The European Union (EU) countries, as one of the most economically developed regions in the world, are taking increasingly decisive actions to reduce the emission of harmful substances into the ...natural environment. This can be exemplified by a new climate strategy referred to as “The European Green Deal”. Its basic assumption is that the EU countries will have achieved climate neutrality by 2050. To do so, it is necessary to make an energy transition involving the widest possible use of renewable energy sources (RES) for energy production. However, activities in this area should be preceded by analyses due to the large diversity of the EU countries in terms of economic development, the number of inhabitants and their wealth as well as geographical location and area. The results of such analyses should support the implementation of adopted strategies. In order to assess the current state of the energy sector in the EU and indicate future directions of activities, research was carried out to analyze the structure and volume of energy production from RES in the EU countries. The aim of the study was to divide the EU countries into similar groups by the structure and volume of energy production from RES. This production was compared with the number of inhabitants of each EU country, its area and the value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This approach allows a new and broader view of the structure of energy production from RES and creates an opportunity to take into account additional factors when developing and implementing new climate strategies. The k-means algorithm was used for the analysis. The presented analyses and obtained results constitute a new approach to studying the diversified energy market in the EU. The results should be used for the development of a common energy and climate policy and economic integration of the EU countries.
The recent past has seen the proposal of multiple ‘Green New Deals’ across geographies as a means to fight against the climate crisis and ecological breakdown. Of these, the European Green Deal- EGD ...represents the world's first public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Because the EGD plans to “transform the EU,” in this paper we examine how it fits within a historical continuum of colonial and neo-colonial relations. We argue that the EGD is the latest discursive strategy for the ‘greening' of empire through four registers: (1) turning ecological crises into profitable opportunities; (2) portraying the EU as a ‘moral’ intervener; (3) building on a ‘green' “will to improve”; and (4) securitizing and consolidating the empire. We find how the EU acts in key policy arenas of diplomacy, trade and investment leading to the ‘greening' of the empire that ensures its continued economic and political leadership while fundamentally maintaining a status quo. We conclude with some reflections on the role of the EU to cede place to other possibilities of building anti-colonial ecologies.
his research analyzes the efforts of the European Union (EU) in overcoming climate change through the European Green Deal (EGD). Neoliberalism perspectives, Neoliberal institutionalism theory, and ...sustainable development are used to further analyze energy transitions and sustainability in EGD. The importance of EGD to the EU climate policy sustainability shows the expansion of sector coverage and progress in achieving the goal, being climate neutral by 2050. Through EGD, the EU is carrying out an energy transition with a wider sector coverage, such as buildings, industry, food, and agriculture. In order to achieve common goals, it is necessary to implement EGD as the European Union's foreign policy. EU efforts through EGD policies and strategies are renewable energy, REPowerEU, Farm to Fork strategy, deforestation strategy, New European Bauhaus, and the European Sustainable Investment Plan to support the sustainability of EGD on financial allocation with a just transition mechanism
In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by adopting the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the European Green Deal, the European Union aims at an extremely ambitious goal to ...become climate neutral by 2050. This goal involves a massive investment plan to support this initiative, but also to reduce disparities between Member States, in order to transform the Union into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the sustainable development and renewable energy sources relationship in EU countries from a new perspective. Based on Eurostat available data and with the help of hierarchical clustering analysis, the Member States were divided in 2019 into five clusters, highlighting the key characteristics of the selected variables. The results of this research revealed high-performing groups of countries, as well as countries that need increased attention and additional support to become more efficient in achieving their sustainable development goals and renewable energy source targets.
The European Green Deal sets targets for biodiversity, climate change, sustainable farming, and rural development. For abandoned agricultural lands to contribute to these goals, specific policy ...measures to support appropriate land management are required. However, information is lacking on what these policies will mean for landowners and managers. This paper reviews the role of abandoned lands in European Union (EU) policies linked to the Green Deal. We interviewed 30 experts to identify the challenges faced by landowners in response to the identified policies and gather suggestions for future policy improvements. We found few explicit mentions of abandoned lands in policies. The potential of abandoned lands for alternative trajectories (beyond farming) was generally implicit. According to experts, landowners perceive the EU Common Agriculture Policy as the most influential to drive abandonment trajectories and support (or hinder) opportunities for re-management. The main challenges for landowners to (re-)use their lands included conflicting policies, lack of financial and technical support, and a feeling of disconnection with policies defined at EU level. To address the gap between objectives and implementation, policies need to secure support for landowners and managers. We provide three recommendations to uncover the potential of abandoned lands to contribute to the Green Deal targets: (1) increase their visibility in policies, (2) rely on an integrating policy approach, and (3) careful spatial planning to account for biophysical, socioeconomic, and cultural variations across regions.
