How the Environmental Turn is Dismantling European Cooperation

By Natalia Betancurt 

The political landscape of Europe is undergoing a pivotal shift. For a long time, the populist extremist right was defined by its loud dismissal of climate science. From within the European  Parliament to national conventions, climate change was satirised as a ‘global fraud’. However,  as we approach 2026, a more dangerous strategy has emerged. This is the ‘environmental  turn’, a transition from climate denial to what scholars now term ‘Green Patriotism’ or ‘Eco Nationalism.’ This led to a critical question: Can a political movement claim to save the  ‘Homeland’ while systematically dismantling the international alliances that safeguard the world? 

This quiet but deep ‘environmental loop’ is redrawing the political map of the continent. From parties such as France’s Rassemblement National (RN) and Germany’s Alternative für  Deutschland (AfD), the extremist right is no longer neglecting the planet; it is turning it into a political weapon and transforming the climate crisis into a catalyst for isolationism,  fragmentation, and the erosion of global security. 

The Myth of the "Anti-Green" Right 

The radical right has realised that, in 2026, denying the climate crisis has become a political liability. Movements cannot secure voter loyalty while ignoring the environmental realities societies increasingly face. As scholars such as Luis de Nadal (2024) have observed, the pandemic provided the perfect base for this change. During COVID-19, the far-right learned that ‘protection’ is the most powerful political currency. They are now applying this to the  climate: framing globalisation as a ‘biological pollutant’ and the migrant as an ‘ecological  enemy.’ This process of ‘eco-bordering’ represents one of the most sophisticated forms of dehumanisation since the mid-20th century. By framing border control as a necessary act of  ‘environmental protection’, these movements dehumanised individuals, replacing the old,  discredited language of racial purity with a new, socially acceptable language referred to as ‘ecological balance.’

Walls of Sands: The False Security of Green Nationalism 

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) correctly argues that the climate crisis and the global economy are two of the most urgent priorities of our time. However, the extreme right’s proposed ‘solution’ is based on zero-sum logic. Carbon molecules do not respect national sovereignty. Yet, the radical right’s rejection of the EU’s Green Deal as an ‘elitist imposition’  risks generating a destabilising fragmentation. When climate change is no longer understood as a shared global challenge but instead framed as a competition for increasingly scarce national resources, the conditions for conflict begin to emerge. The real risk of a large-scale conflict in our century may not arise from a sudden invasion, but rather from the slow erosion of collective security. When nations choose ‘Green Walls’ over international treaties, they leave smaller states vulnerable and weaken alliances such as NATO and the European Union that have kept the peace for eighty years. A fragmented Europe is a playground for expansionist powers that flourish in the absence of a unified democratic front. 

Fear as a Tool of Exclusion 

The most tragic aspect of this shift is how it preys on the ‘eco-anxiety’ of the younger generation. While the liberal centre offers complex, bureaucratic, and often slow-moving global policies, the far-right offers a tangible enemy. They offer the comfort of the ‘Heimat’  (homeland), a connection between ‘pure’ blood and ‘protected’ soil. It must be clear: this is a false sense of security. The economic costs of climate change cannot be contained by walls.  Energy shortages require global fiscal coordination, not national hoarding. By offering isolation as a cure for climate fear, the far-right is locking us into a future of inevitable insufficiency and violence. 

There can be no negotiation that allows the radical right to own the narrative of ‘protection.’ If the environmental movement becomes a tool for exclusion, we have already lost. Sustainability is inherently an act of internationalism. To save the ‘Heimat’, we must save the planet; and to save the planet, we must maintain the bridges of cooperation that the eco nationalists are so desperate to burn. The ‘Green Fortress’ is not a sanctuary; it is a prison that will eventually become a battlefield. It is time we stop dismissing the far-right's eco rhetoric and start exposing it for what it truly is: a roadmap to a fractured and violent world. 

Sources: Nadal, L. (2024). ‘Climate Change: Bad News for Populism?’. NaLonaliLes Papers. Council on Foreign Relations.

Written by Natalia Betancurt 

Edited by Florence Cunnen and Olivia O'Mahony