Climate Policy of the European Union : What to Expect from the Paris Agreement?

Our paper aims at evaluating the provisions of the EU climate change and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as articulating the EU’s position with regard to sustainable development. In particular, we analyse the provisions and the outcomes stemming from the UN Convention on Climate Change (so-called “Paris Agreement”) held in France, last December. Our results show that Paris Agreement sets a reasonable path to follow for the EU’s climate policy and bridges current climate policies and climate-neutrality prior to the end of the century. We conclude that if the Paris Agreement had not been signed, there would be a clear and urgent need for the similar binding framework that would shape up the European climate strategy in the face of the new political and economic changes facing Europe. Moreover, we stress the importance of the provisions emerging from the Paris Agreement for the existing EU Member States as well as for the countries aspiring to become EU members