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The European Union (EU) Green Deal and its Farm to Fork Strategy are intended to promote sustainable food systems to achieve EU climate-neutrality by 2050. The Farm to Fork action plan also foresees the introduction of a harmonized mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme in 2023. The EU countries have yet to reach agreement on the nutrition labelling scheme, which will also have environmental impacts. This article raises the question of whether at the European level, countries should seek agreements on both climate mitigation and nutrition policies (full agreement as in the case of the Green Deal) or should negotiate separate climate and nutrition policy agreements (as for the nutritional labelling). To address this question, this paper develops a game-theoretic model with multiple countries where each country implements a climate policy and a nutrition policy. We compare the consequences in terms of total emissions, the level of the nutrition policy and the welfare under different institutional arrangements of a non-cooperative equilibrium, full agreement, and three alternative agreements. Our results show in particular that full agreement always leads to the lowest total emissions at the expense of the level of nutrition policy in some cases. In an extension of our analysis, we show that agreements that include cooperation over nutrition policies do not necessarily imply formation of a larger coalition of signatory countries, even if a nutrition policy has positive or negative impacts on emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands are significant to global efforts to combat climate change. However, to date, they have been a missing piece in the climate change mitigation policy puzzle in the European Union (EU). Taking a policy coherence perspective, we investigate how policies from different governance levels—that is, EU, member state, and regional levels—support and impede existing and new policies for climate-friendly peatland usage. We put a particular focus on incentive-based policy instruments, because such incentives are often advocated as promising policy instruments for supporting the transition to the sustainable management of peatlands. We selected the three peatland-rich EU countries Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Based on semi-structured interviews with 35 experts, we indicate a lack of horizontal policy coherence between agriculture, nature conservation, water management, forestry, energy, and climate policies in terms of climate change mitigation measures on peatlands. At the EU level, most prominently, the Common Agricultural Policy counteracts climate targets because direct payments currently encourage the unsustainable management of peatlands. At the national and subnational levels, water quality in Finland, nature conservation in Germany, and subsidence in the Netherlands were primary objectives of peatland relevant policies. Due to a lack of clear guidance on raising the groundwater table, the current incentive-based policy instruments are ineffective for reducing emissions. Despite its higher mitigation potential, potential incentive-based policies for rewetting encounter various regulatory barriers caused by the policy incoherence. We conclude that the transition to climate-friendly peatland usage requires coherent regulatory frameworks and incentive-based policies supporting rewetting. • We demonstrate the multi-sectoral and multi-level nature of peatland policies in the EU. • Agriculture, nature, water, and energy policies often impede horizontal coherence. • Conflicts between EU, national, and regional policies hinder vertical coherence. • Regulatory frameworks and incentive-based policies should be coherent. • Current incentive-based policy instruments are ineffective for emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slovakia has declared climate neutrality by 2050 as its official goal, joining the club of countries that already account for 75% of global GDP and are among the world's most advanced economies. Achieving this goal means an unprecedentedly deep and rapid economic and social transformation towards a decarbonised economy. While EU emissions fell by 24% between 1991 and 2019, they are set to fall by a further 31% by 2030. But the low-hanging fruit of relatively simple and cheap solutions is exhausted, and each additional percentage point costs more than the last. This report provides a framing assessment of recent developments in climate policies, discourses and investments in Slovakia in relation to international, European Union and domestic intentions and targets. It is written on the basis of analyses of policy agenda documents and focuses on recent developments in 2021 as a relevant period for progress towards declared climate neutrality. This goal would require fundamental changes in many areas of the economy, and financing this transition would be key. The paper analyses the programming, targeting and coordination between the key financial mechanisms available for climate change mitigation in Slovakia (European Structural and Investment Funds, RRP, State Budget and State Aid) and makes policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Justice and responsibility are central notions shaping the international climate negotiations. However, countries have different perspectives on how to translate these concepts into solutions for climate change. In this process, actors such as the European Union (EU) play a central role, by trying to persuade other large greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to take on their (historical) responsibilities and by supporting developing countries. At the same time, China and India have become central actors in international climate negotiations. Due to their rapid economic growth and rising GHG emissions, their climate action is crucial for achieving global goals, while their historical emissions are very different from those of Western countries. To shed light on the EU's perspective on climate justice, and the particular role of China and India therein, this article analyses Members of European Parliament's (MEPs) narratives in plenary debates on foreign climate policy between 1996 and 2019. MEPs' views contribute to shaping the EU's position on the topic, but also provide useful insights into the political dynamics of the debate. The paper finds that climate justice is mentioned in less than half of the MEPs' speeches, but that its salience increased over time and became more diverse in terms of different dimensions of climate justice. We also uncover that MEPs' positions on China and India evolved with the rise in their emissions, becoming increasingly critical over time. However, there is a significant variance amongst political groups' positions, between those on the right and the left end of the political spectrum. [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]

