The European Parliament in turbulent times: changing support for climate action?

While the European Parliament is traditionally seen as the EU’s environmental champion, internal and external sources of turbulence like the cost-of-living and energy crises after COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and an increasingly fragmented Parliament, pose challenges for continued climate ambition. To better understand the relationship between turbulence and support for climate legislation, this paper examines the extent to which Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) express their support for such measures, and how they refer to turbulence to advocate for their policy preferences. Using argumentative discourse analysis, the paper analyses Parliament debates on key climate files in the 2019–2024 legislative term. The findings indicate that, although overall support for climate legislation remains strong, growing differences between political groups and over time could undermine future legislation. Therefore, the Parliament’s leadership role might be less resilient than previously thought.