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Sharing the effort of the European Green Deal among countries

Author

Listed:
  • Karl W. Steininger

    (University of Graz
    University of Graz)

  • Keith Williges

    (University of Graz
    University of Graz)

  • Lukas H. Meyer

    (University of Graz)

  • Florian Maczek

    (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis)

  • Keywan Riahi

    (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis)

Abstract

In implementing the European Green Deal to align with the Paris Agreement, the EU has raised its climate ambition and in 2022 is negotiating the distribution of increased mitigation effort among Member States. Such partitioning of targets among subsidiary entities is becoming a major challenge for implementation of climate policies around the globe. We contrast the 2021 European Commission proposal - an allocation based on a singular country attribute - with transparent and reproducible methods based on three ethical principles. We go beyond traditional effort-sharing literature and explore allocations representing an aggregated least regret compromise between different EU country perspectives on a fair allocation. While the 2021 proposal represents a nuanced compromise for many countries, for others a further redistribution could be considered equitable. Whereas we apply our approach within the setting of the EU negotiations, the framework can easily be adapted to inform debates worldwide on sharing mitigation effort among subsidiary entities.

Suggested Citation

  • Karl W. Steininger & Keith Williges & Lukas H. Meyer & Florian Maczek & Keywan Riahi, 2022. "Sharing the effort of the European Green Deal among countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-31204-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31204-8
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    3. Kılkış, Şiir & Ulpiani, Giulia & Vetters, Nadja, 2024. "Visions for climate neutrality and opportunities for co-learning in European cities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
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    5. Tan, Xianchun & Cai, Xiaoli & Cheng, Yonglong & Yan, Hongshuo, 2024. "How to control China's total amount of carbon emissions? An analysis of provincial allowance demands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).

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