The European Union's climate policy is considered quite ambitious. This has led to a growing interest among political scientists investigating the European Parliament's ability to negotiate such ambitious climate legislation. These studies generally focus on the voting behaviour of members of the European Parliament, which allows us to know more about their positions when it comes to accepting or rejecting legislative acts. However, we know surprisingly little about how they debate and justify their positions in Parliament. In these debates, members of the European Parliament not only identify the problem (i.e., climate change and its adverse effects) but also discuss potential solutions (i.e., their willingness or ambition to fight and adapt to climate change). In addition, plenary debates are ideal for making representative claims based on citizens' interests on climate action. Therefore, this article aims to understand how climate policy ambitions are debated in the European Parliament and whose interests are represented. We propose a new manual coding scheme for climate policy ambitions in parliamentary debate and employ it in climate policy debates in the ninth European Parliament (2019-present). In doing so, this article makes a methodological contribution to operationalising climate policy ambition from a parliamentary representation and legitimation perspective. We find debating patterns that connect quite detailed ambitions with clear representative claims and justifications. There is more agreement on what to do than how to get there, with divides emerging based on party, ideological, and member-state characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, paved the way for a new hybrid global climate governance architecture with both bottom-up and top-down elements. While governments can choose individual climate goals and actions, a global stocktake and a ratcheting-up mechanism have been put in place with the overall aim to ensure that collective efforts will prevent increasing adverse impacts of climate change. Integrated assessment models show that current combined climate commitments and policies of national governments fall short of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Although major greenhouse gas emitters, such as China, the European Union, India, the United States under the Biden administration, and several other countries, have made new pledges to take more ambitious climate action, it is highly uncertain where global climate policy is heading. Scenarios in line with long-term temperature targets typically assume a simplistic and hardly realistic level of harmonization of climate policies across countries. Against this backdrop, this article develops four archetypes for the further evolution of the global climate governance architecture and matches them with existing sets of scenarios developed by integrated assessment models. By these means, the article identifies knowledge gaps in the current scenario literature and discusses possible research avenues to explore the pre-conditions for successful coordination of national policies towards achieving the long-term target stipulated in the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Global Economics / Revista de Economie Mondială is the property of Institute for World Economy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European Union has played a significant role in climate change action, adopting pioneering legal measures, and promoting the negotiation of international agreements for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. This study reflects on the effects of European climate leadership in the implementation of an ambitious climate policy in the domestic sphere, as well as in the articulation of its foreign action. The climate leadership self-man-date established in the European development strategy is analyzed in a general way, as well as the implementation of this mandate through the action of the European Union in the development of the international climate regime; in the climatic coherence of its foreign action; and in the promotion of the global climate ambition through the internal market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current post-pandemic economic environment, both climate action and sustainable development remain essential objectives for the European Union, while the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with the largest funding from the European budget may emerge as a key factor for achieving them both. CAP financing framework for 2021-2027 has three broad objectives: viable food production, sustainable management of natural resources and balanced territorial development. Given that those objectives of the post-pandemic CAP are particularly wide and ambitious, this paper focuses only on a comparative quantitative analysis of climate and environmental expenditures undertaken by Member States, highlighting Romania's position in the European hierarchy. Our research aims to present the achievements and challenges of Member States' environmental and climate spending under the CAP, in order to underline which development directions could contribute to a more resilient and sustainable rural development across EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Estudos Politicos is the property of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Revista Brasileira de Estudos Politicos) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European Green Deal (EGD) is the European Union's comprehensive policy framework, intended to set the vision for the first climate-neutral economy by 2050, in compliance with the Paris Agreement. Achieving this ambitious goal will require a radical transformation in European production and consumption patterns, and climate action lies at the core of this transition process. As the first legal initiative implementing the EGD, the European Climate Law makes climate neutrality a legally binding objective. It also empowers the European Commission to set the trajectory for achieving this goal by 2050. This legal act will clear the path for a more integrated climate policy. However, the current climate targets, although recently updated by the European Climate Law, are not yet in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement or the EU's ambition of becoming climate neutral in 2050. This paper looks at recent changes in EU's climate and energy law brought about by the EGD. Based on this analysis, its main objective is to assess whether the new policies constitute a suitable legal path to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution investigates how combinations of instruments, often called