The primary objective of the course is to deepen students' understanding of the origins and evolution of global environmental governance and to equip them with the methodological tools to understand and analyze both these aspects from a historical and international political perspective. At the same time, the course pursues a second, closely related objective: to analyze the European Union's role in building the institutions and policies of global environmental governance and, concurrently, the various implications of the international debate on sustainable development for European politics, from the late 1960s to the present day. Starting from the early days of EC/EU environmental policy, the course focuses on the evolution of ideas about energy security and transition in the internal debate within European countries and within intergovernmental and supranational institutions. It examines the formation of the European sustainability agenda through the various policy areas involved. Finally, it focuses on the relationship between the multilateral dimension of environmental governance at the United Nations and that of the European Union. Students will delve deeper into some of the most complex global challenges, such as climate change and the deterioration of the global commons, particularly their implications for international politics. They will increase their understanding of the role of multilateral and regional institutions, governmental and non-governmental actors; finally, they will develop the ability to critically evaluate the political and economic responses to these challenges developed by the European Union over the past decades.