Climate change-motivated development of EU's energy production and use systems

Abstract

This chapter discusses historic and current climate and energy policies in the European Union in light of the climate crisis. In the international arena, the European Union has been one of the most coherent groups of countries advocating for global climate action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The European Union has recently set a climate target that includes greenhouse gas emission reductions of 55 percent by 2030 (as compared to 1990) and a goal of climate neutrality by 2050. These goals should deliver the required reduction in the union’s climate impact to assist the world in achieving an emission trajectory consistent with the UN Paris Agreement goals, set in the attempt to prevent a global temperature increase beyond irreversible tipping points. However, the achievement of these targets is associated with huge disagreements among European Union member states and from the beginning, it has been clear that there are economic, technical, and social difficulties associated with the new strategy’s practical implementation. The challenges are diverse and complex, relating both to the transition of the energy sector toward 2030 and to emission reductions outside the energy sector post-2030 (e.g., in transport and agriculture). This chapter lays out the parallel historical development of EU’s energy systems and climate policies, utilizing established knowledge for a critical discussion of the actions agreed upon in the European Union toward 2050. It further explores whether these commitments will be sufficient to deliver the needed reductions and if the agreements and actions planned are fair and just from local, regional, and global perspectives.