CLUB CONVERGENCE IN ENERGY TRANSITION OF EU MEMBER STATES

Abstract

The European Union stands apart through its ambitious blueprint to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Playing a pivotal role within this process, the energy transition in EU is challenged by the trilemma of supply security, competitiveness and sustainability. Historical contingencies and contextual factors trigger different evolutionary trajectories in terms of temporalities and geographies. Testing the club convergence hypothesis, studies addressed the heterogeneity of EU member states either from energy or environmental perspectives. Our study relying on two streams of research on club convergence and core-periphery model is set to provide: (1) an up-to-date assessment of energy transition pathways pursued by EU members; and (2) a comprehensive outlook based on multiple variables to capture the economic, environmental, energy, social and policy dimensions of energy transition. We employ time-series data issued by EUROSTAT at the level of EU-27 national economies from 2015 (Climate Paris Agreement) to 2021 (European Green Deal). The analysis is based on the measurement of absolute, conditional and relative convergence to test the assumption that EU member states are organized into convergence clubs along core-periphery patterns. Absolute and conditional beta convergence, as well as sigma convergence have been confirmed by data, and five convergence clubs have been identified. However, their membership does not confirm the core-periphery theory in its classical tenets; it rather reflects multiple energy transition paths. We intent to contribute to the scholarship on climate and energy aiming to endorse informed policy across EU.