Why isn’t the EU at the top of global warming research? Theoretically, the EU should be able to have the MOST sway

The emissions of all 28 member-states of the EU combined are less than the entire US. It's less than half of China's emissions.

The will to self-regulate has to exist, Europe won't fix China or America's issues for them.

I'm thinking less about regulation and more about innovation. China appears to be at the forefront of technical innovations that speak to global warming.