policy mixes, enhance policy learning processes at different levels. It analyzes the European Union's (EU) Covenant of Mayors (CoM) that is underpinned by a set of learning instruments, to promote local action for sustainable energy and climate. The piece offers an original framework to explore whether and how the Covenant enhances learning at the level of European institutions and among local governments. Drawing on an extensive documentary review and elite interviews in four countries (Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK), the analysis shows that the CoM instrument mix has enhanced certain elements of learning within the actors leading the Covenant as well as many of the local governments within and outside the EU, but only if certain conditions operate, such as political leadership, individual motivation and knowledge and regional coordination mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the drivers of CO2 emissions changes is useful in supporting future mitigation. This study applies a log-mean divisia index decomposition to assess four drivers of CO2 emissions changes – population, income, energy intensity and carbon intensity – in 138 countries worldwide over the period 2000–2017. At the global level, income and population are the main drivers of increased emissions over time, with contributions of 116% and 60% to global CO2 emissions changes, respectively. Energy intensity is the key mitigation driver, with a contribution of −80%. Although carbon intensity increased CO2 emissions overall over the period 2000–2017 with a contribution of 4%, it has started to reduce emissions in recent years. China, the United States of America, the European Union, India and Russia are the five regions responsible for most changes in global emissions. The five regions together contribute −73% of the energy intensity effect, and China's income contribution is 83% in relation to the total of 116%. At the national level, in 2017, CO2 emissions returned to below 2000 levels in 62% of Annex I (developed) countries but increased in 88% of non-Annex I (mostly developing) countries. Among the 35 countries realizing CO2 emissions reductions, 24 were driven primarily by energy intensity, six by carbon intensity, three by economic recession, and one by population decrease. Among the 103 countries with increasing CO2 emissions, 63 were driven primarily by income, 26 by population, nine by carbon intensity increase, and five by energy intensity increase. Our analysis emphasizes the necessity of considering differences in national development stages when formulating climate change mitigation policies. Key policy insights Over the period 2000–2017, at the global and national levels, CO2 emissions increases were driven mainly by economic development and population growth, and mitigation was driven mainly by energy intensity improvement. Improving energy intensity and carbon intensity is the key to mitigating CO2 emissions. Carbon intensity is expected to play an increasing role in the future. In over one-third of Annex I countries, CO2 emissions increased from 2000 to 2017. To meet the Paris Agreement goals, Annex I countries will need to enhance mitigation ambition by further tapping the mitigation potentials of energy and carbon intensity. In accordance with national circumstances, development needs and international support, non-Annex I countries should achieve low-carbon economic and energy transitions and peak CO2 emissions as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of global warming in the Arctic region present a particular challenge for the European Union (EU), which seeks to profile itself as a leader in responding to climate change. Although the EU strives to prioritize climate protection, the Arctic region remains one of the EU’s major suppliers of energy, particularly oil and gas. The EU must thus strike a balance between climate change mitigation and adaptation, and energy security. The present article analyses the developments of the EU position in this field, particularly in light of the COP 21 negotiations, and the more recent 2016 Integrated European Union Policy for the Arctic. In doing so it seeks to explore to what extent the EU truly is fulfilling its own leadership aspirations in the field of climate change and energy in the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key dimension of the debate about policy innovation is the extent to which new policies achieve significant and lasting effects on the problems they purport to address. However, little is known about such effects. We break new ground by investigating how far current evaluation practices in a policy system with relatively ambitious climate policies – the European Union – identify the most effective (carbon-reducing) policies. We find that a small number of policy instruments are projected to deliver the lion’s share of emission reductions. Setting aside the special case of emissions trading, these instruments are not particularly innovative. If significant practical and political obstacles can be addressed, more (detailed) evaluations could enhance the evidence base and also the political prospects for delivering deeper emissions cuts through to 2050. An evaluation perspective could also offer a very different way to consider policy innovation dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores recent climate policy developments in China, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU), as well as their implications for a new global climate regime, expected in December 2015 in Paris. The road to Paris is marked by a shift from global efforts to domestic actions on climate change mitigation, as well as a move from commitments to contributions to carbon emissions reduction. It is argued that the new regime is moving towards a voluntary national pledge and review system which deviates from the EU's desire for a legally binding climate treaty, bringing any Paris deal closer to the US's and China's vision of soft global governance for climate change. This puts a big question mark on whether and how a soft regime could potentially achieve an atmospheric CO2 concentration below 450 parts per million in order to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how the European Union (EU) has responded to climate change adaptation and mitigation and how a similar approach can be taken by the government in British Columbia. The authors explain that most mitigation efforts around the world have failed to reverse global warming, causing a great need for adaptation policies. They discuss the importance of trans-municipal efforts to address climate change, explore how local and federal governments in the EU are working together on this issue, and analyze policy programs implemented by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.

