering discussions about an exciting major new initiative of the European Union. The European Green Deal draws on years of policy discussions within the EU about ways to address climate change, now aiming to accelerate an economic recovery from COVID-19 while enhancing the EU’s influence on global issues. As the EU Center seeks to play a role in a topic that is developing rapidly, below is a list of recent and upcoming highlights of events and initiatives, some of them offered by our partners.

Smart Cities and a Sustainable Countryside

Fall 2020 discussion with Former Members of the European Parliament, “Technology and Sustainability in the EU”
Collaborator on an online course, EURO 199, intended to draw students to the study of Europe through the study of “smart cities”

Important Lectures and Academic Events

Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the European Environmental Agency (Copenhagen): “The Ambitions of Global Europe – Climate Change, Sustainability and EU Governance” (December 1, 2020 hosted by the KU Leuven Master of European Studies)
Monica Frassoni, Former Member of the European Parliament and Former Co-Chair of the European Green Party: “Case Studies in the Making of the European Parliament and Parliamentarians” (February 24, 2021 conversation hosted by the EU Center)
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission: “Europe's Green Recovery” (March 2, 2021 hosted by the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and co-sponsored by the Illinois EUC through the Jean Monnet in the US Network)
Clifford Singer, Professor of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering and Professor of Political Science, Bei Yang, PhD Candidate in Economics: “Green Deal Commitments Prospects and Stability” (March 15, 2021 hosted by the University of Illinois Program in Environmental and Resource Economics)

K-14 Outreach

2021 Summer Curriculum Workshop: "Teaching the European Green Deal: Science, Economics, Policy"

The EU Center welcomes questions and suggestions to eucenter@illinois.edu from potential collaborators on campus and elsewhere.