| Abstract [eng] |
The EU has set among the most ambitious in the world greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, yet due to lack of methodological transparency it is unclear whether the individual targets distributed to its Member States are fair and aligned with the differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities principle, enshrined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. To evaluate whether distribution of emission reduction targets in the EU is fair, the research examines EU emission reduction targets against two prominent effort-sharing approaches: Green Development Rights (GDR) and Equality. Research also contributes to effort-sharing literature by adding additional analytical layer for climate targets assessment: the impact of EU funds towards climate change mitigation. Performed assessment revealed that EU framework generally acts as midpoint between the two other diverging approaches applied which signals of a compromise in an arduous task to strike a balance in climate equity. However, this generalization also comes with exceptions as some countries would be better-off with alternative approaches against current EU framework targets, while other would be worse if the selected approaches were used to distribute emission reduction targets. Another important discovery is that EU framework does not sufficiently address responsibility aspect of climate equity as it generally awards higher emission countries and punishes lower emission ones. Nevertheless, EU funds play a significant role in alleviating potential discontent from countries that may perceive their targets as unfair. As the emission target adjustment demonstrates, the largest beneficiaries of EU funding often need to reduce fewer emissions using their own resources, with the remainder covered through EU funding. |