The article focuses on the European Union's (EU) White Paper "Adapting To Climate Change: Towards a European Framework for Action." It says that the paper outlines the EU's approach to mitigating European vulnerability to climate change and sets out its commitment to resolving climate change. It also states that the paper is designed as a first step for mainstreaming climate change adaptation throughout EU policy sectors.

There is growing interest in whether and how parties matter. We add to this discussion by exploring the ways in which parties matter for policy outcomes. To do this, we look at the European Union (EU) member states' progress towards the greenhouse gas emissions targets set for them by the Kyoto Protocol and the EU's Burden Sharing Agreement. We find that governments that are more pro-environment and less ideologically divided make better progress towards their targets. We also demonstrate that green party representation in government predicts convergence. This article contributes to research examining the ways in which parties matter as well as the growing literature on coalition politics and veto players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author contemplates on the effort of the European Union (EU) and other government agencies in mitigating global climate change. He expresses optimism about future measures from the government agencies who addressed such crisis. The author discusses the political aspect of the global climate change, and stresses the uncertainty on the legal and political framework of a future climate regime. Moreover, he emphasizes the importance of faith to sustain the continued mitigation action.

The article focuses on the international trade and climate change joint agenda. It states that trade-climate change intersection policies expanded to the European Union, World Trade Organization (WTO) and U.S. It notes that modern research contributions on the possible interactions between international climate and trade government are focused on international competitiveness, issues on greenhouse gas leakage, and problems related to the multilateral climate change contracts. It mentions that the agenda includes counteracting border measure that deals with international competition and free-rider problems, tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade, investment and technology transfer of climate-friendly goods and services, and international aviation and maritime shipping industries issues.

The article discusses climate change policymaking in the European Union (EU) and the lack of direction that came from the United Nations conference on climate change held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. The article discusses EU objectives for the Copenhagen meeting, EU actions taken at the meeting, the future of international cooperation on climate change, and influences that the Copenhagen meeting will have on the internal climate policies of the EU. Commentary is provided on the stance that the EU will take in future international climate change negotiations.

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• GDP growth is the main contributor to GHG emissions increase in low-income countries. • Decreases in energy intensity had the highest impact on GHG emission reductions. • Greater RES and EE efforts are necessary to offset effects from growing economy. • Current climate policies in the Baltics are not sufficient to achieve 2030 targets. The global economy is on the verge of one of the greatest transitions in modern history. The ability to ensure sustainable economic development and prosperity while significantly reducing consumption of energy resources and generated greenhouse gas emissions is a global challenge that affects every country in the world. To assess whether economies are ready for this challenge, there is an urgent need to examine this dual relationship between economic growth and climate change measures. European Green Deal strategy has set the ambitious goal of Europe becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, boosting competitiveness and long-term prosperity of the economy. Kaya identity and LMDI decomposition is applied to examine how European Union countries have been coping with these countereffects historically. The decomposition analysis is conducted for the EU-28 (including the UK) countries for a 10-year study period from 2010 to 2019. This study analyses the main drivers of changes in GHG emissions in European Union and estimates the progress made in implementing the Green Deal targets. The results show that in the EU, energy efficiency improvements have twice the effect on reducing GHG emission compared to RES strategies. The effect of economic growth was the main offsetting factor hindering the achievement of larger GHG emission reductions. More in-depth ex-ante and ex-post investigation is performed for the Baltic States. A novel forecasting technique is applied to project GHG emissions under three different development scenarios, such as the scenario with existing measures, the scenario with additional measures, and the business-as-usual scenario. The results show that the current climate policies in the Baltic States are not sufficient to achieve the 2030 emission reduction targets and that greater efforts should be made to enforce climate mitigation measures in the economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]