CO2 Emissions in the Visegrad Group Countries and the European Union Climate Policy

• Authors: Dorota Wawrzyniak

Title variants

Emisja CO2 w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej a polityka klimatyczna Unii Europejskiej

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time and several policies trying to mitigate this negative phenomenon have been implemented. The reduction of GHG emissions along with the improvement in energy efficiency and the increase in the share of energy consumption from renewable sources also constitute the European Union policy priority. In this context, the aim of this article is to explore factors that affect changes in CO2 emissions in the four EU member states that form the Visegrad Group, during the period 1993–2016. The analysis was conducted using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition method and the Kaya identity, which enables the factors contributing most to the CO2 emissions changes to be identified. It also allows the results to be discussed in relation to the European Union’s climate policy. According to the decomposition analysis results, energy intensity and economic growth measured in terms of GDP per capita were the main factors driving changes in CO2 emissions across all countries considered. The emissions decrease resulted mainly from an improvement in energy efficiency and to a lesser extent from the change in the energy mix towards renewables.

PL

Zmiana klimatu jest jednym z najbardziej palących wyzwań naszych czasów. W związku z tym podejmowany jest szereg działań mających na celu złagodzenie tego negatywnego zjawiska. Redukcja emisji gazów cieplarnianych, poprawa efektywności energetycznej oraz wzrost udziału energii ze źródeł odnawialnych stanowią także priorytet polityki Unii Europejskiej. W tym kontekście celem artykułu jest zbadanie czynników wpływających na zmiany emisji CO2 w czterech państwach członkowskich UE tworzących Grupę Wyszehradzką, w latach 1993–2016. Analiza przeprowadzona z wykorzystaniem metody dekompozycji LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index) oraz tożsamości Kaya pozwala zidentyfikować czynniki, które w największym stopniu przyczyniają się do zmian emisji CO2. Umożliwia ona także omówienie uzyskanych wyników w powiązaniu z polityką klimatyczną Unii Europejskiej. Zgodnie z wynikami analizy dekompozycyjnej energochłonność oraz wzrost gospodarczy wyrażony PKB per capita były głównymi czynnikami przyczyniającymi się do zmian emisji CO2 we wszystkich rozważanych krajach. Spadek emisji wynikał głównie z poprawy efektywności energetycznej i w mniejszym stopniu ze zmian koszyka energetycznego w stronę odnawialnych źródeł energii.

Keywords

EN

carbon dioxide emissions; LMDI decomposition analysis; the European Union climate policy; Visegrad Group countries

PL

emisja dwutlenku węgla; analiza dekompozycyjna LMDI; polityka klimatyczna Unii Europejskiej; kraje Grupy Wyszehradzkiej; emisja dwutlenku węgla; analiza dekompozycyjna LMDI; polityka klimatyczna Unii Europejskiej; kraje Grupy Wyszehradzkiej

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 73-91

Dates

published

2020-03-30

Contributors

author

Dorota Wawrzyniak

• Ph.D., University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology Department of Economic Mechanisms, Lodz, Poland

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18778/1508-2008.23.05