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Climate change is a very debated topic among academia, national and international institutions. Therefore, policies and tools for diminishing pollutant emissions are in place in a number of countries. Among them, taxation and renewable energy use seem to be among the most important. This paper aims at testing the impact of certain tools for climate change policy implementation, such as environmental taxes, renewable energy use, real productivity, employment rate taking into consideration the level of economic development and the GINI coefficient, on the greenhouse gas emissions in two important sectors of the economy: industry and commerce. Panel data analysis is used for a cluster of nine developing countries of the European Union that have the per capita GDP at purchasing power parity lower than 80% of the EU average, during 2008-2021. Similar to other studies, the results show a negative relationship between environmental taxation and greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector, and a positive one in the commercial sector. The latter is explained by the fact that transport, which is a main pollutant sector, is also one of the most difficult sectors to achieve green transition, given high associated costs. The analysis also shows that renewable energy use discourages the emissions of greenhouse gases, both in the industrial and commercial sectors, so that fostering investment in renewables is an important factor for addressing climate change and promoting a sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has consistently held a prominent global position in climate governance. This paper compiles 152 climate neutrality policies issued by the European Commission (EU Commission) and employs a systematic analytical framework including "Vertical Policy Hierarchy - Horizontal Policy Path – Systematic Policy instruments" to conduct an in-depth analysis of the EU's climate neutrality policy system. This study produces several findings as follows: First, the EU's climate neutrality policy hierarchy is characterized by a structure comprising "Long-Term Planning – Specific Measures - Financial Support". Second, the EU's policy formulation process for climate neutrality emphasizes the integration of a multi-party engagement mechanism involving "Nongovernmental Level - Regional Level - National Level - Transnational Level - Supranational Level", while extensively employing a "framework-content" policy-making methodology. Third, the EU's climate neutrality governance is guided by the dual objectives of achieving a "Cleaner Energy Structure" and "Recover Ecological Environment" pursuing a broad-ranging and multi-tiered policy pathway towards climate neutrality. Fourth, the EU leverages a combined approach of mandatory measures and guiding policies to propel the climate neutrality governance process, aspiring to achieve breakthroughs in new energy technology innovation through climate neutrality governance, thereby solidifying its international standing. Moreover, this study provides an outlook on the future of the EU's climate neutrality policy governance, positing that the EU's emphasis on climate neutrality governance will remain undiminished, with a heightened focus on guiding policies and an emphasis on the roles of enterprises and the public in advancing the realization of climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of climate change mitigation policies intended to reach the Paris Agreement's two-degree target on the structure of European labour markets. Employing a three-sector macro-econometric model with a rich labour market extension, we show that the measures targeted at shrinking the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and the road transport sector – both of which have an overall modest, positive impact on GDP and total employment – could make occupational structure less unequal and polarised in 2030, the target deadline. This could occur in more than half of the European Union's member states, particularly where the industries most affected by the transition to a low-carbon economy (i.e., mining and quarrying, utilities and manufacturing of coke and refined petroleum products) remain most important. • Impact of climate change mitigation policies on the structure of European Labour markets. • Analysis of the effect on inequality and polarisation through the lens of a macro-econometric model and wage rankings. • Overall, European labour markets become slightly less unequal and polarised as a result of the green transition. • Relevant different across countries, with greater reductions in inequality and polarisation in those countries where the industries most affected by the ecological transition remain most important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]