•Policy review shows limited focus on abandoned lands in EU Green Deal policies.•Expert interviews reveal landowner challenges to manage abandoned lands.•Policy changes are needed to better support landowners to manage their lands.•Sustainable reuse and management of farmlands can mitigate trade-offs.•Integrated landscape planning and effectiveness assessment tools are key.
The paper aims to address the potential of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in decarbonizing the European energy system; specifically, reducing emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990, and ...targeting net-zero emissions by 2050. The methodology relies on a cost-optimization modelling approach using three models complementarily: a detailed European TIMES-type model (MIRET-EU); an aggregated model for the European energy system, allowing endogenous cost reductions based on technology deployment in a dynamic programming formulation for investment strategies (Integrate Europe); and a dedicated model for assessing hydrogen import options for Europe (HyPE). Two policy-relevant scenarios have been developed: Technology Diversification (TD) and Renewable Push (RP). Both lead to climate neutrality in Europe in 2050 but the RP scenario differs by setting new reinforced targets for renewable technologies in Europe. Results show that hydrogen production would increase sharply in the coming decades, exceeding 30 million tons (Mt) by 2030 and more than 100 Mt by 2050 in both scenarios. Polyvalence of hydrogen in decarbonizing the European energy system for certain hard-to-abate energy uses in transport and industry is also observed. European hydrogen production relies on a diverse mix including both renewable and low-carbon technologies. It is complemented by hydrogen imports from neighboring regions, that represent between 10 and 15% of total demand in 2050. Access to existing cross-border pipelines is a critical advantage compared to maritime transport. Notably, there are considerable cost reductions due to technology deployment for solar power and hydrogen production by electrolyzers.
•UBEM proven tool in testing building energy strategy for EU’s Green Deal objectives.•Novel georeferenced building archetype database successfully integrated in an UBEM.•Method is reproducible ...elsewhere in Europe where building archetypes are available.
The European Unions (EU) Green Deal plans for a carbon neutral economy by 2050. Achieving this goal will require actions across all economic sectors, especially the building sector, which currently accounts for 40% of energy use. Residential energy use is a significant contributor, much of it due to an aging, poorly insulated building stock, much of which is concentrated in urban neighbourhoods. This research focusses on the application of an Urban Building Energy Model (UBEM) to support the Green Deal and the planned ‘renovation wave’. An archetype approach is used to efficiently derive the building data needed to run the Urban Modelling Interface (UMI) to test the efficacy of energy retrofitting policies for neighbourhoods, using a case-study area of 9,000 residential buildings in a European city. Initially, UMI simulations of energy use intensity are evaluated against reported energy performance certificate data in the study area. The UBEM is then used to quantify the most cost-effective mix of envelope retrofit and onsite energy production to achieve a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The methodology shown here is based on residential building archetypes that are available for many EU countries and the method outlined can be replicated in other urban settings.
This article analyses the development of the mix of EU climate policy instruments and the level of climate policy integration (CPI) in the twenty-first century. Complementing established criteria of ...ambition and stringency, analysis of the instrument mix and CPI enables a fuller assessment of the transformational potential of EU climate governance. We argue that both have significantly advanced towards matching the 'super-wicked' nature of the climate challenge, although important gaps and challenges remain in addressing all relevant sectors, barriers and drivers. First, EU climate governance has 'thickened' through a stepwise layering of various economic, regulatory, procedural, and informational instruments. Second, this thickening has gone hand in hand with an expansion and strengthening of CPI. The European Green Deal promises to further complement the instrument mix and to universalise and prioritise CPI, but major initiatives remain to be proposed and realised for the Green Deal to propel the needed comprehensive transformation.
The European Green Deal is a set of policy initiatives set by the European Commission with the aim of making the European Union climate neutral in 2050. The Deal is credited with many virtues by its ...proponents, and in particular that it would reduce geopolitical disputes with Europe’s main supplier of energy, Russia. The nascent literature on energy transition is primarily focused on its economic costs and benefits, and on its contribution to energy security; but it has so far left unaddressed the question of the transition’s military consequences. To address that question, our paper adopts a political economy perspective by looking at how a sizeable drop in the energy revenue, which would result from the successful implementation of the Deal, is likely to affect the intraelite competition underway in Russia. We model that competition by means of a Tullock contest in which the energy revenue may be allocated by the sole winner to the provision of private goods or of club goods. We show that the Deal would favour the currently ruling elite group’s efforts at winning the contest. Given that this elite would thus control energy revenue and would spend it on military investments intended at maintaining it in power, the Deal could have adverse security consequences for Europe. The paper concludes by underlining the importance for the Deal’s success to factor in its unintended geopolitical consequences.
•The Green Deal is partly intended at making the EU independent from Russia’s energy.•That policy, argue its proponents, will guarantee Europe’s military security towards Russia.•Our theoretical model considers intraelite power struggle as an intervening variable.•The model questions the pacifying impact of the Deal.•We offer theory driven solutions that are compatible with the Deal.
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