Bringing Climate Action to the European Level: Assessing Why EU Member States Push for an Ambitious EU Climate Agenda

Description

The climate agenda of the European Union (EU) or the European Green Deal was set up in 2019 and is gradually being elaborated upon with legislation at the EU level. The headline target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 is ambitious, as is the technical legislation underlying it. The central question of this paper is why EU member states support such an ambitious climate agenda at the EU level. Three determinants are tested: member states wish to enhance funding for climate-related projects by using the EU as a platform for such re-distributive action; the member state “green” industry pushes for a more ambitious pan-European climate agenda; and member states are serving their public opinion for climate action by promising an ambitious climate agenda at the EU level. It is suggested that the first determinant is the most significant one in light of geopolitically heightened energy prices and the urgent need for many member states to transition away from oil and gas. Based on interviews with state authorities of Latvia, Poland and Denmark this paper will compare three case studies with different levels of fossil dependency, renewables industries and different societal opinions on climate change more generally. . .. .. .

Period	29 Mar 2023
Event title	RSU Research week 2023: PLACES
Event type	Conference
Conference number	3
Organiser	Rīga Stradiņš University
Location	Rīga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International