The responsibility of the EU in climate change mitigation: assessing the fairness of its recent targets

Brais Suárez-Eiroa (), David Soto-Oñate () and Maria Loureiro
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Brais Suárez-Eiroa: Universidade de Vigo
David Soto-Oñate: Universidade de Vigo

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 2024, vol. 29, issue 8, No 17, 21 pages

Abstract: Abstract Recent studies suggest that the current global climate agenda could lead to a temperature rise of over + 3 °C by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. In this scenario, the European Union (EU) is expected to play a significant role in the global fight against climate change by demonstrating the feasibility of certain policy options. Based on previous literature on planetary boundaries, equal access to the atmospheric commons, and climate debt, we analysed whether the EU’s current climate targets (55% net emissions reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050) are compatible with the goal of preventing an average global temperature rise of + 1.5 °C or + 2 °C in 2100. We estimated the EU’s consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions from 1850 to 2050 and calculated the EU’s responsible share of the global carbon budget. The results show that current targets are not sufficient for the EU to achieve its fair share of the + 2 °C target (let alone + 1.5 °C). This may or may not have an impact on critical elements of the Earth’s system, but it certainly presents the EU with a major challenge when it comes to fulfilling the principles of climate justice and promoting equitable access to the atmospheric commons.

Keywords: Climate justice; Political economy; Just transition; Planetary boundaries; Post-growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11027-024-10180-y

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