Researching into Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: Case Study of the European Union

Abstract

Climate change and a deteriorating environment is a key challenge to sustainability, bio-diversity, food security and stability across the European region. Pollution, deteriorating soil quality, desertification and poor air quality are threatening the lives and futures of all of the continent’s people. Climate change is one of the all-encompassing global environmental changes likely to have deleterious effects on (a) natural and human systems, (b) economies, and (c) infrastructure. This paper aims to highlight the sustainable economic development strategies as adopted by the European Union (EU). It also discusses strengths and weaknesses of the EU 2020 mechanism from an international perspective. Secondary data have been used in this presentation and nature of analysis is descriptive in nature. The paper concludes that in the future the primary focus of sustainable development and climate change policy research and global agreements in the EU should be the de-carbonization of economic development. Consequently, instead of treating climate stabilization and economic development as separate and equal, the strategy should be to re-integrate the global policy goals.