Efficiency of Environmental Protection Expenditures in EU Countries

Alan Barrell,Krzysztof Siuda,Pawel Dobrzanski,Sebastian Bobowski,Szymon Chmielowiec

doi:10.3390/en14248443

Abstract

Environmental protection policy is a widely discussed issue in scientific works. However, special attention should be also paid to the effectiveness of expenditures on environmental protection, and this is the main goal of this paper. The countries of the European Union were selected for this analysis due to the fact that, in recent years, this region has become an informal world leader with respect to the implementation of policy measures in the field of environmental protection. For that reason, the data envelopment analysis methodology was used, which allows the calculation of input-output efficiency for the years 2005–2015. The analysis shows that, among the 30 analyzed countries, the most effective in environmental protection actions is Finland. The hypothesis that higher environmental protection expenditures does not result in better environmental results has been confirmed. Our analysis confirmed the problem of the deteriorating efficiency of environmental expenditures across the selected European Union Member States, caused by increases in spending. This research may contribute to the discussion on environmental protection policy design and its assessment, as well as environmental policy results measurement.

Highlights

IntroductionClimate change and pollution are among the most serious challenges facing the world today
Our research fills the gap in the empirical literature studied in Section 2, as we address the efficiency of environmental protection expenditures
Our analysis confirmed the problem of the deteriorating efficiency of environmental expenditures across the selected EU Member States, caused by an increase in spending, whereas Halkos and Paizanos [27] suggested that the reduction of environmental expenditures in higher-income countries, such as the countries of the EU, led to an improvement in environmental quality and an increase in income

Summary

Introduction

Climate change and pollution are among the most serious challenges facing the world today. In March 2007, the EU Heads of State and Government endorsed the European Commission’s integrated strategy on climate change and energy, which sets out the EU’s proposals for a global and comprehensive agreement to combat climate change after 2012, when the targets under the Kyoto Protocol expire. In Paris in December 2015, 195 countries (practically the whole world) agreed to the first-ever legally binding global deal to tackle climate change. In the EU and around the world, governments, companies and individuals are already working to tackle its causes and adapt to the changes it brings

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion